Chapter 5: The Court System
Outline:
I.
Trial Courts
A. Trial courts listen to testimony consider evidence and decide the facts in
disputed cases
1. Evidence is provided by witnesses who are called to testify in the
cases. Two parties, the defendant and the plaintiff in a civil case, and
the defendant and a prosecutor in a criminal case, are used in each
case.
B. There are two types of court systems used; the adversary system and the
inquisitional system. The adversary system is used in the united states and
it means there is a “contest’ between two opposing sides, where each side
presents their argument and then the case is decided by a jury. In the
inquisitional system, which is used in Europe, the judge is active in
questioning witnesses and controlling the court process, including the
gathering and presenting of evidence.
C. Jurors are used in the Adversarial system to decide the case. Once these
jurors are assigned to specific cases they are screened through a process
known as voir dire examination. In this process opposing lawyers question
each prospective juror to discover any prejudices or preconceived opinions
concerning the case. If the juror appears incapable of making a fair
decision in this case, they can be removed from the jury in a process called
removal for cause. Jurors can also be removed from the jury by
peremptory challenges, which just allow the jurors to be kicked off of the
jury without stating a reason.
II.
Appeals Courts
A. In an appeals court one party presents arguments asking the court to
change the decision of the trial court. The other party presents arguments
supporting the decision of the trial court. There are no jurors or witnesses,
and no new evidence presented on appeals courts.
B. In order for an appeal to be brought up, an error would have had to occur
in the trial courts, such as an errors of law, in which the judge makes a
mistake applying the law to the case.
C. The decision of the appellate courts set precedents for future cases.
D. The decision of the court is the majority opinion. The opinion of the
judges who do not agree with the majority opinion is the dissenting
opinion. The decision of the judges who do agree with the majority
opinion but for a different reason is called a concurring opinion.
III.
Federal and State Court Systems
IV.
V.
A. Federal courts hear criminal and civil cases involving federal law. They
also hear cases involving parties from different states when the amount in
dispute is more than $75,000.
B. Federal Trial courts are known as district courts. If you lose in a district
court, you may be able to appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of appeals. The
United States has 13 circuit courts of appeals.
C. Most state court systems resemble the structure of the federal court
systems.
Tribal Courts
A. Tribal courts are governed and ran by Native American tribes, completely
separated and reserved from the U.S. government. The tribes do no posses
complete authority over their reservation but they do still have some of
their original authority. Some of their justice systems have influence of the
American justice system, but some are very traditional to their culture.
The U.S. Supreme Court
A. The most important precedents are established by the U.S. Supreme Court,
where nine justices hear each case and a majority rules. All courts in the
U.S. have to follow the decisions made by the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court has changed the law many times.
B. The Supreme Court does not take all of the cases that are appealed to
them. Each year about 8,000 cases are appealed to them and they only take
about 80 of them. The part who appeals to the Supreme Court is generally
the losing party in an appellate case that was argued in a federal circuit
court of appeals or a state supreme court.
C. If the court decides to hear the case the party writes briefs to the court on
how the case should be decided, and they are given an oral argument
scheduled to the court.
D. The nine U.S. Supreme Court justices are nominated by the president and
confirmed by the senate. They interpret the constitution and federal laws.
They do not have a term limit.
You should be able to answer:
1. What court system is used in the United States? In Europe?
2. What is the difference in the cases heard by the federal courts as opposed to local
courts?
3. What is the basic job of the Supreme Court and what is the basic job of its
justices?
4. Which trial system do you think is more efficient? The Adversarial system or the
Inquisitional system?
Useful Links:
http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/court.html
http://www.uscourts.gov/Home.aspx
http://www.nccourts.org/
Glossary:
Adversary System – the judicial system used in the United States. It allows opposing
parties to present their legal conflicts before an impartial judge and jury.
Appeals Court – a court in which appeals from trial courts are heard
Concurring opinion – an additional court opinion in which a judge agrees with the
decision reached by the court, but not necessarily with the reasoning behind that decision
Defendant – the person against whom a claim is made. In a civil suit the defendant is the
person being sued; in a criminal case the defendant is the person being charged with a
crime.
Dissenting opinion - in a trial or appeal, the written opinion of a minority of judges who
disagree with the decision of the majority.
Error of law – a mistake made by a judge in legal procedures or rulings during a trial that
may allow the case to be appealed.
Inquisitional System – A European method for handling disputes in which the judge
plays an active role in gathering and presenting evidence and questioning witnesses.
Parties – the people directly concerned with or taking part in any legal matter
Petitions for certiorari – formal application by a party to have a lower court decision
reviewed by the U.S. Supreme court, which has discretion to approve or deny any such
application.
Peremptory challenges – part of the pretrial jury selection. This allows each side to
dismiss a certain number of possible jurors without giving any reason. There is one
exception: peremptory challenges cannont be used to discriminate based on race.
Plaintiff – in a civil case, the injured party who brings an action against the alleged
wrongdoer
Precendent – court decisions on legal questions that guide future cases with similar
questions
Prosecutors – the government’s attorney in a criminal case
Removal for cause – part of the jury selection process, it permits removal of any juror
who does not appear capable of rendering a fair and impartial verdict
Trial Courts – courts that listen to testimony, consider evidence, and decide the facts in a
disputed situation
Voir Dire – the process in which opposing lawyers question prospective jurors to get as
favorable or as fair a jury as possible