There are lots of difference between federal courts and state courts. State and local courts are established by a state, with these states there are also local courts that are established by cities, counties, and other municipalities, which we are including in the general discussion of state courts. Federal courts are under the U.S. Constitution to decide disputes involving the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. The differences between federal and state courts are really defined by jurisdiction. State courts have broad jurisdiction, so that means the cases individual people are most likely to be involved in, such as robberies, traffic violations, broken contracts, and family disputes are usually tried in state courts. The only cases state courts are not allowed to hear are lawsuits against the United States and those involving certain specific federal laws: criminal, antitrust, bankruptcy, patent, copyright, and some maritime cases. Federal court jurisdiction, by contrast, is real slim depending on the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress. For the most part, federal courts only hear Cases that involve the United States as a party, Cases involving violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal laws under federal-question jurisdiction, and bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law cases. Jimoh789
After watching the video and reading the book it was interesting to see how to get to the Supreme Court. First, you start with the trial, then to the appellate court and then to the Supreme Court. But, in order to get to the appellate court there has to be proof that constitutional rights were violated. Also, in every state they name their courts differently so if you had to go to court in a different state then where you live the titles of their courts may not be the same. I thought that the literal rule we talked about in class was interesting too because you could legitimately fight a trial such as if the law said to keep prostitution off the street and you were only going house to house and staying off the streets. -MH789
I agree with MH789 it is interesting to see how the supreme court works and how the process goes through step by step, I also agree with the literal rule and how they said off no prostitution on the streets so they think its okay to go from house and house and stay off the streets, kind of ignorant if you ask me KYLE789
It is interesting that the state courts names change from state to state you figure they would keep them relatively the same in order to keep them together but they all vary because of the various laws that maybe legal in one state is not legal in another and as long as it does not conflict with the federal law it is alright. But they are basically the same process as far as district courts-trial courts, U.S Appellate Court-State Appellate Courts, and then the State and U.S Supreme courts. Ramadan789
I agree with MH789 on the fact that it was interesting learning about the literal rule but I feel as if it is an ignorant one. I mean a lot of legitimate criminals could get a lessoned sentence or could probably even get their sentence dropped just because the law was missing a bit of specifics. -CEM789
I think the literal rule is interesting because it gives a way to challenge law in a technical way by how it was written. I think in a way it goes along with the fact that the constitution and many laws were written in a different time period. There meanings could have a completely different meaning now than they did back for the time period when they were intended. In some cases this could allow for sentences to be shorted because of a technicality (like CEM789 mentioned), even though the criminal is completely deserving of the full sentence. RMG789
I feel in the difference of the federal court and the state courts are interesting in there difference. It is interesting in how they have to go through a certain process to get into the Supreme Court which there is only one of them with nine justices which cannot be taken out unless they leave. The process for the federal courts is that it starts out with the federal court, which is 94 courts and they have 678 judges. It then goes in to the appellee courts which the lawyer can appellee if the federal court does not have facts that don’t make sense or make it to their standards, this court has 179 judges and there are 13 of these courts. The last court is the Supreme Court and that’s where the real stuff can happen with the 9 justices that I mentioned in the beginning. Its amazing that there is this much about the courts that I had no idea about, and all the things that it attains. KYLE789
I agree I am new to all of these courts systems. I find them very interesting and am amazed on how hard it is to go to the Supreme court. I am glad that there is an appellate court, because you can protect your constitutional rights. you can stand up for yourself and fight though. NR789
I agree that there was a lot about the court systems I was unaware about. It was interesting seeing how the process works moving from the trail court, to appellate court, then to the supreme court. Also, I did not know that there were that many judges and courts for the federal and appellate courts until reading the text and watching this video. -MH789
