POLS 34102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Supremacy Clause, Mootness, United States District Court
29 Jun 2018
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CH 15 OUTLINE
The Legal System
1. Courts decide cases by hearing the facts on both sides of a dispute and applying the relevant
law or principle to the facts. Courts have been given the authority to settle disputes, not only
between citizens, but also between citizens and the government. The essence of the "rule of law"
is that "the state" and its officials must be judged by the same laws as the citizenry.
2. Court cases in the United States proceed under two broad categories of law: criminal and civil.
3. In the area of criminal law, either a state government or the federal government is the plaintiff
that alleges that the defendant has violated a statute that protects public health, safety, morals,
or welfare.
4. Civil cases are those between individuals, groups, corporations, and other private entities, or
between such litigants and the government, in which no criminal violation is charged.
5. In deciding cases, courts apply statutes (laws) and legal precedents (prior decisions).
6. By far, most cases are heard by state courts. State trial courts are the first to hear a criminal
or civil case, and defendants may appeal, if convicted, first to a state court of appeals and then to
the state's supreme court.
7. Jurisdiction is the sphere of authority of a court. Cases involving federal laws, treaties with
other nations, or the Constitution fall under the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
8. In the United States there are currently 94 district courts, which exercise jurisdiction over
federal cases arising within each district. The judicial districts are organized into 11 regional
circuits and the D.C. circuit; circuit courts exercise appellate jurisdiction over cases heard by the
regional district courts.
9. Original jurisdiction, which is assigned by geography, the Constitution, or even Congress,
refers to the authority to initially consider a case. Appellate jurisdiction refers to the authority to
hear appeals from a lower court's decision.
10. Although the federal courts hear only a fraction of all the cases decided every year in the
United States, federal court decisions are extremely important.
Federal Courts
1. Federal district court routines and procedures are essentially the same as those of the lower
state courts, but federal procedural requirements tend to be stricter.
2. The 12 U.S. courts of appeals review and render decisions in approximately 20 percent of all
lower-court and agency cases.
3. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and the only federal court established
by the Constitution.
4. The Constitution does not specify the number of justices who should sit on the Supreme
Court; Congress has the power to change the Court's size. Since 1869 there have been nine
justices—one chief justice and eight associate justices.
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Document Summary
The legal system: courts decide cases by hearing the facts on both sides of a dispute and applying the relevant law or principle to the facts. Courts have been given the authority to settle disputes, not only between citizens, but also between citizens and the government. In deciding cases, courts apply statutes (laws) and legal precedents (prior decisions): by far, most cases are heard by state courts. State trial courts are the first to hear a criminal or civil case, and defendants may appeal, if convicted, first to a state court of appeals and then to the state"s supreme court. Jurisdiction is the sphere of authority of a court. Cases involving federal laws, treaties with other nations, or the constitution fall under the jurisdiction of the federal courts. In the united states there are currently 94 district courts, which exercise jurisdiction over federal cases arising within each district.
