Part I: Overview of the federal court system
The federal court system consists of three levels: the local court (first instance court), the regional court the first appeal, and the US Supreme Court - the highest level of appeal in the interlocutory system. state. There are 94 local courts, 13 regional courts, and 1 Supreme Court in the country.
The courts of the federal system operate quite differently than the state courts. The most fundamental difference in civil cases (as opposed to criminal cases) is the type of case that will be heard in federal court. Federal courts have limited jurisdiction, which means they can only adjudicate cases approved by the US Constitution or federal laws. The federal district court is the place where the case begins under all federal law, under the Constitution, or treaties. This kind of jurisdiction is called "initial jurisdiction". The jurisdiction of the state courts can sometimes overlap with the jurisdiction of federal courts, which means that some cases may be heard by both courts. Plaintiffs will be selected first to bring the case to a state or federal court. However, if the plaintiff selects the state court, the defendant can sometimes choose to "move" the case to federal court.
Cases based primarily on federal law can be heard in federal court under "varying jurisdictions" by the courts. Diverse jurisdictions allow a plaintiff in one state to file a federal lawsuit while the defendant resides in another state. The defendant can also "move" the case from the state court for a similar reason. To transfer a case from state court to federal court, all plaintiffs must reside in states other than the defendant's residence, and the total "value of the dispute" must be greater than $ 75,000.
Criminal cases are not adjudicated based on diverse jurisdictions. The states prosecuted only criminal cases in state courts, and the federal government only instituted criminal cases in federal courts. Notice, the two-trial rule - does not allow the defendant to be tried twice for the same charge - not to be applied between the federal and state governments. For example, if the state government has made a charge of murder and has not made a ruling, in some cases the federal government may issue a ruling to the defendant if the action is also in violation of federal law of state.
Federal judges (and Supreme Court judges) are selected and approved by the President "with the suggestion and consent" of the Senate and "may be in position if they act in good faith." Judges may be in a lifetime position, but many have resigned or retired early. These judges may also be removed from the Senate Representative Committee and accused. Historically, 14 federal judges have been removed due to alleged misconduct. An exception to the lifetime appointment is for the judges of the court. These judges are selected by the local court judge and served for a specified term.
Local court
The local courts are the courts of first instance of the federal court system. Each local court has at least one United States District Court Judge, approved by the President at the lifetime and Senate. The local courts adjudicate first instance cases within the federal court system - including civil and criminal cases.
Local court judges are responsible for administering the court and supervising the court staff. Judges may continue to stay in office if they maintain "proper conduct", and may be removed and removed by Congress. The country now has more than 670 local court judges.
Some local court tasks are assigned by federal judge judges. A panel of judges will be appointed by a local court by majority vote of the judges and serve for a period of eight years if full-time and four years if part-time. reappointed after completion of the term. For criminal matters, the jury judge must supervise certain cases, issue search orders and arrest warrants, conduct pretrial hearings, and set guarantees. In civil cases, panels often deal with issues such as pretrial petitions and investigative interrogation.
Federal courts may also be established in certain areas. Every federal court has a bankruptcy court. In addition, some jurisdictions also have jurisdictional jurisdiction over issues such as taxation (United States Courts of Taxation), claims against federal authorities (Court of Appeal US Federal Reserve) and international trade (US International Trade Court).
District Court
When a local court has made a ruling on a case, it can be appealed to an Appeal Court of the United States. There are 12 local courts by geographic area. For example, the District Court No. 5 includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Cases in the local courts of these states can be appealed to the Appeal Court of the United States of America Region 5, based in New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition, the Regional Appeals Tribunal has jurisdiction over a number of specific issues such as patents.
Each regional court has 6 judges (Area 1) and 29 judges (Area 9). District Court judges are appointed by the president for life and are approved by the Senate.
All cases can be appealed in the district court once the local court has made the final decision (some cases may be appealed before the final judgment by an "appeal temporary"). Appeal in the first district court will be a panel of 3 regional court judges. The parties send summary records to the court, stating the reasons why the verdict of the trial court must be "unchanged" or "reversed." After receipt of the abstract, the court will hold a "peer review" so that attorneys can file arguments and answer questions from the judge in court.
In some rare cases, the district court can hear appellate cases at an "en banc" hearing (in court with the participation of all judges rather than just a panel of judges). judges selected). (Region 9 has a different en banc process than the rest.) Comments at En banc hearings are usually heavier and judgments are usually made only after the council has first handled the case. Once the council has made a ruling on a case and has publicly stated its opinion, no future council can deny the verdict. However, the panel may propose a regional court to hold an en banc hearing to re-consider the original council's decision.
In addition to the Federal District Court, a number of courts have also been formed to handle appeals in certain circumstances, such as veterans' claims (US Court of Appeals for Disputes veterans' compensation) and military matters (United States Appeals Tribunal for Armed Forces).
US Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States judicial system with jurisdiction over appeals from cases brought before federal courts or brought to court. state law but in relation to federal law. For example, if a case involving the First Amendment to the freedom of expression was made by the highest court of state (usually the state supreme court), the case may be appealed. at the federal Supreme Court. However, if the same case is adjudicated in full accordance with the law of a state similar to the First Amendment, the US Supreme Court can not hear the case again.
After the district court and the state supreme court have ruled on a case, either party may choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, unlike appeals in regional courts, the Supreme Court is often not required to hear appeals. The parties may send a "certiorari order" (order to transfer the case to the superior court) requesting the court to hear the case. If this order is made, the Supreme Court will receive a summary and proceed to the dispute. If this order is not issued, the judgment of the lower court will be upheld. An irregular Certiorari order was issued with less than 1% of the appeals to the high courts actually accepted. The Supreme Court mainly hears cases with conflicting judgments across the country on a particular matter or when there is a grave mistake in a case.
Members of the Supreme Court are called "Supreme Court Judges". Like other federal judges, these judges are appointed by the President in their lifetime and Senate ratification. There are a total of nine judges at the Supreme Court - eight deputy judges and one chief judge. The Constitution does not require the Supreme Court Justices, however all Supreme Court justices are lawyers and the majority of these judges were former District Court judges. Supreme Court judges may also have been law professors. The Supreme Court President plays a judicial role, chosen by the president and approved by Congress.
The Supreme Court is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court holds the annual term of office starting from the first Monday of October to the following summer, usually ending its term at the end of June.