CF

Structure of the Judicial Branch Flashcards

The Structure of the Judicial Branch

Overlapping jurisdiction

  • In the US, federal and state/provincial courts significantly overlap in jurisdiction.
  • Civil procedure class will cover the overlap in detail.

Federal Court System

Establishment

  • Established by Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution.
  • The Constitution mandates one Supreme Court.
  • Congress may establish lower courts, but it's optional.
  • From the beginning, Congress created lower federal courts.
  • The federal judiciary operates on multiple tiers.

Three Tiers of federal courts

  • United States District Courts
  • Circuit Courts
  • United States Supreme Court

United States District Courts

  • Lowest rung, called courts of first instance.
  • Federal cases begin here (lawsuits or criminal charges).
  • Also referred to as trial courts, as trials occur here.
  • In trial courts witnesses testify, lawyers make objections, and juries give verdicts.
  • Trials are not as common as TV dramas suggest.
  • Most criminal cases are resolved through plea bargains (almost 90% in federal criminal cases).
  • Plea bargains involve agreements where the prosecutor may drop charges for a guilty plea.
  • On the civil side, only about 1% of federal lawsuits go to trial.
  • Lawyers still do interesting work, debating legal or factual issues which often set the stage for settlement negotiations.
  • Thousands of trials are still conducted annually.
  • Typically, one judge is assigned to a case in a trial court.
  • There are almost 1,000 federal district court judges across the country.
  • Each judge is assigned to one of the 94 federal district courts.
  • Each of the 94 courts has a unique geographic territory.
  • Boundaries are contained within a single state.
  • Less populous states may have the federal district court's territory covering the complete state.
  • More populous states can have multiple federal districts.
    • Example: Massachusetts has one federal district court.
    • Example: New York State has four federal district courts.
  • Lawyers often refer to federal district courts by their initials.
    • Example: SDNY, EDNY.

Circuit Courts

  • One level above the district courts.
  • Appellate courts that hear appeals from district courts.
  • Appeals from the district courts to the circuit courts are called appeals as of right.
  • Each of the 94 district courts is part of one of the 11 regional circuits.
  • Appeals from a district court always go to the same circuit court.
  • Example: Massachusetts is part of the first circuit.
  • The First Circuit includes districts of Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.
  • Appeal goes to the United States Court of Appeals for the first circuit.
  • In addition to the 11 regional circuit courts, there are two specialized circuit courts.
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit)
  • Small regional circuit court.
  • District court within its borders is the district court for the District of Columbia.
  • Widely viewed as the second highest court in the US.
  • Has jurisdiction that other appeals courts do not have.
  • Entrusted with the power to make decisions affecting things, such as the environment, campaign finance, worker's wages, and social security.
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • Created in 1982.
  • Hears all appeals arising under US patent law, international trade, government contracts, and trademarks.
  • Exception to the rule that appeals from a district court go to the regional circuit court.
  • Patent cases would go to the Federal Circuit, rather than the Circuit Court.