Types of law
-Criminal Cases- When a law is broken
-Civil Cases- A lawsuit
-Civil Cases- A lawsuit
Types of cases tried in federal court
-Interstate Lawsuits
-Disputes between states
-Cases dealing with federal laws
-Cases dealing with crimes committed at sea
-Disputes between states
-Cases dealing with federal laws
-Cases dealing with crimes committed at sea
Structure of the federal court system
The federal court is a tier based system that begins with 94 district courts, one of which has original jurisdiction on a case. then the ruling of a case is deem undesirable to a party, they may appeal the case to the court of appeals that has jurisdiction over the district the case was originally tried in. Finally, after this decision the case can be appeal to the supreme court where an absolute ruling can be made.
District Courts
-94 district Courts
-have original jurisdiction on cases
-have original jurisdiction on cases
Appeals Courts
-12 Appeals courts
-does not judge if the defendant is guilty or not, only sees if constitutional rights were violated in the trial.
-does not judge if the defendant is guilty or not, only sees if constitutional rights were violated in the trial.
Supreme Court
-1 Supreme Court
-rulings cannot be overturned by other courts
-interprets constitutional amendments and laws
-rulings cannot be overturned by other courts
-interprets constitutional amendments and laws
Famous Supreme Court Cases
Maybury v. Madison- established the supreme courts power of judicial review
Plessy v. Ferguson- separate but equal facilities are okBrown v. Board of Education- separate but equal is inherently unequal. reversed Plessy v. Ferguson.
Plessy v. Ferguson- separate but equal facilities are okBrown v. Board of Education- separate but equal is inherently unequal. reversed Plessy v. Ferguson.