Judicial branch

Article III of the Constitution vests the judicial power in “ one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time establish. ” This means that apart from the Supreme Court, the organization of the judicial branch is left in the hands of Congress. Beginning with 1789, Congress created several types of courts and other judicial organizations, which now include federal courts, specialized courts, and administrative offices to help run the judicial system.

Federal courts — which include 94 district courts, 13 courts of appeals, and special courts such as the Court of International Trade and the Supreme Court — handle only a small part of the legal cases in the U.S. Most cases involve state and local laws, so they are tried in state or local courts rather than federal courts.

District Courts: Most federal cases start out in the district courts, which are trial courts — courts that hear testimony about the facts of a case. There are 94 district courts, including one or more in each state, one in the District of Columbia, one in Puerto Rico, and three territorial courts with jurisdiction over Guam, the Virgin Islands of the U.S., and other U.S. territories.

Courts of Appeals: The decision of a district court can be appealed to the second tier in the judicial branch, the courts of appeals. The appeals courts can consider only questions of law and legal interpretation, and in nearly all cases must accept the lower court’s factual findings. An appeals court cannot, for example, consider whether the physical evidence in a case was enough to prove a person was guilty. Instead, the appeals court might consider whether the district court followed appropriate rules in accepting evidence during the trial.

For appeals purposes, the U.S. is divided into 12 judicial areas called circuits. An additional appeals court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has nationwide jurisdiction over major federal questions.

Decisions of the appeals courts are final, unless the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a further appeal. In district courts, most cases are heard by a single judge. In the appeals courts, cases are usually heard by a panel of three or more judges.

The differences between Federal Courts and State/Local Courts are represented in Table 1.

Special Courts: Congress has established several courts to decide cases arising within its legislative powers. These are called legislative courts because they lie outside of the Constitution’s Article III. E.g., the Court of Federal Claims hears cases of people who file claims against the government and seek money as a result. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is the final appeals court for court-martial convictions in the armed forces. There is also a separate appeals court that deals with cases involving veterans’ benefits. The Tax Court tries and decides cases involving federal taxes, tax exemptions for charities, and other tax-related matters.

Table 1. The difference between Federal Courts and State/Local Courts.

Federal Courts	State/Local Courts
Some Types of Cases Heard: Cases concerning federal law (laws passed by Congress) and treaties Cases that deal with the constitutionality of a law Disputes between states Bankruptcy cases, which are heard in a special court	Some Types of Cases Heard: Cases concerning state laws (laws passed by state legislatures or other local bodies) Most family law cases (divorce, custody), personal injury cases, and contract disputes. Most criminal cases.
Affect on federal civil rights law: Rulings issued by federal courts are more authoritative interpretations of federal laws than state courts, and the Supreme Court has the final definitive say on issues regarding federal civil rights law.	Affect on federal civil rights law: While state courts sometimes address federal laws, the federal courts' interpretations of federal law generally carries more persuasive weight.

As you see, federal courts have a leading role in judging cases and interpreting laws, rules, and other government actions, and determining whether they conform to the Constitution.

The two judicial systems, federal and state, form layers of courts that check each other and are checked, in turn, by the law profession and the law schools that study the decisions and create an informed opinion.

The U.S. president appoints federal judges, but these appointments are subject to approval by the Senate. Once confirmed by the Senate, federal judges have appointments for life or until they choose to retire. Federal judges can be removed from their positions only if they are convicted of impeachable offenses by the Senate. The life-long appointments of federal judges make it easier for the judiciary to stay removed from political pressure. Similarly, the governors, the state legislatures, and the people select the state judges.

Supreme Court: The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court of the country; it has ultimate judicial authority within the U.S. to interpret and decide questions of federal law, including the Constitution of the U.S. The Supreme Court is sometimes known by the acronyms SCOTUS and USSC (for U.S. Supreme Court).

It consists of 9 judges called justices, including a chief justice and 8 associate justices. As with all other federal judges, they are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They also receive appointments for life, subject only to impeachment for serious crimes or improprieties.

Most of the Supreme Court cases are appeals from lower federal courts or from state courts, and a handful come from other parts of the Court’s jurisdiction. The Court typically issues written decisions in fewer than a hundred cases a year. All cases are heard and decided by the entire Court, except in rare cases when a justice chooses not to participate because of a conflict of interest or other potential prejudicial interest in a case.

Interesting to know: The Supreme Court didn’t have a building of its own till 1935. The U.S. Supreme Court building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert and built between 1932 and 1935. Marble for the court building was brought from Italy with personal assistance of Benito Mussolini.

Special Courts: Congress has established several courts to decide cases arising within its legislative powers. These are called legislative courts because they lie outside of the Constitution’s Article III. For example, the Court of Federal Claims hears cases of people who file claims against the government and seek money as a result. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is the final appeals court for court-martial convictions in the armed forces. There is also a separate appeals court that deals with cases involving veterans’ benefits. The Tax Court tries and decides cases involving federal taxes, tax exemptions for charities, and other tax-related matters.

Administration: The judicial branch employs about 30,000 people, including judges, clerks, and other staff. The management and organization of the judicial workload is shared by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Federal Judicial Center. In addition, standards for sentencing criminal offenders are established by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which is an independent agency.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-16