Download - 1 intro to the american court system
Unit VII Lesson 1
Intro to the American Court System
Essential Question:
• What are the basic civil rights
and liberties of Americans?
• How have significant decisions
of the Supreme Court affected
our basic rights?
• What are the strengths and
weaknesses of court decisions
as instruments of social
change?
Separation of
Powers
Unit I
More than just
More than 1,200 State and Federal
Courts in the U.S.
Federal State
Federal Courts are responsible for cases involving:
*Violations of federal law
(Immigration
Offenses)
(Acts of Terrorism Against
the U.S. Government)
(Assassination of a
Federal Official)
(Counterfeiting) Federal
Courts
1
$1.6 Billion Dollars
Civil
Federal
Courts
Executive Order 9066
2
*Civil suits against the United States
Federal
Court
*Civil suits involving two or more states
Federal
Court
Boundary Dispute, Water Rights, etc.
*Cases involving the Constitutional rights of
American citizens
Federal
Court
Federal State
2% 98%
Burglary Assault
Drug Possession Kidnapping
State
Courts
*Violations of STATE law
State
Courts
*Civil
cases among
STATE
residents
98%2%
Federal State
Federal
Court
…the power to create “inferior” (lower) courts?
Congress has the power to create additional federal courts and
the power to assign the number of judges who will preside over
them (The President nominates who will serve on them)
“Enumerated Powers” “Inferior” Courts”
(Federal courts under
the Supreme Court)
The
Set Up
There are three levels to the U.S. Federal Court System:
1) U.S. District Courts, 2) U.S. Courts of Appeal, and 3) The
U.S. Supreme Court
1
2
3
U.S. district courts have “original jurisdiction” (The right to hear a court case first)
“Original Jurisdiction”
1
2
3
“Original Jurisdiction”
Courts of Appeal have “Appellate Jurisdiction” (They only
hear cases which have been APPEALED from a lower
court)
“Appellate Jurisdiction”
Appeals Courts>5% 2
Which of the following has the responsibility
of creating additional federal courts and
assigning the number of judges who will
preside over them?
A.The Executive Branch
B.The Attorney General
C.The Legislative Branch
D.The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court or any other federal court must be approved
by:
A.A majority vote in the Senate
B.A majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate
C.A two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives only
D.A two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate
Which of the following courts hear only
“original jurisdiction” cases?
A.Federal Courts of Appeal
B.The U.S. Supreme Court
C.U.S. District Courts
D.State Supreme Courts
The difference between an “appellate court”
and a “district court” is that an appellate
court:
A.Conducts trials by jury
B.Has original jurisdiction
C.Reviews previous court decisions
D.Hears civil cases but not criminal cases
http://education-
portal.com/academy/lesson/state-court-
system-structure-overview.html#lesson
Homework!!!Textbook Pages: 411 (“Structure of Federal Courts”),414-417
Graphic Novel Pages: 65-67