Chapter 4 Slide 1
CHAPTER 4
The Court System
Lessons
4-1 Dispute Resolution and the Courts
4-2 Federal Court System
4-3 State Court Systems
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Chapter 4 Slide 2
LESSON 4-1
Dispute Resolution
and the Courts
GOALS
 Explain how disputes can be settled without
resort to the courts
 Name the different levels of courts and describe
their powers
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Chapter 4 Slide 3
Hot Debate
Anthony Destin – hired by Berentinos at
the same time as co-worker, Sarah.
Anthony has five years more experience
than Sarah
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Chapter 4 Slide 4
CAN DISPUTES BE
RESOLVED PRIVATELY?
Litigate – to resolve disputes in court
Litigation is time-consuming and expensive
Mediation – attempt by a neutral third
party to achieve a compromise between
two parties in a dispute
Arbitration – informal hearing to
determine what happened
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CAN DISPUTES BE RESOLVED
PRIVATELY?
Arbitration / Mediation is encouraged to
avoid:
 high costs
 time delays
 difficulties of a trial court
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MEDIATION
Mediator tries to develop a solution
acceptable to both sides of the dispute.
The actions of a mediator are
advisory — not binding.
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ARBITRATION
An arbitrator usually holds an informal
hearing to determine what happened.
The arbitrator’s decision is binding on
both parties.
The decision can be enforced by court
order if necessary.
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Chapter 4 Slide 8
Arbitration / Mediation
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Chapter 4 Slide 9
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Chapter 4 Slide 10
DIFFERENT LEVELS
OF COURTS
Trial courts
Appellate courts
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TRIAL COURTS
A trial court is the first court to hear a
dispute.
A trial court has original jurisdiction over
a case.
NJ – Superior
Court
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TRIAL COURTS (cont’d)
Consists of judge and lawyers
Consists of:
Clerks – enter cases on the court calendar,
keep records of proceedings, compute
courts costs
Sheriffs/Bailiffs – summon witnesses, keep
order in court, and take steps to carry out
judgments
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APPELLATE COURTS
 An appellate court reviews decisions of lower
courts when a party claims an error was
made during the previous proceeding.
 Appellate courts are concerned with errors of
law rather than questions of fact
 Appellate courts DO NOT hear witnesses and
generally do not except new evidence
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APPELLATE COURTS (cont’d)
Examine transcript – a verbatim record
of what went on at trial
Read appellate briefs – written
arguments on the issues of law
These are submitted by opposing attorneys
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Court Reporters
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POSSIBLE APPELLATE
COURT DECISIONS
 Affirm (uphold) the decision of the lower court

 Reverse (overturn) the decision of the lower court
 Amend (change) the decision of the lower court
 Remand the case—send it back to the trial court for
corrective action or possibly a new trial.
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LESSON 4-2
Chapter 4 Slide 17
Federal Court System
GOALS
 Identify the source of power of the federal courts
 Name the various levels of federal courts and
describe their jurisdictions
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Chapter 4 Slide 18
ORIGINS OF OUR
FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM
Federal courts received their power
from the Constitution.
The Constitution granted Congress the
power to establish courts inferior to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
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FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM
United States
Supreme Court
13 United States Courts of
Appeals
(12 Circuit Courts)
(1 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)
State
Supreme
Courts
United States
District
Courts
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Specialized
Federal
Courts
Many Federal
Agencies
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JURISDICTION OF THE
FEDERAL COURTS
3 Levels of Federal courts have general
jurisdiction – can hear almost any kind
of case
Federal District Courts
Federal Courts of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Special jurisdiction – hears only one
specific type of case
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Federal Court System
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JURISDICTION OF
THE FEDERAL COURTS
 Federal District Courts
 Lowest level of federal court with general
jurisdiction
 Trial court of the federal system
 Original jurisdictions over:
Federal questions that arise under the
Constitution
Lawsuits between citizens of different states,
between a U.S. citizen and a foreign nation, or
between a U.S. citizen and a citizen of a foreign
nation
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FEDERAL COURTS OF
APPEALS
Appellate jurisdiction over:
District courts
Federal administrative agencies
No appellate court, not even the USSC,
can change the factual determinations
of a jury
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FEDERAL COURTS OF
APPEALS (cont’d)
13 Federal courts of appeal
12 are circuit courts – responsible for an
assigned geographic area
13th is dedicated to the “federal circuit”
Handles patent cases appealed out of the
district court
Handles appeals from federal courts with
special jurisdiction
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U.S. SUPREME COURT
Both original and appellate jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction handles:
Cases affecting ambassadors
Public ministers and consuls
Most important is it’s exercise of
appellate jurisdiction
Cases on appeals from the U.S. Court of
Appeals
Highest courts of the various states.
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U.S. SUPREME COURT
(cont’d)
 Writ of certiorari – compels the state court to
turn over the record of the case to the
Supreme Court for review
 Jurisdiction over state supreme court cases is
limited
 Federal question must arise based on a federal
law or on the U.S. Constitution
 Decisions made by the USSC are final and
can only be overturned by the USSC or by an
amendment to the Constitution
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LESSON 4-3
State Court Systems
GOALS
 Compare the structure of a typical state court
with the structure of the federal courts
 Identify state courts of specialized jurisdiction
 Discuss the jurisdiction of the various typical
state courts
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STRUCTURE OF
STATE COURT SYSTEMS
State trial courts
State courts of appeals
State supreme courts
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STATE TRIAL COURTS
General original jurisdiction over both
criminal and civil matters – circuit court
Some other states may refer to them as
superior courts, district courts, or
courts of common pleas
These all represent a court of record –
an exact account of what goes on at
trial
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STATE TRIAL COURTS (cont’d)
Review decisions of courts of more
specialized jurisdiction under them
They can retry cases to make a proper
record
Original jurisdiction
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STATE COURTS OF APPEALS
Usually consists of no more than three
judges
No new evidence can be introduced
Similar to Federal Appellate court
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STATE SUPREME COURTS
 A panel of three or more justices reviews the
legal issues and listens to the attorneys’ oral
arguments
 Issue the final decision on matters of law
appealed to them unless the U.S. Constitution
or other federal issues are involved.
 Original jurisdiction over state impeachment
cases
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A TYPICAL
STATE COURT SYSTEM
Supreme Court
Intermediate Appeals Court
(In Populous States)
Trial Court
(Of Original General Jurisdiction)
Family Court
Juvenile
Court
Municipal
Court
Justice’s Court
(The Court of a Justice of the Peace)
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Probate
Court
Criminal
Court
Small Claims Court
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Chapter 4 Slide 35
STATE COURTS WITH
SPECIALIZED JURISDICTION
Associate circuit courts
City or municipal courts
Small claims courts
Juvenile courts
Probate courts
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ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT COURTS
Minor criminal cases
State traffic offenses
Lawsuits in which small amounts are
involved (no more than $25,000)
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CITY OR MUNICIPAL COURTS
Divided into traffic and criminal divisions
Ordinances are not considered criminal
laws
Only state and federal governments can
make an act criminal
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SMALL CLAIMS COURTS
Handle cases involving small amounts
($2,500 or less)
Attorneys are not required
Judge hears case without a jury or
formal evidence
Decisions can be appealed to circuit
courts
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Chapter 4 Slide 39
Juvenile Court
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