The Organization of Courts
Tuesday March 25, 2014
 OBJ: SWBAT
differentiate between
State and Federal
Courts.
 Drill: what is this
cartoon describing?
How does this relate to
the State and Federal
Court System?
 HW: Finish Chapter 16
by Monday (make sure
you understand the
objectives, etc.)
What is in your near future?
Monday March 31- Judiciary Quiz,
vocab, chapter 16 due, Landmark
Cases and FRQ.
Tuesday April 1- nothing-just kidding
review for Unit IV Test
Wednesday April 2nd- Unit IV MC
Thursday April 3rd Unit IV FRQ, 3rd
Quarter Grades Due
Review Quiz #15
What was the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of New York
Times v. US?

The government may not place prior restraint on the publication of
information unless it endangers national security
Explain the Fairness Doctrine

Required news organizations to present both sides of a story (no longer a
law).
Name three techniques the Media uses to cover politics

Horse race, score card, gotcha, negative, emphasis on conflict, process
stories, setting expectations, priming, attributing momentum, sound bites,
etc.
List two impacts the new media (internet, blogs, cable television,
social media) has had on politics.

More partisan/opinionated, less gatekeeping, fewer regulations, quicker
news cycle, more competition
Three Main Features of
Court Organization
 Basic structure and
role of federal and
state courts.
 Historical
development of courts.
 The politics of court
reform.
The Structure and
Jurisdiction of Courts
Two key elements to understanding
court organization:
1.
2.
Structure of court systems - the
number and types of courts.
Court jurisdiction - the legal
authority to hear different kinds of
disputes that people bring to court.
The federal government
& 3/4 of the states have
four basic types of courts:
Basic Court System
Supreme Court
Intermediate Court of Appeal
Trial Court of General Jurisdiction
Trial Court of Limited Jurisdiction
Features of the Basic Court System
 These courts are arranged hierarchically and litigants who are
unsatisfied with lower court decisions can appeal to higher
courts, subject to special requirements and limitations.
 The federal and state judicial systems are separate and once a
case begins in one system, it generally remains in that system.
There are exceptions like appealing state supreme court rulings
to the U.S. Supreme Court, as happened in Bush v. Gore
(2000).
 Also, courts have different names in different systems - but
their functions are roughly similar based on their order in the
hierarchy. For example, in some states the trial courts are
called circuit courts, but in the federal system, the major trial
courts are called district courts. So don’t let names fool you –
look at that court’s place in the hierarchy
Trial Courts
 Trial Courts are the point of entry into the court system. Each side in a
dispute states its claim in fact and in law and provides evidence and
witnesses for support.
 Cases are either criminal or civil.



In criminal cases, the crime is against “the people,” is formally prohibited by the state,
and can involve a fine or jail term.
Civil cases include all other cases and do not involve jail terms. Civil cases often involve
a government against an individual or group - the enforcement of government policies.
Civil cases not involving the government are conflicts among private parties and usually
involve torts (personal injury or property damage from an accident or other negligence),
debts, or some other conflict involving the transfer or claim to money.
The line between the two is often blurry, especially in cases involving the government
and stiff fines. Why might it be preferable to try these borderline cases in civil court if
you’re the one bringing the suit? Because in criminal court the standards of proof,
evidence, and defendant’s rights make getting convictions more difficult.
 Courts have either general or limited jurisdiction.


Trial Courts of limited jurisdiction - narrowly defined categories of cases: federal tax
court, traffic court, juvenile crime, minor criminal cases (misdemeanors), small financial
disputes, etc.
General jurisdiction trial courts hear cases involving high amounts of money and serious
criminal cases (felonies).
Comparing Civil and Criminal
Cases
 Get a partner A P A R T N E R….not
PARTNERS
 One take the article on Civil the other on
Criminal Cases and fill in your chart, share
your answers and be prepared to discuss.
Appellate Courts
 Everyone is entitled to appeal - persons found
guilty in a criminal case and either side in a civil suit.
 Appeals courts determine if the trial judge made an
important error in procedure or interpretation of law. If
so, the decision of the trial court is reversed and a new
trial may be ordered.
 Appellate courts do not hold new trials, they review the
record of the trial court and hear arguments from the
attorneys.
 Intermediate appellate courts have mandatory
jurisdiction while high courts have more discretionary
jurisdiction.
United States Federal Court System
United States Federal Court System
The 11 multi-state jurisdictions of U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals are indicated by different-colored
regions (the D.C. Circuit is the 12th). Each state within a circuit is also served by a single District Court
jurisdiction or, as indicated by the red lines, multiple District Court jurisdictions. Nationwide there are
94 such judicial districts. For an interactive map, click on the above image.
Federal Courts
 There is at least one federal district court in each state.
 More populous states, such as Illinois, have more than one
district court.
 Courts of appeals are located regionally. Illinois is in the 7th
Circuit.
 Bankruptcy Courts are not shown in the diagram, but are a
special section of the federal district courts.