I agree with MH789 as well because you have to go through all this stuff just to get to the Supreme Court and the appellate courts. It's very interesting knowing you have to violate the constitutional rights to go to the appellate courts. I didn't know it was so much you had to know how the court system works. I had no idea it was all this involved in the court system. -SJ789
After reading the book and watching the video, there are many differences between federal and state court systems. However they are built the same. Both have a base court system that builds up to the state supreme and U.S supreme. The state Trial court systems judges 90% of the trials in the state court system. The state court system then moves up to the Appellate court and the Supreme court. Where the Federal court system starts with the U.S District court that holds 94 different courts around the U.S that hold six hundred eight judges. Then it moves to U.S court of Appeals, which is broken down into 13 different circuit court systems with one hundred seventy-nine judges. After the Appellate court there is the highest court in the U.S is the U.S supreme court. This court hold a total of 9 judges known as Justices. with one Chief Justice. These courts operate off different jurisdictions. The state courts operate off the more Limited Jurisdiction, which means they can only hold trials for crimes committed in there state. Federal operates off the general jurisdiction, meaning the can stretch across the U.S. There is also the International World Court that operates world wide in several countries. SM789
It was very interesting to see how the federal and state courts are built up from watching the video and reading the text. It was also interesting getting to know how an individual moves through the structure of the state and federal court system to get to the Supreme Court. The video and text show us that it’s not merely a process of just going to court when there is an issue with law or a complaint, but a more organized process. Another thing I found interesting was seeing how important the positions of justices in the Supreme Court are. First of all they have to be elected for that position by the president then the senate has to approve of it. Then there’s the fact that they are there for as long as they are living or retire. The only way to remove a justice from the Supreme Court is through impeachment, which still is rare. -CEM789
I agree about the federal and state courts. I also found it interesting how the president appoints Justices who serve life terms. I don’t think that’s a very fair way to conduct the Supreme Court because if a democrat president is elected and appoints a couple democrat Justices the way the supreme court decides its cases will be more liberal and the same is true if a republican were to do the same the case might get decided a little more conservative. KAM789
I agree with CEM789 it was very interesting to see how the federal and state courts are built up. It was also interesting getting to know how an individual moves through the structure of the state and federal courts system to get to the Supreme Court. And also it is very rare for one of the justices to get impeached. DO789
State and Federal courts are something that many people do not think about, they have quite a bit in common but then again they both have differences. State Courts such as trial, appellate, and Supreme court, likewise the federal courts have federal district courts, U.S. Appellate courts, and then the U.S. Supreme court. In comparison the trial and federal district courts are both concerned with the facts while the appellate courts are concerned with questions with the law. The U.S Supreme court is the highest court with 9 justices and one of those 9 being a chief justice. They hear about .5 of cases and what they say goes because they are in term for life or until they retire. There is one U.S Supreme court, 13 U.S. Appellate Courts, and 94 district courts. Now to compare them more side my side the trial and district courts hear the most cases, while the appellate courts hear less and are concerned with questions of law, and the Supreme courts hear very few and the U.S Supreme courts hear less than normal so the trial and district courts are at the bottom, while the appellate courts are in the middle and the Supreme courts are on top. The most recent issue we have heard about this is the stop and frisk which was a question concerning law that moved up and was declared unconstitutional. Ramadan789
I agree with Ramadan 789, because when the Federal Justices get placed on the court for life, they are less likely to be biased towards someone. Because when you keep the same people on the court they are most likely to do good, unless they want to get impeached. Which means that they would lose their lifelong pay being on the court, if they made one mistake and voted against someone for being a different race or sex. -AEK789
