1. State v. Federal Courts
Where will my case go?

2. State Courts Crimes under state legislation
State constitutional issues / cases involving state laws or regulations
Family law issues
Real property issues
Private contract disputes
Issues involving the internal governance of business associations such as partnerships and corporations
Issues regarding regulations of trades and professions
Professional malpractice issues
Personal injury lawsuits
Workers injury claims
Probate and inheritance matters
Traffic violations and registration of motor vehicles

3. Federal Courts Crimes under statutes enacted by congress
Cases involving federal laws or regulations
Matters involving interstate and international commerce
Cases involving securities and commodities regulation
Traffic violations involving federal property
Admiralty cases
International trade law
Patent, copyright issues
Cases involving rights under treaties, foreign states and foreign nationals
Disputes between states
Bankruptcy matters
Habeas Corpus actions

4. Both Courts Crimes punishable by both state and federal laws
Federal constitutional issues
Certain civil rights claims
“class action” lawsuits
Environmental regulations

5. The National Judiciary

6. Creating the National Judiciary
The Framers created the national judiciary in Article III of the Constitution
“The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish”

7. Creating the National Judiciary
There are two court systems in the United States
The National Judiciary – spans the entire country
Individual State Judiciaries – run by each state

8. Creating the National Judiciary
The Constitution created the Supreme Court and allowed Congress to establish “inferior” courts (lower federal courts)
There are two types of federal courts
Constitutional Courts
Special Courts

9. Constitutional Courts
Created to “exercise the broad judicial power of the United States.”
Includes
94 District Courts
12 U.S. Courts of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of International Trade

10. Special Courts
Created “to constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court” – have narrowly defined powers
Includes
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Territorial Courts
Courts of the District of Columbia
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

11. Federal Court Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction = the authority of a court to hear (to try and decide) a case
Jurisdiction directly limits which court may decide a case!!!
Article III of the Constitution provides that the federal courts may hear a case because of either:
1) the subject matter
2) the parties involved in the case

12. Subject Matter
1) the interpretation and application of a provision in the Constitution or in any federal statute or treaty
2) a question of admiralty law (matters that arise on the high seas or navigable U.S. waters)
3) a question of maritime law (matters arising on land but directly relating to the water)

13. Parties Involved in the Case
1) the United States or one of its officers or agencies
2) an ambassador, consul, or other official representative of a foreign government
3) one of the 50 states suing another state, a resident of another state, or a foreign government, or one of its subjects
4) a citizen of one State suing a citizen of another State
5) a U.S. citizen suing a foreign government or one of its subjects
6) a citizen of one state suing a citizen of that same state where both claim land under grants from different states

14. Types of Jurisdiction
Exclusive and Concurrent Jurisdiction
Original and Appellate Jurisdiction
Some cases can only be heard in federal courts. In that case, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction!
Many cases may be tried in a federal court or a state court. In that case, the federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction!
A court in which a case is first heard is said to have original jurisdiction over that case
A court that hears a case on appeal from a lower court has appellate jurisdiction over that case
The Supreme Court exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction

15. Appointment of Judges
The power to appoint judges to federal courts falls on the President
The President nominates Supreme Court justices, as well as federal court judges, who are then subject to the approval of the Senate
Most federal judges are drawn from the ranks of leading attorneys, legal scholars and law school professors, former members of Congress, and State courts
Why???

16. Terms and Pay of Judges
Judges appointed to the constitutional courts, including the Supreme Court, are appointed for life
Set by the Constitution!!!
Judges of constitutional courts may only be removed by their own will or through impeachment.
Only 13 federal judges have ever been impeached, and of them, seven were convicted
Judges who sit in the special courts are appointed for terms varying from 4 to 15 years
Congress determines salaries for federal judges

17. Court Officers
Federal judges have many levels of support in order to fulfill their roles:
United States magistrates are appointed by federal district court judges to handle duties ranging from issuing warrants to setting bail in federal criminal cases
Each federal district judge appoints one bankruptcy judge to their district
The President nominates, and senate approves, a United States attorney for each federal judicial district
The President and the Senate also select a United States marshal to serve each of the district courts. Marshals act much like county sheriffs in regards to federal crimes.

18. The Supreme Court

19. Supreme Court Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction.
However, most cases that reach the Supreme Court come on appeal

20. Supreme Court Jurisdiction
Article III of the Constitution states that only 2 types of cases have original jurisdiction at the Supreme Court level.
1) a case in which a state is a party
2) any case involving ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls

21. How do cases reach the Supreme Court?
For a case to be heard by the Supreme Court, four of the nine justices must agree that the case should be placed on the court’s docket.
Most cases reach the Supreme Court through a Writ of Certiorari
An order to a lower court to send a record in a given case for its review
Cases can also reach the court by certificate
This is when a lower court asks for the Court to certify the answer to a specific question in the matter

22. How the Supreme Court Operates
Oral Arguments
Once the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a date on which lawyers on both sides will present oral arguments
Briefs
Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments begin
The Court in Conference
The Chief Justice presides over a closed door conference in which justices present their view on the case at hand

23. Opinions Majority Opinion Concurring Opinion
The majority opinion announces the Court’s decision in a case and its reasoning on which it is based
Concurring Opinion
Concurring opinions are sometimes authorized by justices to add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion

24. Opinions Precedents Dissenting Opinions
The majority opinion stands as precedents, or examples to be followed in similar cases as they arise in the lower courts
Dissenting Opinions
Dissenting opinions are often written by those justices who do not agree with the Court’s majority opinion