Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Federal & State Courts - Coggle Diagram
Federal & State Courts
The Federal Court System
Article III of the Constitution invests the judicial power of the United States in the federal court system. Article III, Section 1 specifically creates the U.S. Supreme Court and gives Congress the authority to create the lower federal courts.
Congress has used this power to establish the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, the 94 U.S. District Courts.
Parties dissatisfied with a decision of a U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of Claims, and/or the U.S. Court of International Trade may appeal to a U.S. Court of Appeals.
A party may ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, but the Supreme Court usually is under no obligation to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of federal constitutional questions.
The State Court System
The Constitution and laws of each state establish the state courts. A court of last resort, often known as a Supreme Court, is usually the highest court. Some states also have an intermediate Court of Appeals.
States also usually have courts that handle specific legal matters, e.g., probate court (wills and estates); juvenile court; family court; etc.
Parties dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court may take their case to the intermediate Court of Appeals.
-
-
-
State court Judges are selected in a variety ways:
-Election
-Appointment for a given number of years.
-Appointment for life.
-Combinations of these methods followed by election.
The Federal Court System:
-The Constitution states that federal judges are to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
-They hold office during good behavior, typically, for life. Through Congressional impeachment proceedings, federal judges may be removed from office for misbehavior.
Structure of state court systems:
-Minor Courts
-Major Trial Courts
-Intermediate Appellate Courts
-State Supreme Court
-
Major Trial Courts deal with state constitutional issues, state statutes and common law. This could be rape, murder and felony cases. In the state of Ohio these courts are known as Common Pleas.
Intermediate appellate courts also known as court of appeals:
-Review cases that have been decided by trial courts.
-Do not hear new evidence.
-Review cases that deal with state law.
-
-Most criminal cases, probate (involving wills and estates)
-Most contract cases, tort cases (personal injuries), family law (marriages, divorces, adoptions), etc.
-