Cynthia Wilke, J.D., Instructor
Introduction to the Law and
Legal System of the United States
The Role and Structure of Federal and State Courts in the U.S.
I.
II.
General considerations
A.
Dual court system: One federal court system and 50 individual state court
systems.
B.
Both federal and state court systems are unified systems: courts (judges)
are generally not specialized (i.e. labor, administrative, civil, criminal) as
is often the case in a civil law legal system
C.
Jurisdiction concepts and issues (See Legal Terminology 2)
1.
Original vs. appellate
2.
General vs. limited
3.
Exclusive vs. concurrent
4.
Personal jurisdiction
The Federal Court System
A.
Federal jurisdiction: Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.
This means that their authority to hear a case is restricted. There
are two main areas of federal jurisdiction
1.
Federal Question Jurisdiction: Cases arising under the Constitution,
laws, and treaties of the United States
2.
Diversity Jurisdiction: Citizens of different states or countries and
the amount in issue exceeds $75,000
3.
Which law applies?
° It depends on the situation and complicated legal questions of
conflict of laws are often presented. Basically, federal courts
may apply state law in their decisions and state courts
may apply federal law in their decisions.
The U.S. Court System
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Cynthia Wilke, J.D., Instructor
Introduction to the Law and
Legal System of the United States
B.
Structure of the federal court system
1.
94 U.S. district courts (trial courts)
e.g. “U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York”
2.
13 U.S. courts of appeals (appellate courts): judicial circuits
e.g. “Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit”
3.
4.
United States Supreme Court (highest court in the nation)
a.
The final arbiter of federal constitutional and statutory
issues.
b.
Most of its jurisdiction is discretionary – the justices
choose which cases the court will consider.
c.
Hears cases from state courts on a discretionary basis
and only in matters involving U.S. constitutional or
federal law.
d.
Does not issue “advisory opinions”.
Specialized federal courts, i.e. U.S. Bankruptcy Courts; U.S
Court of Claims, U.S. Court of International Trade.
Note: In the U.S., bankruptcy is exclusively a federal matter.
Important: Federal courts are not appellate courts for state court
decisions. (Exception: Final decisions of the highest state courts
may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court when federal issues are present.).
C.
Federal judiciary
1.
The U.S. Court System
Federal “Article III” judges
a.
appointed by the President subject to Senate confirmation
b.
life tenure during good behavior
c.
receive compensation which may not be diminished during
their term of office
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Cynthia Wilke, J.D., Instructor
Introduction to the Law and
Legal System of the United States
d.
impeachment process due to “treason, bribery or other
high crimes and misdemeanors” is the only method to remove
a federal judge from office
-
-
III.
The House of Representatives impeaches
(simple majority)
The case is “tried” by the Senate
(2/3 majority needed to “convict” and remove
from office)
2.
Magistrate judges: selected by district court judges for limited
terms to assist with certain judicial duties, i.e. preliminary
stages of criminal cases; supervise discovery
3.
Bankruptcy judges (Bankruptcy is an area of exclusive federal
jurisdiction.)
State Courts: Courts of general jurisdiction
A.
Jurisdiction: most criminal cases, family law, contract and corporations,
tort law, estates and trusts; may also hear cases involving federal law
and federal Constitution
° Majority of cases in the U.S. are heard in state courts
B.
Usually three-tiered systems; always at least one appellate level
1.
Trial courts
2.
Appellate courts
3.
Supreme courts
C.
Final arbiters of state laws and constitutions
D.
When the conditions for federal jurisdiction exist, a plaintiff may choose
to file a case in federal court. Even if the case is filed in state court, the
defendant may exercise the option and file a motion to remove (transfer) the
case to federal court.
The U.S. Court System
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Cynthia Wilke, J.D., Instructor
Introduction to the Law and
Legal System of the United States
IV.
State judiciary: selection process varies from state to state; appointment or election
possible
V.
Summary of differences and similarities between the federal and state court systems
(See document entitled “Comparing Federal and State Court Systems”
VI.
Miscellaneous statistics
The U.S. Court System
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