After watching the video and reading the book, you can conclude that there are many differences between the Federals Courts and the State Courts. For example, the Federal Court is run on a three-tier system. One court that is not included on the tier, so it may be considered equal to the third tier or on its own system but is included in the Federal Courts is the U.S. Court of International Trade. But, first on the very bottom of this three-tier system is the District Courts, and above the District Courts are the United States Appellate Courts. Finally, at the very top, is the United States Supreme Court. District Courts are where the cases involving federal law begin, then is there is a mistake and then an appeal the case is carried up to the U.S. Appellate court and then finally up to the U.S. Supreme Court. -AEK789
After watching the video and reading the book, it is easy to conclude there are many differences between the Federal Courts and the State Courts. As one example, the Federal Court is run on a three-tier system. One court that is not included on the tier, so it may be considered equal to the third tier or on its own system but is included in the Federal Courts is the U.S. Court of International Trade. On the very bottom of this three-tier system is the District Courts, and above the District Courts are the United States Appellate Courts. At the very top, is the United States Supreme Court. District Courts are where the cases involving federal law begin, then is there is a mistake and then an appeal the case is carried up to the U.S. Appellate court and then finally up to the U.S. Supreme Court where a final decision is made on the case; that is the final court you can appeal your case to before you are out of options. The Federal Courts deal with such things as military trials and other matters pertaining to the federal government. Even in the case of a government shutdown (which has occurred), the courts still function Jon789
I agree with AEK789, because when Federal Justices get placed on the court for life, they are less likely to be biased towards someone. Because when you keep the same people on the court they are most likely to do good, unless they want to get impeached. Which means that they would lose their lifelong pay being on the court, if they made one mistake and voted against someone for being a different race or sex. Jon789
There are many different court systems in the United States. These courts are classified into several types of courts like the U.S. Court of International Trade, State and Federal. Both state and federal have a tiered system. In the bottom tier of the federal system are the district courts. Next is the appellate court where district court cases are appealed on the way to the top tier, which is the Supreme Court. There are 94 district courts, 13 Appellate courts, and one Supreme Court. State courts on the other hand start with trail courts, then appellate court, then Supreme Court. Both District and Trial courts hear focus on facts like what did or did not happen. Once the case gets to Appellate court it’s a question of legality and translation of the law. Appellate court is also where the majority of cases get shot down, because after that is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hears roughly .5 of all the cases and the nine justices decide the verdict. A Supreme Court Justice is appointed by a president and serves a life term or until they retire. This helps reduce political bias because once appointed the justice won’t be running for a re election or anything so he or she no longer has o act in favor of his or her political party. KAM789
I liked the point you made about the tiers of the courts system and how the cases are appealed back and forth. I forgot to make that point in my post and I agree with the way you stated this. Hearing in class that the Supreme Court hears only .5 of all the cases is interesting to me but makes sense knowing the process and the job of the Appellate Court system. LF789
Throughout reading the book, taking notes in class, and watching the video it made me realize how many steps it takes to get to the Supreme Court. There are many different court systems throughout the United States. Both the state and federal courts have a tiered system. There are 94 district courts, 13 Appellate courts, and of course only one supreme court. Another object of the courts is jurisdictions. There are multiple jurisdictions that every court has to follow and abide by. The last and most serious Court is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is where the most important cases tend to be looked into and resolved. In the Supreme Court there are nine justices that are appointed for life. DO789
I was also in the dark about how long the process was for a case to actually reach the United States Supreme Court. Not only that but the amount of district courts as well. I also found that states having the ability to sue other states was quite interesting as well. Noetzol789
Despite the fact that there are many different tiers they are structured the same. Each tier weeds out the smaller more minor cases, so that larger cases can be reviewed in a court that deals with those specific cases. I think this is a good way to sort through all the cases that are lesser. The US. supreme court is also intriguing. All justices are appointed to serve for a lifetime, if they choose. I know from my US. government class that justices are typically older males, but today there is more of a variety. I think that this helps keep rulings from being one sided. With lifetime appointment, any bias or ties with politicians would not matter. I didn't know that the justices has 'apprentices' who looked over the cases and chose which ones would be looked at. This is a good way to keep cases from building up because Supreme Court is looking through all of them. RMG789
