9/7/2017. Structure of US Court System. Court Structure Judiciary Act of 1789 PS 360. Court Structure

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1 PS 360 Court Structure Structure of US Court System Article III of Constitution did little cleiii Section 1 One Supreme Court, Congress creates lower courts Section 2 Jurisdiction Original jurisdiction Appellate jurisdiction» Writs of certiorari, writs of habeas corpus» Congress to regulate appellate jurisdiction Court Structure Judiciary Act of

2 Court Structure Judiciary Act of 1789 Had 3 goals for setting up the court structure 1 st structured the federal court system Trial courts, circuit courts Set number of Supreme Court justices at 6, now 9 2 nd created jurisdictions of federal Court 3 rd (appellate) Jurisdiction of Supreme Court power to issue writs of mandamus Basic Principles of Court Organization: Dual Court System 3 Tiers In reality, we have 2 separate and complete court systems US Supreme Court sits at the top or caps our court system Book does not have any figure depicting structure Federal Diagram htm 2

3 US Court Structure U.S. Supreme Court State Supreme Courts U.S. Courts of Appeals State Courts of Appeals Federal Trial Courts State Trial Courts Basic Principles of Court Organization types of jurisdiction Hierarchical Jurisdiction Original jurisdiction Trial courts hear most original cases State Supreme Courts vs. US Supreme Court Appellate jurisdiction Basic Principles of Court Organization 3 types of jurisdiction Geographic Geographical boundaries tend to follow the boundaries of other governmental bodies Eg. cities, counties, states 2 Complications with Geographic jurisdiction - events that occur near borders or boundaries - Extradition 3

4 Basic Principles of Court Organization 3 types of jurisdiction Subject matter The type of crime matters for what court has jurisdiction. General jurisdiction vs. Limited jurisdiction Examples: Juvenile matter (juvenile court) Bankruptcy (bankruptcy court) Bank robbery (federal court) Traffic violation (city/county traffic court) Tax matters (tax court) Basic Principles of Court Organization jurisdiction continued Concurrent jurisdiction Authority to hear case is shared with other courts Cases can be tried in either state or federal court (sometimes both: e.g., Michael Vick) Example- tobacco litigation Basic Principles of Court Organization: Trial and Appellate Courts Almost all cases begin at Trial Court Losing side can appeal to a higher appellate court Trial and Appellate Courts have different functions Facts & evidence vs. error correction & devising legal rules Other notable differences # of judges for case; written opinions 4

5 US District Courts Basic input point for federal judicial system 99% of all cases begin here District courts are the trial courts Two types of jurisdiction Courts of General jurisdiction (eg. district courts) Courts of limited jurisdiction (eg. Tax Courts) Organized by 1 rational characteristic By state Boundary, but.. Map of Federal District Courts and Circuits U.S. District Court - Western District of Kentucky U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Kentucky s Federal District Courthouses Kentucky has 2 Federal Districts, but 10 federal courthouses 5

6 US District Courts Each district originally staffed with 1 judge Congress is responsible for adding judges Riding Circuit Judges nominated by President and Confirmed by Senate Lifetime tenure, Article III protection US District Courts 3 categories of cases a Federal court hears 1 st : Federal issue Federal law Banks Cross border Petitions of habeas corpus US District Courts 3 categories of cases a Federal court hears 2nd: Federal Govt. is a party to case Example: US v. Nixon 3 rd : 2 citizens of different states & high monetary value >$75,000 6

7 US District Courts District Courts are policymakers Decisions do not set legal precedent Specialized Federal Courts Limited jurisdiction Created by Congress for specific purpose of helping administer a specific Congressional statute 2 characteristics Permanent vs. Borrowed judges Article I vs. Article III judges Specialized Federal Courts (Source: Neubauer and Meinhold 2004; same as Table 3.3, page 77 of Neubauer and Meinhold 2010) 7

