The'US'Inferior'Courts&
What&are&the& inferior &courts?&
What&is&their&purpose&in&American&
society?&
&
What'are'the'US'Inferior'Courts?'
•  The&Inferior&Courts&are&all&
the&courts&that&operate&
below&the&Supreme&Court&
–  Federal&courts&
–  Created&by&Congress&
•  Includes:&
–  US&Federal&District&Courts&
–  US&Court&of&Appeals&
–  Specialty &Courts&
What'is'the'history'of'the'US'inferior'
Courts?'
•  The&Cons>tu>on&gives&
Congress&the&power&to&
create&and&disband&courts&
as&needed&
•  Most&of&the&Inferior&Courts&
were&created&in&1789&
–  The&Judicial&Act&of&1789&
•  Others&were&created&to&
relieve&burdens&on&exis>ng&
Federal&courts&
–  300,000&cases&per&year&
What'is'the'History'of'the'US'Inferior'
Courts?'
•  The$judicial$Power$of$the$United$States,$shall$be$
vested$in$one$supreme$Court,$and$in$such$inferior$
Courts$as$the$Congress$may$from$>me$to$>me$ordain$
and$establish… &
•  Ar>cle&III,&Sec>on&1&
•  What$does$that$mean?&
–  Congress&has&the&power&to&create&or&disband&any&US&court&
What'is'the'Jurisdic=on'of'the'Inferior'
Courts?'
•  The&Inferior&Courts&hear&all&
Federal&cases…except:&
–  Those&with&appellate&
jurisdic>on&to&the&Supreme&
Court&
–  Those&that&relate&to&a&
specialty &court&
•  Cases&can&be&both&criminal&
and&civil&cases&involving&the&
US&government&
What'does'a'Criminal'Case'in'Federal'
Court'look'like?'
•  Criminal&cases&in&
Federal&court&violate&
Federal&law:&
–  Robbing&a&Federal&bank&/&
building&
–  Drug&trafficking&
–  Mail&fraud&/&tampering&
–  Counterfei>ng&
–  Tax&evasion&
–  Terrorism?&
Drug'Trafficking'
Mail'Fraud'
Counterfei=ng'
Tax'Evasion'
What'does'a'Civil'Case'in'Federal'
Court'look'like?'
•  Civil&cases&in&Federal&
court&involve&non`
criminal&offenses&that&
fall&under&Congress &
jurisdic>on:&
–  Bankruptcy&cases&
–  Civil&rights&lawsuits&
–  Public&land&cases&
–  Copyright&infringement&
–  Tax&lawsuits&
Bankruptcy'Cases'
Civil'Rights'Lawsuits'
Copyright'Issues'
How'do'Federal'Courts'work'during'a'
case?'
•  Two&(2)&phases:&
–  Inves>ga>on&phase &
•  Prosecutor&presents&case&/&
charges&to&a&grand&jury&
•  The&grand&jury&inves>gates&/&
decides&if&cases&goes&to&trial&
–  Trail&Phase &
•  Prosecutor&/&defense&aDorney&
present&their&cases&to&a&pe>t&jury&
•  Pe>t&jury&deliberates&/&renders&
verdict&
What'happens'in'the'Inferior'Courts'
when'a'verdict'is'made?'
•  For&most&verdicts&in&
Federal&District&Courts,&
cases&stop&here&
•  Alterna>ves:&
–  Appeal&to&the&Supreme&
Court&
–  Appeal&to&the&US&Court&
of&Appeals&
What'is'the'US'Court'of'Appeals?'
•  The&US&Court&of&Appeals&
is&the& gatekeeper &
–  Relieves&burden&on&the&
Supreme&Court&
•  Verdicts&here&are&FINAL&
–  Unless&Supreme&Court&
chooses&to&step&in&
–  Case&contains&some&kind&
of&Cons>tu>onal&merit&
How'does'the'US'Court'of'Appeals'
work?'
•  Cases&are&presented&to&
a&panel&of&three&(3)&
judges&
–  No&jury&
•  A&jus>ce&of&the&
Supreme&Court&is&also&
assigned&to&a&Court&
–  Keep&them&fresh &
What'are'Specialty'Courts?'
• 
Specialty &courts&are&
Federal&courts&assigned&to&
specific&issues&
•  Examples:&
–  US&Court&of&Interna>onal&
Trade&
–  US&Court&of&Federal&Claims&
–  The&US&Territorial&Courts&
–  Court&of&Appeals&for&Veterans&
Claims&
–  US&Tax&Court&
Why'were'Specialty'Courts'created?'
•  Specialty &Courts&were&
created&to&take&some&of&
the&pressure&off&
–  Specific&issues&
–  Specific&cases&
•  Give&the&people&the&
best&jus>ce&experience&
possible&
US'Court'of'Interna=onal'Trade'
US'Court'of'Federal'Claims'
US'Territorial'Courts'
Court'of'Appeals'for'Veterans'Claims'
US'Tax'Court'