Court Structure and Sources of Law PDF

COURT STRUCTURE AND SOURCES OF LAW Topic 1: Structure of U.S. Court System  Jurisdiction: The legal authority to hear and decide a case. – Courts must have the jurisdiction to hear a case. The responsibilities of trial courts: – Where trials and hearings occur – Fact finding, determin...

COURT STRUCTURE AND SOURCES OF LAW Topic 1: Structure of U.S. Court System  Jurisdiction: The legal authority to hear and decide a case. – Courts must have the jurisdiction to hear a case. The responsibilities of trial courts: – Where trials and hearings occur – Fact finding, determining guilt or innocence, impose sanctions. The responsibilities of appellate courts: – Hear appeals from the lower court. – Correct errors made by the lower court. The Current Federal Courts System Federal Courts hear cases that U.S. Supreme Involves violations of the U.S. Court Constitution Involves violations of federal laws passed by the Congress U.S. Court of (federal crime) Appeals Cases involving two states Federal Judges are appointed for life. U.S. District Courts U.S. District Court Federal trial court Prosecutes federal crimes that violate the U.S. Constitution or federal statutes. 94 U.S. District Court U.S. Court of Appeals (Circuit Court) 13 Court of Appeals A panel of three judges – Affirm, reverse, or modify the lower-court decision. In special cases, all the judges or a substantial number of them may decide a case together. U.S. Supreme Court Final arbiter in the U.S. judicial system – Court of last resort – Hear federal cases and state cases that involve a substantial federal question. Main responsibilities: – Resolve disputes between states, between lower federal and state courts. – Resolve constitutional questions—through Judicial Review U.S. Supreme Court is a policy maker. – Its final decisions are binding on all other courts in the country. – Influences all manner of governmental and social issues. Nine justices appointed for life. Case Docket of U.S Supreme Court Discretionary review About 100 cases a year What does it mean if the Supreme Court refuses to hear a case? – Refusing to hear a case has no binding procedural value; It does not indicate the Supreme Court supports either party. How a case gets to the US Supreme Court The Steps in a Supreme Court Case | C-SPAN Classroom How to Read Supreme Court Cases? How to find recent Supreme Court decisions: Supreme Court Merits Cases - ScotusBlog Start with reading the syllabus. – It summarizes the facts, legal disputes, and how the case was decided. – www.oyez.org also provides good summaries. Identify if there are concurring and dissenting opinions. How many are there? – Majority/Main opinion: The courts’ official decision in the case. – Concurring opinion: judges who agree with the results of the main opinion but base their decision on a different reason. – Dissenting opinion: Judges who disagree with the main opinion.  Typical structure of the main opinion. – Summary of legal disputes – Summary of facts of the case – Arguments/Reasons; Comment on the dissenting opinions – Disposition (Affirm, Reverse, Void, Vacate, Remand) Skip over footnotes (as beginners). Focus on the big picture: The main takeaway points Critically analyze the significance and scope of the main opinion. Take your time. Legal documents are hard to read or understand. It may take you two or more times to completely understand the case. A Typical State Court Structure State Supreme Court Intermediate Appellate Courts Courts of General Jurisdiction Courts of Limited Jurisdiction New Jersey Court Structure Supreme Court Appellate Division of Superior Courts Superior Courts Municipal Courts Courts of Limited Jurisdiction A variety of names: municipal court, magistrate’s court, peace court, etc. – Example: Galloway Municipal Court/Central Municipal Court of Atlantic County Hear minor cases: Minor criminal cases, traffic offenses, violations of local ordinances, juvenile delinquency hearings, civil disputes under a certain dollar value. Preliminary stages of felony cases Informal proceedings, usually no jury involved. Courts of General Jurisdiction Names: superior court, district court, circuit court – Example: Atlantic County Superior Court Hear all cases not exclusively designated for courts of limited jurisdiction (e.g., felony cases and serious misdemeanors). Hear appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction. Intermediate Appellate courts Hear appeals from trial courts. Example: Appellate Division of Atlantic County Superior Court Mandatory jurisdiction: Must hear all properly filed appeals. Most, but