There are about 300 judges that hear only bankruptcy cases.
Bankruptcy courts oversee the orderly liquidation of remaining assets and
supervise the financial obligations of individuals and businesses that no
longer can pay their debts.
Decisions can be appealed to the regular district courts.
The workload of the bankruptcy courts is much larger than that of the
regular district courts.
Personal bankruptcies account for 90% of all bankruptcy cases. Defunct
businesses account for the rest.
Federal District Courts
 District courts are the trial courts at the federal
level.
 There are currently 94 federal judicial districts
with nearly 700 judges.
 Jurisdiction:

Federal questions - any case involving federal law, the
Constitution, admiralty or maritime issues, or a ruling of an agency of the
federal government.

Federal government as litigant - federal government is a party
to the case either as plaintiff or defendant.

Diversity - cases between litigants residing in different states in which
the amount of money at stake is over $50,000.
Federal District Courts
In terms of the number of cases filed each year, you can see that civil
cases outnumber criminal cases at the district (trial) court level.
Federal District Courts:
Recent Statistics
 Civil Cases Filed:




1999: 260,271
2004: 281,338
2007: 257,507
2008: 267,257
 Criminal Cases Filed:




1999: 59,923
2004: 71,022
2007: 68,413
2008: 70,896
 U.S. Bankruptcy
Courts Cases Filed:




1999: 1,354,376
2004: 1,618,987
2007: 801,269
2008: 1,042,993
Federal Courts of Appeals
 There are currently 13 federal courts of appeals:
11 regional circuits numbered 1-11, the D.C.
Circuit, and a special court for the Federal circuit.
 Though the D.C. Circuit and the Federal Circuit
are based in Washington, D.C., they are two
different appeals courts with different jurisdictions
and should not be confused with each other.
 There are roughly 200 appeals court judges.
 The Circuit Courts are unequal in workload and
the number of judges. Congress decides the
boundaries of the circuits and the number of judges so
politics plays a significant role.
Federal Courts of Appeals
 Prisoner petitions make up a
significant portion of federal
appeals.
 The federal government is a party
in over 15% of the cases.
 The Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia hears a
larger number of cases involving
rulings of federal agencies (40%
of its docket) because it’s in D.C.
 Recent statistics—number of
cases filed in the U.S. Courts of
Appeals:




