It can be a bit confusing when it comes to our American Judicial system. Some people believe that we only have one court system when it is not nearly the case, in reality, there are fifty state court systems and the federal court system. In this short paper, we will discuss the roles and structures of the federal and state court system. Even though the federal and state courts have a huge amount of similarities there are also quite different in more ways than one. After the court structure, I will discuss the roles of court actors which include the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney, and the jury. Next a discussion on the trial process which focuses on the criminal trial and finally a discussion on criminal defendant’s due process rights
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In reality, we have a dual court system that includes fifty separate state court systems, which may differ from one another on a number of important dimensions, and the federal court system. In 1789 the first Senate bill was introduced which is called the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act created a federal judiciary system composed of the Supreme Court, three circuit courts, each made up of two Supreme Court justices and a district court judge, and thirteen district courts. Due to the heavy increase in cases for the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1891 congress passed the Court of Appeals Act of 1891. This act created the circuit court of appeals, added a new layer of intermediate appellate courts that would hear appeals from the district courts, which also gave the Supreme Court more help on what cases they wanted to hear. The federal court system today is made up of three primary courts: district, intermediate appellate, and the Supreme. Federal courts only have to hear cases in which the United States is a party, which include cases like violation of the U.S. Constitution, cases that involve citizens of a different state, and some special type of cases that include things like bankruptcy and patent cases. In some other cases, criminal cases that involve the cross border drug trafficking offenses, …show more content…
More than a hundred million cases are processed in the state and federal courts. The structure of the state court is much more varied than the structure of the federal court system. The most common state court system comes with four levels or tiers of court. These are called court of limited jurisdiction, courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate appellate courts and a final appellate court or court of last resort. Courts of limited jurisdiction are those courts that deal with less than less serious offenses and civil cases. These courts have many names which include: justice of the peace courts, magistrate courts, municipal courts, and county court. These courts handle lower court matters, including minor criminal cases, traffic offenses, violation of municipal ordinances, and civil disputes under a certain amount. Courts of General Jurisdiction is a typical state court system that includes the court of general jurisdiction, these are trial courts for civil and criminal matters. Here is where trials for felonies are heard, they are generally authorized to hear any matters that are not exclusively designated for courts of limited jurisdiction; in some states, they may even have concurrent jurisdiction with lower courts on some matter such as misdemeanors. The state appellate courts, like the
In reality, we have a dual court system that includes fifty separate state court systems, which may differ from one another on a number of important dimensions, and the federal court system. In 1789 the first Senate bill was introduced which is called the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act created a federal judiciary system composed of the Supreme Court, three circuit courts, each made up of two Supreme Court justices and a district court judge, and thirteen district courts. Due to the heavy increase in cases for the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1891 congress passed the Court of Appeals Act of 1891. This act created the circuit court of appeals, added a new layer of intermediate appellate courts that would hear appeals from the district courts, which also gave the Supreme Court more help on what cases they wanted to hear. The federal court system today is made up of three primary courts: district, intermediate appellate, and the Supreme. Federal courts only have to hear cases in which the United States is a party, which include cases like violation of the U.S. Constitution, cases that involve citizens of a different state, and some special type of cases that include things like bankruptcy and patent cases. In some other cases, criminal cases that involve the cross border drug trafficking offenses, …show more content…
More than a hundred million cases are processed in the state and federal courts. The structure of the state court is much more varied than the structure of the federal court system. The most common state court system comes with four levels or tiers of court. These are called court of limited jurisdiction, courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate appellate courts and a final appellate court or court of last resort. Courts of limited jurisdiction are those courts that deal with less than less serious offenses and civil cases. These courts have many names which include: justice of the peace courts, magistrate courts, municipal courts, and county court. These courts handle lower court matters, including minor criminal cases, traffic offenses, violation of municipal ordinances, and civil disputes under a certain amount. Courts of General Jurisdiction is a typical state court system that includes the court of general jurisdiction, these are trial courts for civil and criminal matters. Here is where trials for felonies are heard, they are generally authorized to hear any matters that are not exclusively designated for courts of limited jurisdiction; in some states, they may even have concurrent jurisdiction with lower courts on some matter such as misdemeanors. The state appellate courts, like the