You will be able to:
 COMPARE and CONTRAST federal
and state court systems
 LIST and EXPLAIN the differences
between criminal and civil cases
 DESCRIBE the basic structure of the
Supreme Court
 SUMMARIZE Supreme Court
decisions
April 13
Review Questions
Discuss crossword and Judicial
Branch worksheet
Notes over the Inferior Courts
The Courts Worksheet
Test over Chapter 18 Wednesday,
April 15
What jurisdiction does the
Supreme Court have?
What is judicial review? What
court case established the Supreme
Court’s power of judicial review?
How many Supreme Court justices
are there?
US GOVERNMENT
The Judicial Branch Notes
The Inferior Courts
The lower federal courts, those
courts that function beneath the
Supreme Court.
They handle most of the cases tried
in the federal courts.
Federal Judicial Districts
89 federal judicial districts,
including DC, Guam, Puerto Rico,
The Virgin Islands, and the
Northern Mariana Islands.
Some states are divided into two or
more districts.
District Court Jurisdiction
The district courts have original
jurisdiction over most federal
cases.
They are the principle trial courts
in the federal court system.
Most of the decisions made are
final. Some cases are appealed to
the court of appeals.
They hear criminal and civil cases.
Criminal v. Civil Cases
Criminal – a crime was committed.
Ex: Bank robbery, mail fraud,
counterfeiting, and tax evasion.
Civil– no crime was committed.
Ex: Bankruptcy, tax, labor
relations, civil rights, and public
lands.
Court of Appeals
12 Courts of appeals.
The US is divided into 12 judicial
circuits. Ex: Eleventh Circuit is
Alabama, Georgia, and Florida
A Court of Appeals has 12 judges
and one Supreme Court judge that
is assigned to each circuit.
They have appellate jurisdiction.
They hear cases that are being
appealed from the lower courts.
Their decisions are final, unless the
Supreme Court decides to hear an
appeal taken from them.
Court of International Trade
Civil cases relating to trade
and tariffs
Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit
Appeals in federal cases
from across the country
The Special Courts
United States Court of Federal
Claims
Territorial Courts
Court of Appeals for the Armed
Forces
Court of Appeals for Veteran
Claims
United States Tax Court
United States Court of Federal
Claims
Hears cases that involve claims
against the US government
Claims that are won against the
government can’t be paid until
Congress appropriates the money
Territorial Courts
Hears cases that are like the
ones heard in local State
courts
Court of Appeals for the Armed
Forces
Hear appeals of serious court-
martial convictions
Military courts, court martial, serve
the special disciplinary needs of
the military and are not part of the
federal court system.
Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims
Hears appeals from the decisions
of the Board of Veterans Appeals
in the Department of Veterans
Affairs
United States Tax Court
Hears civil cases involving
disputes over tax laws