Types of Courts
American Government
Standing
 In order for a case to be heard in our legal system, the plaintiff must have standing to sue
 This means that the plaintiff generally must have sustained, or is in in immediate danger of
sustaining, a direct and substantial injury from another person or an action of government
 The defendant is then the one who is accused of causing said harm
 Conflicts must also be considered justiciable disputes
 This means that they have to be capable of being settled by legal methods
 Courts have what are called dockets, or a list of cases that are either in progress or are pending
trial
Constitutional Courts
 The Constitutional courts include:
 Federal District Courts
 The Federal Courts of Appeal
 United States Court of International trade.
 These courts are established under the provisions of Article 3 of the Constitution
District Courts
 Federal District Courts are trial courts.
 States are divided into 91 districts, each having a Federal District Court
 Issues of federal statutory or Constitutional law and cases involving citizens of different states
 Few cases are appealed from this court
 Federal District Courts have original jurisdiction
 Original jurisdiction involves cases heard by the court for the first time in a particular geographic
area or sphere of the law
 Courts of original jurisdiction are generally trial courts in which decision are made by juries
 District courts are considered to be inferior courts, because their decisions can be appealed to a
higher court
District Courts
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Federal jurisdiction covers criminal and civil cases that involve:
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Federal Crimes
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Treaties with foreign nations
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Interpretations of the Constitution
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Bankruptcy
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Admiralty or maritime law.
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Ambassadors and other reps of foreign governments
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The U.S. government or one of its offices or agencies
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Citizens of different states
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A state and a citizen of a different state
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Citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states
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A state or its citizens and a foreign country or its citizens
Despite the ability to hear this broad base of cases, 98% of all criminal cases are heard in state and local court systems
Courts of Appeal
 The U.S. Courts of Appeal review final decisions made by district courts
 They also have the authority to review and enforce the orders of many independent regulatory commissions
such as the SEC and the NLRB
 There are 12 judicial circuits for appeals
 These courts specialize in correct errors of procedure and law that occurred in the original proceedings of legal casers
 These courts hold no trials and hear no testimony
 These courts set precedent for all courts and agencies within their jurisdictions
 The U.S. Courts of Appeal have appellate jurisdiction
 Appellate jurisdiction applies when courts have the right to review cases from lower courts on appeal
 The final appeal coming from the Supreme Court
 Appellate courts never have original jurisdiction
 The exception to this rule is the Supreme Court
 The U.S. Court of Appeals is the superior court to the District Courts, but is an inferior court to the Supreme Court
Constitutional Court
 The Court of International Trade was formally known as the United States Customs Court
 The Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over cases dealing with tariffs
 Citizens who believe that tariffs are too high bring most of the cases heard in this court
 The court is based out of New York even though it is a federal court
Special Courts
 The U.S Claims Court handles cases levied against the United States for money damages
 A person who believes that the government hasn’t paid a bill for goods or services may sue the
government
 The U.S Tax Court acts under its power to tax
 It hears cases relating to federal taxes
 These are cases in which people disagree with the IRS or other Treasury Department agency
rulings about federal taxes
 This court handles cases appealed from Tax courts
Special Courts
 Court of Military Appeals
 This is the armed forces highest appeals court
 These are cases involving those convicted of breaking military law
 The Court of Military Appeals is referred to the GI Supreme Court. The GI Supreme court has the power to
review these decisions
 When military personnel are put on trial for the violation of military law, it is referred to as a court-martial
 Court of Veterans Appeals
 These have to do with unsettled claims involving veterans
State Courts and Concurrent Jurisdiction
 State courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state laws (state jurisdiction)
 States have their own judiciary system and have various rules regarding how appeals are to be
heard
 States also have their own Supreme Courts designed to deal with major appellate questions
 Concurrent jurisdiction occurs in cases involving persons of different states in disputes of at
least $50,000
 Being tried at both the state and federal level for the same crime is known as dual sovereignty
 Dual sovereignty is not deemed a violation of double jeopardy
Juries
 Most courts have the ability to try both criminal and civil cases
 Courts generally use two different types of juries when hearing cases. These juries are:
 Grand Juries
 Grand juries decide whether a case should go to trial based upon the prosecutions evidence
 If a grand jury decides there is not sufficient evidence to go to trial, charges are generally dropped
 Petit Juries
 Petit juries are trial juries, usually consisting of 6 or 12 people
 This type of jury weighs the evidence presented at a trial and then render a verdict of guilty or not
guilty