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Court Systems Powerpoint

The document summarizes the federal and Texas court systems. It outlines the key levels and types of courts in each system, including federal district courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. It also describes jurisdiction, judges, and some landmark cases like Marbury v. Madison that established judicial review. For Texas, it outlines local trial courts, county-level courts, and the highest criminal and civil appellate courts.

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86 views

Court Systems Powerpoint

The document summarizes the federal and Texas court systems. It outlines the key levels and types of courts in each system, including federal district courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. It also describes jurisdiction, judges, and some landmark cases like Marbury v. Madison that established judicial review. For Texas, it outlines local trial courts, county-level courts, and the highest criminal and civil appellate courts.

Uploaded by

kasun jiwantha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Court System

Federal and State


Federal Court System
 Created by Article III of the Constitution
 Supreme Court is the only Court Created
by the Constitution all other federal courts
were created by Congress.
 Chief Justice John Marshall appointed in
1801-1835 did much to increase the
power of the Court.
Jurisdiction of the Courts
 Jurisdiction-the authority to hear a case.
 Original Jurisdiction – hear a case first.
 Appellate Jurisdiction – review decisions of
lower courts.
 Concurrent Jurisdiction – power shared by
federal and state courts to hear certain
cases.
Marbury v. Madison
 The first case in which the Supreme Court
declared the actions of one of the other
branches of government to be
unconstitutional.
 Established the principal of Judicial Review
Constitutional Courts
(called regular or Art. III courts)

 Federal District Courts-created to serve as federal trial courts.


 Original jurisdiction- principle courts of court system

 642 judges- 300,000 cases/yr

 80% of federal caseload

 Hear both criminal and civil cases

 94 districts- Judiciary Act of 1789

 Juries

 Grand Jury

 Indictment of defendents

 Petit Jury
 Try defendents
Constitutional Courts
 Federal Courts of Appeals- created in 1891 by Congress
 http://www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks/
 12 Judicial Circuits

 1 appellate court in each circuit

 1 court with national jurisdiction

 Panel of 3 judges hear each appeal

 Very important case the judges my sit (en blanc)

 May uphold original decision

 Reverse the decision

 Send case back to be retried again


Constitutional Courts
 United States Circuit Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit-hears cases from:
 Federal Claims Court
 Court of International Trade
 United States Patent Office
Constitutional Courts
 Court of International Trade
 Based in New York but may listen to cases
involving other port cities
 New Orleans
 Houston

 San Francisco

 Mainly hears cases involving tariff issues


Legislative Courts
 United States Claims Court
 United States Tax Court
 The Court of Military Appeals
 Territorial Courts
 Courts for Washington D.C.
 The Court of Veterans’ Appeals
Federal Judges
 Appointed for life
 Appointed by President
 Approved by the Senate
 May be removed through impeachment
 Senatorial Courtesy
 Pay is set by congress
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court
 The Supreme court is the only court with
both:
 Original jurisdiction
 Appellate jurisdiction
 Supreme court is composed of 9 justices
 http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/bi
ographiescurrent.pdf
 Chief Justice – John Roberts
How Cases Reach the
Supreme Court

 Discuss List-cases worthy of consideration


requires “Rule of Four” for a case to be
accepted.
 Writ of Certiorari
 Appeal- When a lower or State court has ruled
a law unconstitutional
How Cases Reach the
Supreme Court
 Writ of Certiorari-main route for case an
order from the court to the lower court to
send up the records on a case for review.
 Belief that a legal error was made in handling
the case or
 The case raises some serious Constitutional
question.
 More than 90% of these cases are rejected
Steps in Deciding Major Cases
1. Submitting Briefs-a written statement setting
forth the legal arguments, relevant facts, and
precedents supporting one side of a case.
 Amicus curiae-briefs submitted by outside
interested parties.
2. Oral Arguments-each side is allowed only 30
minutes to summarize the key points of the
case.
3. The Conference-on Fridays the justices meet
to discuss the cases they have heard. Then
they vote on the case.
Steps in Deciding Major Cases
4. Writing the Opinion
 Majority opinion- Court’s opinion
 Opinion of Court
 Decision and reasoning
 Dissenting opinion
 Disagree w/Majority opinion
 Concurring opinion
 Agree, add/emphasize new point
Texas Court System
 Types of Law
 Constitutional Law
 Statutory Law
 Administrative Law
 Common Law-unwritten judge made law
 Stare decisis (precedent)
 Equity-preventative law
 Injuctions
Texas Court System
 Types of Law
 Criminal Law- offenses against public order
 Felony-greater crime
 Misdemeanor-lesser offense

 Civil Law
 Human conduct
 Divorce, custody disputes
Texas Court System
 Local Trial Courts
 Justice of the Peace
 Traffic violations
 Disturbing the peace

 Civil cases less than $5,000

 Municipal Courts
 Traffic violations (most of its cases)
 Criminal cases with fines under $2,000
Texas Court System
 County-Level Courts
 General Trial Courts (de novo)
 Criminal Courts
 Civil Courts

 Family Court

 Juvenile Court

 Intermediate Appellate Courts


Texas Court System
 County-Level Courts
 Court of Criminal Appeals-highest level court
for criminal cases.
 9 justices who are elected
 Serve a 6 year term that are staggered.

 Texas State Supreme Court-highest level


court for civil cases.
 9 justices who are elected
 Serve a 6 year term that are staggered.
Judges in Texas
 All Judges in Texas hold elected positions
with a specified term.
 If a vacancies occurs the vacancy is filled
by appointment until the next election.

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