By comparing the video and what we discussed in class, the class discussion was mainly covered the overall summary on the Federal and State court system. The Federal court starts off with the District court, which is concerning on facts. Then you move on to the U.S. Court of Appeals. To be able to appeal you must be able to question the law. If your appeal is heard the Supreme court may hear your case. Less than .5 percent of cases are taken to the Supreme court. On the other hand State courts start off with a trail, move on the appellant, then to the Supreme court. When on trial there must be general jurisdiction. Then you must be able to question the law to move on and appeal. To be able to then go to the Supreme court you must show the violation and create Federal interest. One example we heard in class on how to easily appeal is the prostitution on the streets. The lawyer can easily appeal because he is questioning the law. The lawyer can say she is not on the streets prostituting. NR789
After reading the chapter, listening in class lecture, and watching the video, like everyone already stated, its obvious that it is a very structural, set up process between the levels of the courts. The video stated there were 94 District/Trail Courts with about 678 judges and/or justices, 13 Appellate Courts with 179, and 1 Supreme Court with 9 justices. The video talks about the similarities and differences between justices and judges. It also covers the writ of certiorari which demands all records to be directed up so that the Supreme Court can decide to take part in that case or not. It mentions how states can sue each other or even the areas about how the justices are appointed and/or removed or "impeached". LF678
After taking in all the information offered from the video, book, and notes taken in class, it is easy to say there are similarities and differences between all levels of the court system. It was interesting how the video spoke about how judges and justices only differ from one another based on where they work. I was most interested with the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court. It is intriguing how different presidents will make their picks based off of the different political views of one another. Also, how the United States Supreme Court only looks at 0.5 percent of cases. Noetzol789
I agree that it is interesting how the justices were chosen. However, I think the facts get left out about how politics directly play a roll in how a president chooses a justice or two. I'm am willing to speculate that the president that appointed a specific justice also donated to their campaign and vice versa. That is what is what is most awwing to me
Hearing about the complex system of the court system has got my mind thinking. From rising to a Trial juge to an Appellate judge to a Supreme justice takes years...practically your whole life. When you are appointed as a Supreme Court Justice you are in that position for life, unless impeached. Justices hear a very limited number of cases, which suprised me. In first learning this my thought was then why do we really need a Supreme Court? As I have come to know, the Supreme Court does have a very important function. Althought it does take several years for a case to be heard generally. The Supreme Court will take on cases that can be used to change a law. From my knowledge as it stands the Supreme Court is supreme and they have the last word. EAW789
I had remembered the basic structure of the court system and had a pretty standard idea of how it operated because I just had my high school government class just before this last summer but the book, our lessons, and this video give a lot more detailed information. I did not know many of the names but recognized them being named from hearing about them in the news. During class we had discussed how few women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians have been in the court system. After viewing the video I saw that there have only been 4 female justices on the supreme court. O'Connor, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan. I'm glad to see that there is more diversity in the supreme court, but it may raise the question as to whether it was done because the justices are the most qualified or the presidents who appointed them wanted to improve their image. I had always been curious about the interrelationship between the public defenders, judges, and prosecutors. I figured they might have to find some way to make things work, but didn't realize it was as much of a give and take as it ends up being. Being on the Supreme Court is an incredibly powerful position to be in, you are basically one of the highest authorities in the entire country for life with amazing pay and pension, not to mention a lot of the leg work is done by interns. Justices also leave an everlasting impact on the criminal justice field. The decisions they make in major rulings affect major aspects of laws. For example, one of the more recent Supreme Court decisions is what is forcing Illinois to adopt a concealed carry bill, thus the argument that the states have the right to choose what laws apply falls through now that the Supreme Court determined that it is unconstitutional to force individuals to only practice their rights within their homes. This is not the only situation that this has happened. Several more high profile cases have have everlasting effects such as Brown v Board of Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Mapp v. Ohio. The court system, being one of the main aspects of criminal justice, is very important for us to learn about. Learning about what paths a case has to take to get to the top is interesting, but it seems like some of the most important things to know about the courts is jurisdiction, concurrent or otherwise, and geographic distribution. -EAB789
