state and federal court systems law enforcement i
TRANSCRIPT
State and Federal Court Systems
Law Enforcement I
2
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Dual Court System
• There are separate state and federal court systems
• Federal courts deal with matters of federal law
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Dual Court System (continued)
• State courts deal with matters of state law• Whether a case enters through the federal or
state court system depends upon which law has been broken
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Criminal Court Structure
• Each Court system basically consists of the following:– Higher Courts (superior) – Lower Courts (inferior)
• The type of law defines the jurisdiction of each court
• There is one court of last resort• There are some specialty courts
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Four Tier State Court Systems
• State court systems are structured as follows (from highest to lowest):
Court of Last Resort
Appellate Courts
Courts of General Jurisdiction
Lower Courts
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Lower Courts
• These courts are limited in what they can do • They generally hear minor cases and conduct
some pretrial activities for more important ones
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Lower Courts (continued)
• They are most organized at the town, municipal, or county level
• They are referred to as the lower courts or misdemeanor courts
• They dispose of minor cases• Their sentencing options are restricted
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Courts of General Jurisdiction
• Controlled by state law• Conduct preliminary activities and trials for
felonies• Conduct appeals from lower courts
(trial de novo)
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Courts of General Jurisdiction (continued)
• These have general authority to conduct trial and pretrial activities in all criminal cases
• These are courts of record• These courts have “exclusive” jurisdiction to
try felony cases
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Appellate Courts
• There are rights of appeal as determined by law
• An appeal is not a new trial• The courts review previous trials for
procedural errors• There may be two levels of appeals courts
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Appellate Courts (continued)
• Appellate courts do not try cases• An appeal is based on some contention of law• Many times multiple judges review a case
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Appellate Court Decisions
• The Appellate Courts may– Order a new trial– Allow the defendant to go free– Uphold (sustain) the original verdict
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States Court of Last Resort
• Each state has a court of last resort• In most instances, this is referred to as the
State Supreme Court• It is the highest state court• It reviews issues of law and facts appealed
from the trial courts
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States Court of Last Resort (continued)
• In Texas for criminal cases, it is the Court of Criminal Appeals
• Cases appealed from this court go to the United States Supreme Court
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Federal Court Structure
From highest to lowest:United States
Supreme
Court
United States
Courts of Appeal
United States
District Courts
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United States District Courts
• Each state has at least one federal district• There are 94 districts in the U.S.• These are the primary trial courts of the U.S.
system
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United States Courts of Appeal
• These are also called the Circuit Courts because the jurisdiction covers a large geographical area
• They are usually located in major cities• They review cases from lower courts• These cases involve constitutional issues
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United States Supreme Court
• This is the highest court in the land - the court of last resort
• Their decisions become precedents• They may choose to hear
or not hear most of their cases• It uses writ of certiorari to get case records
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United States Supreme Court (continued)
• 9 Justices (1 chief justice and 8 associate justices)
• The full court hears about 100 cases per year• 4 Justices must vote to hear a case• There are majority, minority, and dissenting
opinions
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Resources
• Larry Bassi, The College at Brockport, State University of New York
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