Chapter 4 & 5 Quiz
Introduction
State courts were shaped by the geography of early america
Rural areas needed justice and the difficulty of traveling to these locations had a lasting impact on the state court system
State organization does not always parallel the relatively simple organizational structure of the federal judiciary
History of state courts
Colonial period: governors were appointed by the king of England and had most of the
power
Public prosecutors came onto the scene during the 17th and 18th centuries, and
some countless event had district attorneys appointed by the governors
Justice of the peace courts were the workhorses during this period
Broad discretion by judges and relatively few rights for the defendants
Early state courts: after the american revolution, state legislatures kept a close eye on the
courts
Could remove judges from their posts
Abolished certain courts that issued unpopular decisions
Tensions between legislatures and courts grew
County courts were played with corruption
Judges selection was controversial, as states had different methods
Following the Civil War, America entered into a period of rapid industrialization and
growth
Led to increases in population and, in turn, a surge of caseloads
Rapid changes in state judiciaries led to various successes and failures
Jurisdictional boundaries were unclear
Contemporary state courts: from the mid 1900s onward, state courts continued to grow in
numbers and specializations
Some were developed to meet the demands of increasing caseloads
Some were created to cover specific geographic areas
Some were developed to target specific problems
There was considerable confusion when jurisdictional boundaries overlapped
Many called for the consolidation of state courts
However, there was criticism of unification; some judges and other courtroom
personnel were resistant
Toward unification
Court unification is concerned with simplifying state court structures and
centralizing control
Five principal elements of court unification:
Consolidating state’s numerous trial courts into a one or two-tier system
Centralized management by an accountable body
Grant to the state supreme court of procedural and administrative rule-making
authority
State funding, with the state assuming complete financial responsibility for the
expenses of the judiciary
-
Unitary budgeting
-
Number of courts
Almost impossible to get an accurate count
Definitions include 16 different types of courts
-
Lack of uniformity in names
States have different definitions (including judgeships)
State Court Structure
Limited jurisdiction courts
Constitute the vast majority of courts
Subject matter consists of minor offenses
Sanctions are usually very minor
Try civil cases for very small amounts of money
Records of court proceedings are not kept
Makes it difficult to appeal the court's decision
If appealed, go before the general jurisdiction courts as a new trial, a trial
de novo
Judges sometimes have no formal legal training
Frequently played by resource shortages
Often disposed of in large numbers
Full blown trials are very rare because more time consuming and expensive
Some hold preliminary hearings in felony cases
-
Justice of the peace courts -
Found only in 5 states (AZ,DE,LA,MT,TX)
Texas Justice of the Peace (JOP) courts have original jurisdiction over Class c
MISDEMEANORS
Justice of the peace sometimes issue search and arrest warrants, perform wedding
ceremonies, and can serve as coroners in less populous counties
Magistrate Courts
Similar to JOP courts; no jury trials
Chief magistr ates assigns cases and sets court dates
Municipal/City/County/Metropolitan Courts
Usually only has jurisdiction in its own municipality
County courts have concurrent jurisdiction with JOP courts
Other specialized limited jurisdiction courts
Some are truly limited to just a handful of cases; ex. Dedicated probate courts or
family courts
Justices in lower courts
Most crimes in these courts are minor
Most are dealt with swiftly so as not to take a significant toll on an already
overworked criminal system
General jurisdiction courts
Often serve as the major trial courts
/ Some specialize in certain types of cases
Typically organized along political boundaries
Criminal cases: best known for conducting high-profile felony cases before full
juries
Civil cases: usually involve dollar amounts over a specified threshold
Intermediate appellate courts
Primary function is to review the judgements of trial courts and decisions of
administrative agencies
Numbers vary by state in terms of how many judges participate in deciding
whether to grant review and how many are needed to grant review
Usually consists of approximately three judges who review lower court’s appeals
State supreme courts
Have the last word over matters arising from the lower courts
Often petitioned with more cases than they can review during a term
Some states will have additional courts of last resort (TX, OK)
Some types of cases go directly to state supreme courts (ex. Death penalty cases)
State supreme courts - policy making
Have strong policy-making authority
Fifty state supreme court versus one united states supreme courts
There is simply not enough time and resources for the federal courts to
decide all federal matters, so these cases are adjudicated at the state level
(example of judicial federalism)
State Court Workloads
State supreme court - policy making
-Lower courts
Total incoming trial caseloads are about 80-100 million (slight decrease
from 2007-2016)
Appellate courts
Have appellate and original jurisdiction
Vary in mandatory and discretionary caseloads
The supreme court sometimes issues opinions that alter trends in appellate
caseloads at the state level
Dispositions - how many defendants who come into the state courts are
convicted?