There are lots of difference between federal courts and state courts. State and local courts are established by a state, with these states there are also local courts that are established by cities, counties, and other municipalities, which we are including in the general discussion of state courts. Federal courts are under the U.S. Constitution to decide disputes involving the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. The differences between federal and state courts are really defined by jurisdiction. State courts have broad jurisdiction, so that means the cases individual people are most likely to be involved in, such as robberies, traffic violations, broken contracts, and family disputes are usually tried in state courts. The only cases state courts are not allowed to hear are lawsuits against the United States and those involving certain specific federal laws: criminal, antitrust, bankruptcy, patent, copyright, and some maritime cases. Federal court jurisdiction, by contrast, is real slim depending on the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress. For the most part, federal courts only hear Cases that involve the United States as a party, Cases involving violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal laws under federal-question jurisdiction, and bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law cases. Jimoh789
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video and reading the book it was interesting to see how to get to the Supreme Court. First, you start with the trial, then to the appellate court and then to the Supreme Court. But, in order to get to the appellate court there has to be proof that constitutional rights were violated. Also, in every state they name their courts differently so if you had to go to court in a different state then where you live the titles of their courts may not be the same. I thought that the literal rule we talked about in class was interesting too because you could legitimately fight a trial such as if the law said to keep prostitution off the street and you were only going house to house and staying off the streets. -MH789
ReplyDeleteI agree with MH789 it is interesting to see how the supreme court works and how the process goes through step by step, I also agree with the literal rule and how they said off no prostitution on the streets so they think its okay to go from house and house and stay off the streets, kind of ignorant if you ask me KYLE789
DeleteIt is interesting that the state courts names change from state to state you figure they would keep them relatively the same in order to keep them together but they all vary because of the various laws that maybe legal in one state is not legal in another and as long as it does not conflict with the federal law it is alright. But they are basically the same process as far as district courts-trial courts, U.S Appellate Court-State Appellate Courts, and then the State and U.S Supreme courts.
DeleteRamadan789
I agree with MH789 on the fact that it was interesting learning about the literal rule but I feel as if it is an ignorant one. I mean a lot of legitimate criminals could get a lessoned sentence or could probably even get their sentence dropped just because the law was missing a bit of specifics.
Delete-CEM789
I think the literal rule is interesting because it gives a way to challenge law in a technical way by how it was written. I think in a way it goes along with the fact that the constitution and many laws were written in a different time period. There meanings could have a completely different meaning now than they did back for the time period when they were intended. In some cases this could allow for sentences to be shorted because of a technicality (like CEM789 mentioned), even though the criminal is completely deserving of the full sentence. RMG789
DeleteI feel in the difference of the federal court and the state courts are interesting in there difference. It is interesting in how they have to go through a certain process to get into the Supreme Court which there is only one of them with nine justices which cannot be taken out unless they leave. The process for the federal courts is that it starts out with the federal court, which is 94 courts and they have 678 judges. It then goes in to the appellee courts which the lawyer can appellee if the federal court does not have facts that don’t make sense or make it to their standards, this court has 179 judges and there are 13 of these courts. The last court is the Supreme Court and that’s where the real stuff can happen with the 9 justices that I mentioned in the beginning. Its amazing that there is this much about the courts that I had no idea about, and all the things that it attains. KYLE789
