Federal Court System Notes

Federal Court System Notes

The Federal Court System
  1. Jurisdiction of the courts
      a. The U.S. has a dual court system of state and federal courts
      b. State Courts have jurisdiction   over cases involving state laws
      c. Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving U.S. laws, foreign treaties and the interpretation of the Constitution.
      d. In some cases, federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction.
      e. In the federal court system, trial courts are district courts that have original jurisdiction.
      f. Federal court of appeals has only appellate jurisdiction or authority to hear cases appealed from district courts.
  2. Developing Supreme Court Power
      g. The Supreme Court has become the most powerful court in the world, its power developed from custom, usage and history.
      h. No federal court, including the Supreme Court, may start action.
      i. Federal courts only determine cases, they never answer a legal question
      j. Chief justice Marshall’s ruling in Marbury V. Madison gave the court power to review acts of congress which is known as judicial review.
  3. Due Process and regulatory power
      k. The Supreme Court’s rulings on the reconstruction amendments eventually applied theses amendments to economic policy.
      l. In Plessey V. Ferguson the court established the separate but equal precedent.
      m. In the granger cases the court held that a state had the power to regulate railroads and other private property.
      n. Under chief justice earl warren the supreme court emerged as a major force in protecting civil rights, beginning with   brown v. board of education of Topeka.
  4. Constitutional courts
      o. The3 federal district courts were created by congress as trial courts for both civil and criminal cases.
      p. In criminal cases there are two types of juries: a grand jury, which hears charges against a person accused of a crime, and a petit jury, or trial jury, which weighs the...