Serious offenses (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter): around 68 out
of every 100 end in conviction
Total there are over 1,000,000 convictions for felonies in state courts
Most convictions are for drug offenses, followed by property
crimes, and then violent crimes
Administrative office of the courts
Several functions: budget preparation, data collection, research, etc.
Some states also run juvenile and adult probation services through the
administrative offices of the court
California’s Office of the Courts
One of the larger agencies with a wide range of functions
Managing the workload
-
Case flow management is court supervision of all cases filed in the court
An administrative process sole concern is efficiency
A court knows it has a case flow management problems when:
More cases are coming in than being resolved
The age of the pending caseloads exceeds ideal standards
Adjournment: a continuance of a scheduled event
-
Too many leads to the scheduling of many cases; it is critical to control
adjournments
The commissions on trial court performance standards was created in 1987
-
Released measures and standards in 1990
-
Five areas of performance
Access to justice
Expedition and timeliness
Equality, fairness, and integrity
Independence and accountability
Public trust and confidence
Recent Developments
State courts are in a difficult spot today
Funding has been cut, staffing levels reduced, and there can be strain with other
branches of government
However, courts are reinventing themselves and innovating at unprecedented rates
-
Budget cuts
Were significant following the 2008 recession
Reduced court budgers and suspension of vacancies combined with
layoffs
Some reduced operating hours
Led to delays and fewer jury trials
Public support and political problems
Public opinion
Courts are increasingly being forced to respond to public pressures for
efficiency, accountability, and fairness
People are not necessarily supportive of the courts
There is a movement to make courts more accessible and fair
Politicizing state judiciaries
The relationship between state judiciaries and legislatures have become
contentious
State budget crises
National interest group pressure
Lawsuits challenging legislation
-Court decisions with sweeping policy implications
Bail reform
Widespread useof secured bail bonds
Some states have eliminated money bail
Released on recognizance or stay in jail
Advances in prediction
Litigation
Marijuana legalization
Legal in many states
May reduce the court’s workload
May create issues in the court system handling those already convicted of
marijuana offenses
President trump had three executive orders that changed the scope and
enforcement of federal immigration policies
ICE focusing on unauthorized aliens who were suspected of terrorism
DHS now directs efforts of immigration enforcement to those not only convicted
of crimes, but those accused of crimes
Chapter 5
Introduction
State courts were shaped by the geography of early America
Rural areas need justice and the difficulty of traveling to these locations had a lasting impact on the state court system
State organization does not always parallel the relatively simple organizational structure of the federal judiciary.
History of State Courts (1 of 7)
Colonial Period—governors were appointed by the king of England and had most of the power
Public prosecutors came onto the scene during the 17th and 18th centuries,and some counties even had district attorneys appointed by the governors
Justice of the peace courts were the workhouses during this period
Broad discretion by judges and relatively few rights for the defendants
(2 of 7)
Early State Courts
After the American Revolution, state legislatures kept a close eye on the courts
Could remove judges from their posts
Abolished certain courts that issued unpopular decisions
Tensions between legislatures and courts grew
County courts were plagued with corruption
Judge selection was controversial, as states had different methods.
(3 of 7)
Following the Civil War, American entered into a period of rapid industrialization and growth
Led to increases in population and , in turn, a surge of caseloads
Rapid changes in state judiciaries led to various successes and failures
Jurisdictional boundaries were unclear
(4 of 7)
Contemporary State Courts
From the mid - 1900s onward, state courts continued to grew in numbers
and specializations
Some were developed to meet the demands of increasing caseloads
Some were created to cover specific geographic areas
Some were developed to target specific problems
(5 of 7)
There was considerable confusion when jurisdictional boundaries overlapped
Many called for the consolidation of state courts
However, there was criticism of unification; some judges and other courtroom personnel were resistant
Toward Unification
Court unification is concerned with simplifying state court structures and centralizing court.