ReplyDeleteI agree I am new to all of these courts systems. I find them very interesting and am amazed on how hard it is to go to the Supreme court. I am glad that there is an appellate court, because you can protect your constitutional rights. you can stand up for yourself and fight though. NR789
DeleteI agree that there was a lot about the court systems I was unaware about. It was interesting seeing how the process works moving from the trail court, to appellate court, then to the supreme court. Also, I did not know that there were that many judges and courts for the federal and appellate courts until reading the text and watching this video. -MH789
DeleteI agree with MH789 as well because you have to go through all this stuff just to get to the Supreme Court and the appellate courts. It's very interesting knowing you have to violate the constitutional rights to go to the appellate courts. I didn't know it was so much you had to know how the court system works. I had no idea it was all this involved in the court system. -SJ789
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book and watching the video, there are many differences between federal and state court systems. However they are built the same. Both have a base court system that builds up to the state supreme and U.S supreme. The state Trial court systems judges 90% of the trials in the state court system. The state court system then moves up to the Appellate court and the Supreme court. Where the Federal court system starts with the U.S District court that holds 94 different courts around the U.S that hold six hundred eight judges. Then it moves to U.S court of Appeals, which is broken down into 13 different circuit court systems with one hundred seventy-nine judges. After the Appellate court there is the highest court in the U.S is the U.S supreme court. This court hold a total of 9 judges known as Justices. with one Chief Justice. These courts operate off different jurisdictions. The state courts operate off the more Limited Jurisdiction, which means they can only hold trials for crimes committed in there state. Federal operates off the general jurisdiction, meaning the can stretch across the U.S. There is also the International World Court that operates world wide in several countries. SM789
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to see how the federal and state courts are built up from watching the video and reading the text. It was also interesting getting to know how an individual moves through the structure of the state and federal court system to get to the Supreme Court. The video and text show us that it’s not merely a process of just going to court when there is an issue with law or a complaint, but a more organized process. Another thing I found interesting was seeing how important the positions of justices in the Supreme Court are. First of all they have to be elected for that position by the president then the senate has to approve of it. Then there’s the fact that they are there for as long as they are living or retire. The only way to remove a justice from the Supreme Court is through impeachment, which still is rare.
ReplyDelete-CEM789
I agree about the federal and state courts. I also found it interesting how the president appoints Justices who serve life terms. I don’t think that’s a very fair way to conduct the Supreme Court because if a democrat president is elected and appoints a couple democrat Justices the way the supreme court decides its cases will be more liberal and the same is true if a republican were to do the same the case might get decided a little more conservative. KAM789
DeleteI agree with CEM789 it was very interesting to see how the federal and state courts are built up. It was also interesting getting to know how an individual moves through the structure of the state and federal courts system to get to the Supreme Court. And also it is very rare for one of the justices to get impeached. DO789
DeleteState and Federal courts are something that many people do not think about, they have quite a bit in common but then again they both have differences. State Courts such as trial, appellate, and Supreme court, likewise the federal courts have federal district courts, U.S. Appellate courts, and then the U.S. Supreme court. In comparison the trial and federal district courts are both concerned with the facts while the appellate courts are concerned with questions with the law. The U.S Supreme court is the highest court with 9 justices and one of those 9 being a chief justice. They hear about .5 of cases and what they say goes because they are in term for life or until they retire. There is one U.S Supreme court, 13 U.S. Appellate Courts, and 94 district courts. Now to compare them more side my side the trial and district courts hear the most cases, while the appellate courts hear less and are concerned with questions of law, and the Supreme courts hear very few and the U.S Supreme courts hear less than normal so the trial and district courts are at the bottom, while the appellate courts are in the middle and the Supreme courts are on top. The most recent issue we have heard about this is the stop and frisk which was a question concerning law that moved up and was declared unconstitutional.
