State and Federal Court Systems Law Enforcement I

State and Federal Court Systems

Law Enforcement I

2

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Dual Court System

• There are separate state and federal court systems

• Federal courts deal with matters of federal law

3Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved.Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Dual Court System (continued)

• State courts deal with matters of state law• Whether a case enters through the federal or

state court system depends upon which law has been broken


Criminal Court Structure

• Each Court system basically consists of the following:– Higher Courts (superior) – Lower Courts (inferior)

• The type of law defines the jurisdiction of each court

• There is one court of last resort• There are some specialty courts


Four Tier State Court Systems

• State court systems are structured as follows (from highest to lowest):

Court of Last Resort

Appellate Courts

Courts of General Jurisdiction

Lower Courts


Lower Courts

• These courts are limited in what they can do • They generally hear minor cases and conduct

some pretrial activities for more important ones


Lower Courts (continued)

• They are most organized at the town, municipal, or county level

• They are referred to as the lower courts or misdemeanor courts

• They dispose of minor cases• Their sentencing options are restricted


Courts of General Jurisdiction

• Controlled by state law• Conduct preliminary activities and trials for

felonies• Conduct appeals from lower courts

(trial de novo)


Courts of General Jurisdiction (continued)

• These have general authority to conduct trial and pretrial activities in all criminal cases

• These are courts of record• These courts have “exclusive” jurisdiction to

try felony cases


Appellate Courts

• There are rights of appeal as determined by law

• An appeal is not a new trial• The courts review previous trials for

procedural errors• There may be two levels of appeals courts


Appellate Courts (continued)

• Appellate courts do not try cases• An appeal is based on some contention of law• Many times multiple judges review a case


Appellate Court Decisions

• The Appellate Courts may– Order a new trial– Allow the defendant to go free– Uphold (sustain) the original verdict


States Court of Last Resort

• Each state has a court of last resort• In most instances, this is referred to as the

State Supreme Court• It is the highest state court• It reviews issues of law and facts appealed

from the trial courts


States Court of Last Resort (continued)

• In Texas for criminal cases, it is the Court of Criminal Appeals

• Cases appealed from this court go to the United States Supreme Court


Federal Court Structure

From highest to lowest:United States

Supreme

Court

United States

Courts of Appeal

United States

District Courts


United States District Courts

• Each state has at least one federal district• There are 94 districts in the U.S.• These are the primary trial courts of the U.S.

system


United States Courts of Appeal

• These are also called the Circuit Courts because the jurisdiction covers a large geographical area

• They are usually located in major cities• They review cases from lower courts• These cases involve constitutional issues


United States Supreme Court

• This is the highest court in the land - the court of last resort

• Their decisions become precedents• They may choose to hear

or not hear most of their cases• It uses writ of certiorari to get case records


United States Supreme Court (continued)

• 9 Justices (1 chief justice and 8 associate justices)

• The full court hears about 100 cases per year• 4 Justices must vote to hear a case• There are majority, minority, and dissenting

opinions


Resources

• Larry Bassi, The College at Brockport, State University of New York


Documents

State and Federal Court Systems Law Enforcement I