not all states have this type of court. State Supreme Court The court of last resort for state cases. Example: New Jersey Supreme Court Discretionary jurisdiction: Can choose what cases it will hear. – Usually hear death penalty cases and cases involve significant legal issues. BUT, in states that do not have intermediate appellate courts, state supreme courts must hear all properly filed appeals. Specialized Courts Juvenile Delinquency Court Problem-Solving Court/Treatment Court – Drug court – DUI/DWI court – Mental health court – Veterans court – Recovery court Topic 2: Sources of Law Sources and Types of Law Statutes (Laws made by the legislative branch) – U.S. Constitution – State Constitution – Feder law & State law – Local ordinances Executive agency rules and decisions (Administrative law) – Laws made by the executive branch – Executive orders made by the President or State Governors – Regulations made by an administrative agency Common Law – Laws made by the judicial branch: Judicial opinions/Case law  The American legal system is rooted in the Common Law. – Different from Roman Law/Civil Law system (based on legal codes) – The principle of Stare Decisis: Deciding cases based on precedents Precedent: Every final decision by a court creates a precedent. This precedent governs the court issuing the decision as well as any lower court. What if a precedent is outdated or no longer represents the value of our society? Judges can choose not to follow the precedent: Claim the facts in the current case are different from the facts in the precedent. or Overrule the outdated precedent. Example of overrule outdated precedent Hoyt v. Florida (1961): It is constitutional for a state to conclude that a woman should be relieved from the jury service unless she herself determines such service is consistent with her special responsibilities.—Allows state statute to only put women on the juror list when they voluntarily ask for it. Taylor v. Louisiana (1975) – Taylor was tried by an all-male jury and found guilty. Taylor appealed on the ground that women were systematically excluded from the jury, violating his right to a jury of his peers. – In Louisiana at that time, 53% of eligible jurors in Taylor's district were female but only 10% of the jury pool was female because Louisiana blankly exempt women from jury service unless they ask to be placed on the juror list.  As the society develops, our cognition of what is right and what is wrong, what is just and what is unjust evolves. Therefore, the court’s decision must evolve with the society. When a precedent is outdated or clearly wrong, the judges are allowed to overrule the previous decision and make a new precedent. What about the rule of law? Is there still the rule of law if judges are allowed to overturn precedents? Three Considerations for Overruling Prior Decision Is prior decision not just wrong, but grievously or egregiously wrong? Has the prior decision caused significant negative jurisprudential or real-world consequences? Would overruling the prior decision unduly upset reliance interests (The legitimate expectations of those who have reasonably relied on the precedent)? Source: Concurring opinion written by Justice Kavanaugh in Ramos v. Louisiana Critical Thinking Discussion Comparing with the civil law system (based on legal codes), what are the pros and cons of the common law system (based on precedents)? What are the social implications of the pros and cons? There are two major types of crime: Felony Misdemeanor (In NJ: Crime of the first to (In NJ: Disorderly person crime fourth degree) and petty disorderly person crime) Serious offenses Less Serious offense Longer sentences, usually in Shorter jail sentences, prison community supervision, or fine Examples: Murder, Rape, Examples: Simple Assault and Robbery, Burglary, Aggravated Battery, Petit Theft, Disorderly Assault, Grant Theft Conduct Civil v. Criminal Cases Criminal and civil wrongs are different: Crimes violate state and social interests. Civil wrongs are disputes between private parties where the state has a less direct interest. Civil law seeks to help the injured party seek remedy. Criminal law and civil law often overlap: A person can commit a crime and be subject to civil lawsuits at the same time. Criminal and civil trial proceedings are different: In criminal trials, the state has the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil trials, the standard of proof is the preponderance of evidence. In criminal trials, there are more procedural safeguards to protect the accused. In civil trials, the parties are considered equal.