1 / 13

The United states court system

The United states court system. U.s. district courts. 91 - each state has at least 1 and in there is one located in Washington D.C. Special district courts in territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands). District Courts Cont…. NC has 3 district courts –

kendall
Download Presentation

The United states court system

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The United states court system

  2. U.s. district courts • 91 - each state has at least 1 and in there is one located in Washington D.C. • Special district courts in territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands)

  3. District Courts Cont… NC has 3 district courts – Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro

  4. The U.s. district court: jurisdiction • Original Jurisdiction: entry point for most federal civil and criminal cases, most federal cases start here • Supervises naturalization of aliens • Deals with maritime/admiral law • Diversity of citizenship cases • (Civil cases involving people from different states and over $75k) • Only U.S. court to hold trials and impanel juries

  5. U.s. district courts: judges • 680 judges total • 1 judge per case usually • Each district has between 2-28 judges • Serve for life! • Are technically selected by the President and approved by the Senate. However, senatorial courtesy is the unwritten tradition where the President will check with a senator from his party from the state where the judge will serve first.

  6. U.s. district courts: misc… • Other officials found in the District Courts: • U.S. Attorney appointed by President and approved by the Senate (serves at discretion of Pres.) • U.S. Marshals in each district to protect the court and serve papers • Federal magistrates set bail and • issue warrants, preside over some • petty cases. Serve 8 year terms. • In 2004, the U.S. District Court • heard approx. 352,000 cases – mostly routine cases

  7. UNIted states court of appeals • Geographic jurisdiction: 12 circuits total in the U.S. • Each circuit serves at least 2 states and up to 9 states • NC – 4th • circuit in VA

  8. U.S. court of appeals • JURISDICTION: • Appellate – reviews cases appealed from the U.S. District Court (75% OF CASES) • Focuses on correcting errors of procedure and laws that occurred in original proceedings (examples: improper instructions to a jury or misinterpreted rights under law) • Reviews and enforces orders of federal regulatory agencies such as the SEC and the NLRB • Often sets precedent within its jurisdiction

  9. UNIted states court of appeals • JUDGES: • 179 TOTAL • 3 JUDGE PANEL PER CASE (important cases are “en banc” – all judges) • 6-28 PER CIRCUIT • APOINTED BY PRES AND APPROVED BY SENATE (WITH SEATORIAL COURTESY – BUT NOT QUITE AS IMPORTANT HERE BC USUALLY COVERS MORE THAN 1 STATE) • LIFE TERM

  10. UNIted states court of appeals • MISC: • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit – hears patent, international trade cases and claims against the United States. • -Formed in 1982 • -12 judges • Hears about 40,000 cases a year • NO TRIALS OR TESTIMONY • NO JURIES

  11. UNIted states supreme court • 1 court in Washington D.C. • 9 justices – 1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices • Justices are selected by President and approved by the Senate - 20% fail • Life terms • Thousands apply but only around 150 cases will be heard • 4 justices must agree to hear a case (substantial federal ?) • Majority vote and if tie then original decision stands • Controls its own agenda!

  12. The UNIted states supreme court • JURISDICTION: • ORIGINAL • RESOLVES CONFLICTS AMONG STATES • FOREIGN DIPLOMATS • APPELLATE - MOST CASES ARE BEING APPEALED FROM EITHER THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS OR THE STATE SUPREME COURTS • Also ensures uniformity of • interpretation of national laws • Maintains national supremacy

  13. The current U.S. Supreme court Fun Fact: the number of justices has ranged from 6-10 Salaries: Chief Justice - $223,500 Associate Justices - $213,900

More Related