8 US District Courts Have ENORMOUS caseloads Almost completely determined by 1 judge panels al-court-management-statistics/2016/06/30-1 Number of judgeships (includes vacancies) vs. approximate caseload US District Courts: 663 vs. ~ 390,000 filings each year US Court of Appeals: 167 vs. ~55,000 appeals Supreme Court: 9 vs. ~80 full treatment US Courts of Appeals 12 circuits US Courts of Appeals Right to 1 appeal Also known as circuit courts Circuit decision Sets precedent for entire circuit Circuit conflict within and across circuits Composed of 3 judge panels Assigned to cases randomly En banc hearing Comity 8

9 US Courts of Appeals Purpose of Appeals Courts Error Correction not fact finders Look for Procedural errors United States Supreme Court The Court impossible to understand American government and society without understanding the Supreme Court. Political Scientist Lawrence Baum (2007, The Supreme Court, pg. 1) Why? 9

10 United States Supreme Court 1 chief justice 8 associate justices A few things that make job of Chief unique Talk first at conference Head administrator for the Supreme Court Head administrator for Federal courts, deliver yearly address on state of courts ar-end/year-endreports.aspx United States Supreme Court Institution- historically not always prestigious Lifetime position (president nominates, senate confirms) Most prestigious job in legal field Term start First Monday in October Usually ends in June. Cases are petitioned to Court all year long United States Supreme Court: Caseload Typically hear cases a year (in recent years)- shrinking docket over time Cases come mostly from petitions for Writ of Certiorari Asked to hear over 8500 cases each year -growing each year Court docket is now completely discretionary Cases selected by rule of four 10

11 Salaries Salaries of Justices (2016) (source: uscourts.gov) Chief Justice $260,700 Assoc. Justice $249,300 Justices are limited to 23,000 in outside income from activities such as teaching, but no limits on book incomes (e.g. Thomas 1.5 mil for book) Judge, US Courts of Appeals- $215,400 (2016) Judge, District Court- $203,100 (2016) President $400,000 (with $50k expense/$100k travel) US Senators & Reps $174,000 (party leaders make slightly more) Military Justice Courts Interest in these risen since 9-11 Different motto than civilian courts promote efficiency and effectiveness in the military establishment, and thereby to strengthen the national security of the United States Civilian courts: equal justice under law or justice is blind Differences from civilian court Mostly invisible- popularized with movies and TV A Few Good Men, JAG Judicial Administration Initially, no administration of courts Administrative Office Act of 1939 Chief Justice Judicial Conference Administrative Office of Courts 11

12 State Courts Differences Names Justice of Peace Juvenile Influence of progressive movement Legal doctrine of parens patriae Major differences with juvenile court Explicit tradeoff in what the state values Justices of the Peace In chapter 18, Neubauer (2008) states, By and large, presentday JPs are part-time nonlawyers who conduct court at their regular place of business (p 407). If the JPs mentioned in this quote are nonlawyers, where do they get their authority to conduct court from? How are their decisions credible and how are their sentences imposed? JPs are unique no need for formal legal training Authority & credibility- elections- the people (local, town/village) Lack of oversight from states, failure to reform system One justice of the peace in New York said many of his decisions were down-to-earth solutions. You ve got to use your own judgment, he said. That s why they call us judges. The law is not always right. Imposed? Jail, usually money though Example- New York State Courts State Court Organization Nationwide movement to unify or centralize administration of courts Kentucky Court System 12

13 Kentucky Court Structure Pages/State_Court_Structure_Charts/Kent ucky.aspx Minnesota Court Structure Highly Centralized Arkansas Court System (moderately centralized) 13

14 Access to Courts Jurisdiction, standing, must be a real case or controversy (from Article III) Decision on threshold issue vs. decision on merits (example: Pledge of Allegiance case) Elk Grove Unified School Dist. V. Newdow ( under God ) Advisory opinions Collusive suits Mootness Ripeness Political questions Class exercise Read handout (both sides) With partner in class: answer basic questions List arguments for and against splitting the 9 th circuit Assume Congress will split the 9 th, list a potential solution that could gain majority support (or consensus) and briefly explain why Class debate 14