1999: 54,693
2004: 62,762
2007: 58, 410
2008: 61, 104
United States Supreme Court
 9 Justices (though # has and can vary)
 Most courts have mandatory jurisdiction
but the Supreme Court has nearly total
discretionary jurisdiction, meaning it
can choose which cases it wants to
decide.
 The Supreme Court is nearly always an
appellate court. But on rare occasions,
the Supremes act as a trial court such as
in cases involving foreign diplomats or
when one state sues another state.
 Of the 8,000 cases the Supremes are
asked to decide each year, less than 100
are actually taken.
Federal Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Politics drives the establishment of these courts. Because the federal government
wins more cases in D.C. courts, it has an interest in taking cases out of regular
federal district and appellate courts based “locally” throughout the country. Also,
powerful lobbies may get their own courts - veterans for example. The following is
a list of federal courts of limited jurisdiction and the year they were established by
Congress:
•Claims Court (1855) - financial claims against the federal government: salaries, payments on
contracts, property confiscation, taxes.
•Court of International Trade (1890) - cases involving the levying of customs and duties on imports.
•Tax Court (1924) - appeals from taxpayers from the IRS.
•Rail Reorganization Court (1973) - to determine the value of properties transferred from bankrupt
railroad companies to the federally supported Amtrak system. It hears very few cases.
•Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Court of Review (1978) - government requests for
wiretaps required for domestic surveillance related to national security. Since 9/11, the FISA Court has
been particularly busy and controversial. It meets in secret and rarely denies a government request.
•Courts of Veterans Appeals (1988) - appeals from vets denied disability coverage and other benefits
by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
•Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals (1971) - energy conservation laws - hears very few cases.
•Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1982) - hears appeals from the Court of International Trade
and Claims Court, the Patent and Trademark Office, International Trade Commission, & other federal
agencies.
•Military Courts & Courts of Appeals – court-martials and appeals from convictions in the military
courts.
State Courts
 State courts hear criminal
cases (minor and serious) as
most crime is a violation of
state law, civil disputes of
individuals from the same
state that involve less than
$50,000, and other matters of
state law.
 There are about 1 million
Federal cases per year and
about 100 million state cases.
State Courts
 State court systems are
either streamlined or
complex.
 Overlapping
Jurisdiction occurs
when more than one
state court may hear
the same type of case
and is more likely in
complex systems.
State vs. Federal Courts
 Read over the fact sheet answer the
questions and be prepared to discuss
An Example of a Streamlined System
An Example of a Complex System
Interaction Between
Federal and State Courts
 Concurrent Jurisdiction - state and federal courts may
hear the same types of cases:

Diversity cases - while Congress allows federal courts to hear civil
cases involving persons from different states involving $50,000 or more,
states can also hear these cases.

Federal questions - cases involving federal law can be brought in
state courts, but not vice versa.

Criminal cases - robbery, larceny, embezzlement, forgery,
narcotics, etc. often violate both federal and state law. Also, an individual
can be tried for a single act in both federal and state courts. For ex. murder
in a state trial court and conspiracy to deny the victim’s civil rights in fed
district court.
Consequences of Dual Courts
 Different Policies - there is no clear answer as to what judicial policy is
in the United States. For example, federal drug policy may be very
different from a particular state’s drug policy.
 Alternative Courts - litigants can choose the most favorable setting for
their case. For example, if the federal judiciary is packed with liberals
but a litigant’s state court is largely conservative, plaintiffs in civil
matters may seek review in federal court to increase their chances of
winning.
 National Impact - local political and social issues are affected and often
shaped by national policy. For example, when the U.S. Supreme Court
held that women have the right to abortion (Roe v. Wade, 1973), no state
or local law could be passed prohibiting the practice. Overturning Roe
would allow state and local governments to decide the issue.
Judicial Administration
and Court Reform
 Administration and reform are
concerned with the day to day
work of the courts and how it
can be improved.
 Judicial administration involves
two broad areas of activity:


management of court organization
and personnel.
processing of litigation.
Administration in Federal Courts
 The Chief Justice of the United States is the formal
leader and manager of the federal court system.
 The Judicial Conference of the United States is the main
decision-making body for the administration of federal
courts. Composed of the Chief Justice and the Chief Judges
of the circuits plus one district judge from each circuit. They
meet twice a year at the U.S. Supreme Court building for a
two-day conference. They deal with judicial procedure, the
transfer of judges within circuits, recommendations for
congressional legislation required for creating new
judgeships, increasing judicial salaries, budgets for court
operations, and other administrative matters.
 The conference also oversees the work of the
Administrative Office of United States Courts which
manages the day to day operations of the federal courts and
collects and publishes statistics on the work of the courts.
 Each federal circuit has its own regional judicial council and
judicial conference which attempts to function like the
Judicial Conference of the U.S., but on a regional level.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr.
Administration in State Courts
 Court Administrator – does
research on administrative
problems, gathers data, long
range budgeting, etc.
 State Supreme Courts have
power to:

Lisa Goodner
Florida State Courts Administrator

transfer judges to temporary
assignments
make uniform rules for procedure
 Most courts are locally funded
and managed by the judges
with the clerk of the court.
Conclusion
 In terms of people directly affected, state courts
have a much greater impact on most day-to-day
disputes and crime in the U.S.
 Concurrent jurisdiction has a number of
important consequences for judicial policy as
well as strategies adopted by litigants in
pursuing cases in courts.
 Though courts are hierarchical in nature, there
is substantial decentralization and local control.
Wrap Up
 Why do we have state and federal courts?
What is this an example of?