(6 of 7)
Five principal elements court unification:
Consolidating states numerous trail courts into one or two-tier system
Centralized management by an accountable body
Grant to the state Supreme Court of procedural and administrative rule-making authority
State funding, with the state assuming complete financial responsibility for the expenses of the judiciary
Unitary budgeting
(7 of 7)
Number of Courts
Almost impossible to get an accurate count
Definitions included 16 different types of courts
Lack of uniformity in names
State have different definitions (e.g., judgeships)
State Court Systems (1 of 9)
Limited Jurisdiction Courts
Constitute the vast majority of courts
Subject matter consists of minor offenses
Sanctions are usually very minor
Try civil cases for very small amounts of money
Records of court proceedings are not kept
Makes it difficult to appeal the court's decisions
If appealed, go before the general jurisdiction courts as a new trail, a trial de novo
( 2 of 9)
Judges sometimes have no formal legal training
Frequently plagued by resource shortages
Ofter disposed of in large numbers
Full blown trials are very rare
Some hold preliminary hearings in felony cases
( 3 of 9)
Justice of the Peace Courts
Found in only five states (AZ,DE,LA,MT,TX)
Texas Justice of Peace (JOP) Courts have original jurisdiction over Class C misdemeanors
Justices of the peace sometimes issue search and arrest warrants,perform wedding ceremonies, and can serve as corners in less populous counties
(4 of 9)
Magistrate Courts
Similar to JOP Courts; no jury trials
Chief magistrate assigns cases and sets courts dates
Municipal/ City/ County/ Metropolitan Courts
Usually only has jurisdiction in its own municipality
County courts have concurrent jurisdiction with JOP Courts
(5 of 9)
Other specialized Limited Jurisdiction Courts
Some are truly limited to just a handful of cases;e.g., dedicated probate courts or family courts
Justices in Lower Courts
Most crimes in these courts are minor
Most are dealt with swiftly so as not to take a significant toll on an already overworked criminal system
( 6 of 9)
General Jurisdiction Courts
Often serve as the major trial courts
Some specialize in certain types of cases
Typically organized along political boundaries
Criminal Cases- Best known for conducting high-profile felony cases before full juries
Civil Cases- Usually involve dollar amounts over a specified threshold
(7 of 9)
Intermediate Appellate Courts
Primary function is to review the judgements of trial courts and decisions of administrative agencies
Numbers vary by state in terms of how many judges participate in deciding whether to grant review and how many are needed to grant review.
Usually consist of approximately three judges who review lower courts’ appeals
(8 of 9)
State Supreme Courts
Have the last word over matters arising from the lower courts
Often petitioned with more cases than they can review during a term
Some states will have additional courts of “last resort
(E.g., Texas and Oklahoma)
Some types of cases go directly to state supreme courts (e.g, death-penalty cases )
(9 of 9)
State Supreme Courts- Policy Making
Have strong policy-making authority
Fifty state supreme courts versus one United States Supreme Court
There is simply not enough time and resources for the federal courts to decide all federal matters, so these cases are adjudicated at the state level (example of judicial federalism )
State Court Workloads (1 of 5)
State Supreme Court-Policy making
Lower Courts
Total incoming trial caseloads are around 80 to 100 million (slight decrease from 2007 to 2016)
Appellate Courts
Have appellate and original jurisdiction
Vary in mandate Tory and discretionary caseloads
The Supreme county sometimes issues opinions..
( 2 of 5)
Dispositions—how many defendants who come into the state courts are convicted?
Serious offenses (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter): around 68 out of every 100 end in conviction
Today there are over 1,000,000 convictions for felonies in state courts
Most convictions are for drug offenses, followed by property crimes, and then violent crimes
State Court Administration
Admistarivate Office of Courts
Several functions—budget preparations,data collection, research,etc.
Some states also run juvenile and adult probation services through the admistrative offices of the courts
California's Office of the Courts
One of the larger agencies with a wide range of functions.
(3 of 5)
Managing the Workload
Case-flow management is court supervision of all cases filed in the court
An administrative process- sole concern is efficiency
A court knows it has case-flow management problem when:
More cases are coming in than being resolved
The “age” of the pending caseload exceeds ideal standards
(4 of 5)
An adjournment is a continuance of a scheduled event
Too many leads to the scheduling of more cases; it is critical to control adjournments.
( 5 of 5)
The commission on Trial Court Performance Standards was created in 1987
Released measures and standards in 1980
Five areas of performance
Access to Justice
Expedition and timeless
Equality,fairness,and integrity
Independence and accountability
Public trust and confidence