ReplyDeleteRamadan789
I agree with Ramadan 789, because when the Federal Justices get placed on the court for life, they are less likely to be biased towards someone. Because when you keep the same people on the court they are most likely to do good, unless they want to get impeached. Which means that they would lose their lifelong pay being on the court, if they made one mistake and voted against someone for being a different race or sex. -AEK789
DeleteAfter watching the video and reading the book, you can conclude that there are many differences between the Federals Courts and the State Courts. For example, the Federal Court is run on a three-tier system. One court that is not included on the tier, so it may be considered equal to the third tier or on its own system but is included in the Federal Courts is the U.S. Court of International Trade. But, first on the very bottom of this three-tier system is the District Courts, and above the District Courts are the United States Appellate Courts. Finally, at the very top, is the United States Supreme Court. District Courts are where the cases involving federal law begin, then is there is a mistake and then an appeal the case is carried up to the U.S. Appellate court and then finally up to the U.S. Supreme Court. -AEK789
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video and reading the book, it is easy to conclude there are many differences between the Federal Courts and the State Courts. As one example, the Federal Court is run on a three-tier system. One court that is not included on the tier, so it may be considered equal to the third tier or on its own system but is included in the Federal Courts is the U.S. Court of International Trade. On the very bottom of this three-tier system is the District Courts, and above the District Courts are the United States Appellate Courts. At the very top, is the United States Supreme Court. District Courts are where the cases involving federal law begin, then is there is a mistake and then an appeal the case is carried up to the U.S. Appellate court and then finally up to the U.S. Supreme Court where a final decision is made on the case; that is the final court you can appeal your case to before you are out of options. The Federal Courts deal with such things as military trials and other matters pertaining to the federal government. Even in the case of a government shutdown (which has occurred), the courts still function
ReplyDeleteJon789
I agree with AEK789, because when Federal Justices get placed on the court for life, they are less likely to be biased towards someone. Because when you keep the same people on the court they are most likely to do good, unless they want to get impeached. Which means that they would lose their lifelong pay being on the court, if they made one mistake and voted against someone for being a different race or sex. Jon789
ReplyDeleteThere are many different court systems in the United States. These courts are classified into several types of courts like the U.S. Court of International Trade, State and Federal. Both state and federal have a tiered system. In the bottom tier of the federal system are the district courts. Next is the appellate court where district court cases are appealed on the way to the top tier, which is the Supreme Court. There are 94 district courts, 13 Appellate courts, and one Supreme Court. State courts on the other hand start with trail courts, then appellate court, then Supreme Court. Both District and Trial courts hear focus on facts like what did or did not happen. Once the case gets to Appellate court it’s a question of legality and translation of the law. Appellate court is also where the majority of cases get shot down, because after that is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hears roughly .5 of all the cases and the nine justices decide the verdict. A Supreme Court Justice is appointed by a president and serves a life term or until they retire. This helps reduce political bias because once appointed the justice won’t be running for a re election or anything so he or she no longer has o act in favor of his or her political party. KAM789
ReplyDeleteI liked the point you made about the tiers of the courts system and how the cases are appealed back and forth. I forgot to make that point in my post and I agree with the way you stated this. Hearing in class that the Supreme Court hears only .5 of all the cases is interesting to me but makes sense knowing the process and the job of the Appellate Court system. LF789
DeleteThroughout reading the book, taking notes in class, and watching the video it made me realize how many steps it takes to get to the Supreme Court. There are many different court systems throughout the United States. Both the state and federal courts have a tiered system. There are 94 district courts, 13 Appellate courts, and of course only one supreme court. Another object of the courts is jurisdictions. There are multiple jurisdictions that every court has to follow and abide by. The last and most serious Court is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is where the most important cases tend to be looked into and resolved. In the Supreme Court there are nine justices that are appointed for life. DO789
ReplyDeleteI was also in the dark about how long the process was for a case to actually reach the United States Supreme Court. Not only that but the amount of district courts as well. I also found that states having the ability to sue other states was quite interesting as well. Noetzol789
DeleteDespite the fact that there are many different tiers they are structured the same. Each tier weeds out the smaller more minor cases, so that larger cases can be reviewed in a court that deals with those specific cases. I think this is a good way to sort through all the cases that are lesser. The US. supreme court is also intriguing. All justices are appointed to serve for a lifetime, if they choose. I know from my US. government class that justices are typically older males, but today there is more of a variety. I think that this helps keep rulings from being one sided. With lifetime appointment, any bias or ties with politicians would not matter. I didn't know that the justices has 'apprentices' who looked over the cases and chose which ones would be looked at. This is a good way to keep cases from building up because Supreme Court is looking through all of them. RMG789
