Term Paper on "Dual Court System"

Term Paper 10 pages (4296 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

dual court system in the United States. The writer explains the two systems, how they function and then argues that it would not be better to go to a single court system. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

The United States is known worldwide for its judicial system. Not only because it promises speedy trials and the right to face one's accuser, but also because of the backlog of cases that are waiting to be heard each day. Since the nation's infancy matters of importance have been divided into two areas, federal and state. This was caused when the initial formation of this country included the breaking up of geographic areas into individual states.

Each state has its own governing body that collects state taxes if applicable, handles school issues and provides its citizens with a court system. In its most simple form the government of the United States provides that states can govern themselves as long as their individual laws and mandates do not fly in the face of something the federal government has mandated. In other words a state can govern itself as long as it does not defy the federal government.

When it comes to court issues the nation has long been governed by a dual court system. The federal and state court system provides clear cut boundaries and divisions about what each is responsible for handling. While this sometimes seems to be a good idea, it can become confusing in that prosecutors and law enforcement officials have to include many other participants when it is a federal case, making the case much more complicated at times. While the courts appear to be duplicating efforts, to restructure the dual court system into a single court system would be in defiance of the very principles that this nation was founded on.

EXPLAINING DUAL COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS

Before one can begin to understand why a single court system would be more efficient and inexpensive than the current dual court system it is important to have an understanding of the dual court system and how it works.

The structure and foundation of the dual court system goes back to the writing of the United States constitution. The United States constitution established something called a system of federalism which meant that the federal government has limited authority over the courts in the land while the balance or bulk of that authority is was left to individual states to handle and decide (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm).

Some debates revolve around whether the United States actually has a single court system but according to political experts this is not true.

In reality the "dual court system" is a bit of a misnomer as well.

There is the federal court system, an integrated system divided into numerous geographic units and various levels of hierarchy; in addition, each state has its own court system with a system of local courts that operate within the state (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm)."

For simplicity however, the nation's court system is commonly referred to as a dual court system divided into federal and state courts and jurisdictions.

Within the dual court system the United States Supreme Court is the final voice of authority, which makes the federal system more powerful than any court system in the land. However, if it were that simple it would simply behoove everyone who was not happy with their court outcome to take it to the Supreme Court. Instead jurisdictional issues, points of cause and other issues are necessary to have the Supreme Court hear a case.

The individual states also have Supreme Courts and they are considered the highest court within their state while the United States Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the nation.

When federal constitutional or statutory matters are involved, the federal courts have the power to decide whether the state law violates federal law. The functioning of these systems is complicated by the fact that there are multiple sources of law, and courts of one system are often called upon to interpret and apply the laws of another jurisdiction. In addition, more than one court may have sovereignty to hear a particular case (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm)."

To explain how both the federal and the state court systems operate one can consider the shape of a pyramid. Both state and federal courts have a bottom tier of lower level courts. These courts are called to fact find and decide issues based on the facts presented and the law.

The state court issue divided into general sessions and criminal courts. The general sessions court hears most of the misdemeanor cases as well as many of the civil matters within its geographic jurisdiction. In addition the general sessions court hears evidence to decide whether the state has enough reason to prosecute a felony charge. If the court decides there is enough evidence to hold a trial it binds the case over to criminal court. General sessions court judges are limited in what length of sentence they can hand out as well as how large of a civil suit they can preside over.

At the top of each pyramid structure is the court of last resort (at the federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court; at the state level, the state supreme court) which has the authority to interpret the law of that jurisdiction. In most states and in the federal system there is also a mid-level court of appeals (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm)."

At first glance the federal courts may seem to be more complicated but in reality they are not. The federal court system is also called the Article III court because federal courts have the power and ability to conduct judicial review and have protections under the United States constitution that state courts do not deal with. The federal courts are divided into three tiers. The lowest rung of the ladder or the lowest tier is the District Court. The District Court hears general jurisdiction matters including criminal and civil matters.

All told there are over 90 United States federal judicial districts. There is at least one district court in each state and in the states with the heaviest populations there are several federal district courts. The number of judges assigned to each district is dependent on the population and size of the district but regardless of the number of judges in a district only one judge presides over and hears each individual case.

The U.S. Courts of Appeals, is the intermediate-level federal court.

The courts of appeals are considered the workhorse of the federal court system because the brunt of cases are resolved there. Appeals are taken from U.S. district courts to the U.S. courts of appeals if a losing party feels that the judge in the district court made an error of law. Appeals may not be taken to correct perceived errors of fact, unless there is a clear error of law. Thus, for example, a losing party may argue that the judge erred by admitting a certain document into evidence; but the losing party may not argue that the judge or jury reached a bad conclusion based only on that document (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm)."

The United States Court of Appeals is divided by geography into 12 circuit areas. Each circuit is assigned the duty to hear any appeals from courts that are within their geographic circuit area (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm).

Each appeals court has three judges that sit and preside over an appeal. First the panel has to decide whether or not to hear the appeal and then if they decide to hear it they listen to the evidence about why the petitioner feels the lower court made a judgment in fact or legal error. If the appeals judges believe that is the case they have the power to overturn the lower courts ruling which can result in a new trial or a dismissal depending on several lower court decisions and factors (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm).

The U.S. Courts of Appeals may decide cases on the basis of written briefs submitted by the litigants or may order oral argument. A decision is based on written opinion drafted by one of the judges and circulated to the other two panel members. The opinion of the court also must be signed by at least two panel members (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm).Any of the judges on the panel may write a concurring opinion in which the judge agrees with the result reached in the majority opinion but for different or additional reasons. A judge that disagrees with the opinion of the court may instead write a dissenting opinion explaining why he or she has reached a different conclusion (HOW the U.S. COURT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm).Although dissenting and concurring opinions do not have the force of law, they… READ MORE

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