American Government Standing In order for a case to be heard in our legal system the plaintiff must have standing to sue This means that the plaintiff generally must have sustained or is in in immediate danger of sustaining a direct and substantial injury from another person or an actio ID: 194636
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Slide1
Types of Courts
American GovernmentSlide2
Standing
In order for a case to be heard in our legal system, the plaintiff must
have standing to sue
This means that the
plaintiff
generally must have sustained, or is in in immediate danger of sustaining, a direct and substantial injury from another person or an action of government
The
defendant
is then the one who is accused of causing said harm
Conflicts
must also be considered
justiciable
disputes
This means that they have to be capable of being settled by legal
methods
Courts have what are called
dockets
, or a list of cases that are either in progress or are pending trialSlide3
Constitutional Courts
The
Constitutional
courts
include:
Federal District Courts
The Federal
C
ourts
of
Appeal
United
States Court of
International
trade.
These
courts are established under the provisions of Article 3 of the
ConstitutionSlide4
District Courts
Federal
D
istrict Courts
are trial courts.
States are divided into
91
districts, each having a
Federal District Court
Issues
of federal statutory or Constitutional law and cases involving citizens of different
states
Few cases are appealed from this
court
Federal District Courts have
original jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction involves cases heard by the court for the first time in a particular geographic area or sphere of the law
Courts of original jurisdiction are generally trial courts in which decision are made by juries
District courts are considered to be
inferior courts
, because their decisions can be appeale
d to a higher courtSlide5
District Courts
Federal jurisdiction covers criminal and civil cases that involve:
Federal Crimes
Treaties
with foreign
nations
Interpretations
of the
Constitution
Bankruptcy
Admiralty
or maritime law.
Ambassadors
and other reps of foreign
governments
The U.S.
government or one of its offices or
agencies
Citizens
of different
states
A
state and a
citizen of
a different
state
Citizens
of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states
A state
or its citizens and a foreign country or its
citizens
Despite the ability to hear this broad base of cases, 98% of all criminal cases are heard in state and local court systemsSlide6
Courts of Appeal
The
U.S. Courts of Appeal
review final decisions made by district courts
They also have the authority to review and enforce the orders of many independent regulatory commissions such as the SEC and the NLRB
There are 12 judicial circuits for appeals
These courts specialize in correct errors of procedure and law that occurred in the original proceedings of legal casers
These courts hold no trials and hear no testimony
These courts set precedent for all courts and agencies within their jurisdictions
The U.S. Courts of Appeal have
appellate jurisdiction
Appellate jurisdiction applies when courts have the right to review cases from lower courts on appeal
The final appeal coming from the Supreme Court
Appellate courts never have original jurisdiction
The exception to this rule is the Supreme
Court
The U.S. Court of Appeals is the superior court to the District Courts, but is an inferior court to the Supreme CourtSlide7
Constitutional Court
The
Court of International Trade
was formally known as the United States Customs
Court
The Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over cases dealing with
tariffs
Citizens who believe that tariffs are too high bring most of the cases heard in this
court
The court is based out of New York even though it is a federal
courtSlide8
Special Courts
The
U.S
Claims Court
handles cases
levied against
the
United States
for money
damages
A person who believes that the
government
hasn’t paid a bill for goods or services may
sue the government
The
U.S
Tax
C
ourt
acts under its power to
tax
It
hears cases relating to federal
taxes
These
are cases in which people disagree with the IRS or other Treasury Department agency rulings about federal
taxes
This court handles
cases appealed from Tax
courtsSlide9
Special Courts
Court of Military Appeals
This is the armed forces highest appeals court
These are cases involving those convicted of breaking military law
The Court of Military Appeals is referred to the GI Supreme Court. The GI Supreme court has the power to review these
decisions
When military personnel are put on trial for the violation of military law, it is referred to as a
court-martial
Court
of Veterans Appeals
These have to do with unsettled claims involving veteransSlide10
State Courts and Concurrent Jurisdiction
State courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state laws
(state jurisdiction)
States have their own judiciary system and have various rules regarding how appeals are to be heard
States also have their own Supreme Courts designed to deal with major appellate questions
Concurrent jurisdiction
occurs in cases involving persons of different states in disputes of at least $50,000
Being tried at both the state and federal level for the same crime is known as
dual sovereignty
Dual sovereignty is not deemed a violation of double jeopardy Slide11
Juries
Most courts have the ability to try
both criminal and
civil cases
Courts generally
use two different types of juries
when hearing cases. These juries are:
Grand Juries
Grand juries decide whether a case should go to trial based upon the prosecutions evidence
If a grand jury decides there is not sufficient evidence to go to trial, charges are generally
dropped
Petit Juries
Petit
juries are trial juries, usually consisting of 6 or 12
people
This type of jury weighs the
evidence presented at a trial and
then render
a
verdict of guilty or not guilty