ReplyDeleteBy comparing the video and what we discussed in class, the class discussion was mainly covered the overall summary on the Federal and State court system. The Federal court starts off with the District court, which is concerning on facts. Then you move on to the U.S. Court of Appeals. To be able to appeal you must be able to question the law. If your appeal is heard the Supreme court may hear your case. Less than .5 percent of cases are taken to the Supreme court. On the other hand State courts start off with a trail, move on the appellant, then to the Supreme court. When on trial there must be general jurisdiction. Then you must be able to question the law to move on and appeal. To be able to then go to the Supreme court you must show the violation and create Federal interest. One example we heard in class on how to easily appeal is the prostitution on the streets. The lawyer can easily appeal because he is questioning the law. The lawyer can say she is not on the streets prostituting. NR789
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the chapter, listening in class lecture, and watching the video, like everyone already stated, its obvious that it is a very structural, set up process between the levels of the courts. The video stated there were 94 District/Trail Courts with about 678 judges and/or justices, 13 Appellate Courts with 179, and 1 Supreme Court with 9 justices. The video talks about the similarities and differences between justices and judges. It also covers the writ of certiorari which demands all records to be directed up so that the Supreme Court can decide to take part in that case or not. It mentions how states can sue each other or even the areas about how the justices are appointed and/or removed or "impeached". LF678
ReplyDeleteAfter taking in all the information offered from the video, book, and notes taken in class, it is easy to say there are similarities and differences between all levels of the court system. It was interesting how the video spoke about how judges and justices only differ from one another based on where they work. I was most interested with the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court. It is intriguing how different presidents will make their picks based off of the different political views of one another. Also, how the United States Supreme Court only looks at 0.5 percent of cases. Noetzol789
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is interesting how the justices were chosen. However, I think the facts get left out about how politics directly play a roll in how a president chooses a justice or two. I'm am willing to speculate that the president that appointed a specific justice also donated to their campaign and vice versa. That is what is what is most awwing to me
DeleteHearing about the complex system of the court system has got my mind thinking. From rising to a Trial juge to an Appellate judge to a Supreme justice takes years...practically your whole life. When you are appointed as a Supreme Court Justice you are in that position for life, unless impeached. Justices hear a very limited number of cases, which suprised me. In first learning this my thought was then why do we really need a Supreme Court? As I have come to know, the Supreme Court does have a very important function. Althought it does take several years for a case to be heard generally. The Supreme Court will take on cases that can be used to change a law. From my knowledge as it stands the Supreme Court is supreme and they have the last word. EAW789
ReplyDeleteI had remembered the basic structure of the court system and had a pretty standard idea of how it operated because I just had my high school government class just before this last summer but the book, our lessons, and this video give a lot more detailed information. I did not know many of the names but recognized them being named from hearing about them in the news. During class we had discussed how few women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians have been in the court system. After viewing the video I saw that there have only been 4 female justices on the supreme court. O'Connor, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan. I'm glad to see that there is more diversity in the supreme court, but it may raise the question as to whether it was done because the justices are the most qualified or the presidents who appointed them wanted to improve their image. I had always been curious about the interrelationship between the public defenders, judges, and prosecutors. I figured they might have to find some way to make things work, but didn't realize it was as much of a give and take as it ends up being. Being on the Supreme Court is an incredibly powerful position to be in, you are basically one of the highest authorities in the entire country for life with amazing pay and pension, not to mention a lot of the leg work is done by interns. Justices also leave an everlasting impact on the criminal justice field. The decisions they make in major rulings affect major aspects of laws. For example, one of the more recent Supreme Court decisions is what is forcing Illinois to adopt a concealed carry bill, thus the argument that the states have the right to choose what laws apply falls through now that the Supreme Court determined that it is unconstitutional to force individuals to only practice their rights within their homes. This is not the only situation that this has happened. Several more high profile cases have have everlasting effects such as Brown v Board of Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Mapp v. Ohio. The court system, being one of the main aspects of criminal justice, is very important for us to learn about. Learning about what paths a case has to take to get to the top is interesting, but it seems like some of the most important things to know about the courts is jurisdiction, concurrent or otherwise, and geographic distribution.
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