State Courts Chapter 4

Courts & Court Systems U.S. has a Dual Court system. Federal Courts State Courts

State Courts Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. Referred to as Lower Courts or Inferior Courts. There are more than 13,500 trial courts nationally. Mostly Misdemeanors, minor civil actions.

Lower Courts Restricted range of cases (mostly minor criminal and civil) Variety of names: District Courts Justice Courts Justice of the Peace City Courts Magistrate Courts Municipal Courts

Caseload of lower courts Over 61 million matters a year. 41 million of those are traffic related cases. They also conduct preliminary hearings for felonies. Try misdemeanor, traffic and small claims cases.

Florida Court Structure Insert Figure 4-1, page 90 here.

Trial Courts General Jurisdiction These of the trial courts of the state system. This is where murder cases and robbery cases are tried. 2,000 major trial courts in the 50 states. Common names of trial courts include: District court Circuit court Superior court

Civil Cases Domestic relations constitutes the single largest category of cases filed: Divorce Child Custody Child or Spousal Support Domestic cases are fastest growing part of civil caseload

Other Civil Cases Torts Estate cases or Probate cases Personal Injury cases Contract cases Property Rights Variety of Commercial cases Wrongful death cases

Court Unification Centralizing Court Structure: Administration Rule Making Judicial Budgeting Streamlining court structure Statewide financing vs Local financing

Intermediate Courts of Appeals 39 States have Appellate Courts Those who do not are sparsely populated with low volume of appeals Some ICA’s are statewide jurisdiction, and others are regional based largely on population.

State Supreme Courts Courts of last resort. Not all states call their court of last resort a Supreme Court. State Supreme Court judges are usually elected by the people. State Supreme Courts vs U.S. Supreme Court.