Chapter 3

1. A Dual Court System Chapter 3

2. Probate Courts • Administer wills and estates

3. Juvenile Courts • Juveniles still have constitutional rights • Juveniles have no right to jury or bail • Rehabilitation not punishment • Can be tried as an adult if serious offense

4. City or Municipal & Small Claims • Divided into traffic and criminal (city or municipal) • Violate an ordinance • $2,500 or less (small claims) • Attorney not needed • Judge hears the case without jury or formal rules of evidence

5. Associate Circuit Court • Hear minor criminal, state traffic offenses, and lawsuit below $25,000 • Not court of records

6. State Trial Court • Original jurisdiction • Most states have 1 trial court for each county • All cases involving major crime and large amounts of money • Determine the facts and then apply the law • Usually works with a jury • Can hear appeals from a lower court or retry case to create a proper record

7. State Court of Appeals • Hears appeals from the state trial court • Reviewed by a panel (3) of judges • No new evidence • Can appeal if: • Believe that they did not have a fair trial • Judge in the lower court did not apply the law correctly

8. Intermediate continued… • Hear appeals on questions of the law, not facts • Attorney’s may give oral arguments and study original documents • If the incorrect law interfered with applying the facts of the case can order a retrial

9. Supreme Court • 46 states call their highest court the Supreme Court • Most instances these courts make the final decision • Only decide whether the law was applied correctly • Most state supreme courts select what cases they want to hear • Original jurisdiction over state impeachment cases • File in timely manner and proper form