What is the purpose of the Judicial Branch of

government?

 Interpret the law: what does this mean?

 What is the difference between criminal & civil
cases?
 How about statutory & common law?

 It is an adversarial system: meaning what?

 Who are litigants?
 Individuals or groups with standing to sue
 Class action suits
 Justiciable disputes
 Supreme Court of Legislative Courts
The United States Mil. Appeals,
Internat’l, Tax;
Almost 30%; must Judges have fixed
raise a federal terms
Over 65%
question
Less than 5%
50 State Supreme Courts 12 Circuit Courts of
Further appeal for ruling Appeals & Court of Appeals
by highest state court For the Federal Circuit
Original Jurisdiction:
Cases involving Appeals of ruling by district
courts & decisions by regulatory
ambassadors &
Intermediate or administrative agencies
diplomats; some cases
in which a state is a Appellate Courts
party Party loses & appeals
94 District Courts
Cases involving
State Trial Courts Const. / federal law
Cases involving state are tried in federal
law are tried in state district (trial) court
trial courts

STATE ROUTE FEDERAL ROUTE

The State Trial Courts – State Courts of Original
Jurisdiction:

 The vast majority of cases occur in the state system, &

most (whether criminal or civil) never actually end up
in trial – why not?

 In Illinois, we call the state courts the “Circuit Courts,”

& they include a number of different categories
(criminal, divorce, traffic, etc.)

 In the state system, these are the only courts in which an

actual “trial” will ever occur – what does this mean?

 What about Judge Judy, The People’s Court, etc.?

The Federal District Courts – Federal Courts of Original
Jurisdiction:

 There are a total of 94 - in the federal system, these are

the trial courts

 What kinds of cases start in the federal district court,

rather than the state trial courts?
 Federal crime/federal civil law
 Diversity of citizenship

 Federal Magistrates are hired (due to workload issues for

judges) to handle warrants, simple motions, bail issues,
preside w/ consent of parties

 U.S. Attorneys prosecute cases on behalf of the U.S.

The Federal Courts of Appeals – Courts of Appellate
Jurisdiction:

 There are a total of 12 Circuits, each with jurisdiction

over an area including a number of district courts, &
including one “Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit”
which serves as a nationwide appeals court for certain
issues (patents, etc.)

 Typically work in panels of three, except for very

significant cases in which they hear cases en banc

 U.S. Solicitor General’s office is charged with handling

appeals on behalf of the U.S., determining whether to
seek appeal to Supreme Court
 Liberal Swing Conservative
Chief Justice John Roberts
AntoninGinsburg
Scalia Scalia
AnthonyBreyer
Kennedy Kennedy Thomas
Clarence
Sotomayor
Thomas Roberts
Ruth Bader
KaganGinsburg Alito
Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito Jr.
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan