Three Levels Of The Federal Courts Essay

The Texas State Court system is very structured. There are 5 levels of the Texas Courts. Level 5 starts with Justice and Municipal Courts. Justice Courts have Jurisdiction over civil actions, small crimes, and criminal misdemeanors. The Municipal courts have jurisdiction over municipal ordnance cases and criminal misdemeanors that are only punishable by fine. The 2nd level is the County Level Courts. County Courts have jurisdiction over juvenile matters, misdemeanors with fines greater than 500$ or jail sentence, and probate matters. District Courts are the 3rd level. They have jurisdiction over felonious matters, divorce cases, land titles, and contested elections. The 4th level is the Courts of Appeals, which is the final step before the

The Judicial Branch incorporates the Supreme Court, the most noteworthy court in the United States, as well as other government courts. The judges of the Supreme Court are selected by the president and must be endorsed by Senate. Federal cases, such as Marbury vs. Madison, made the Supreme Court "a separate branch of government on par with Congress and the" executive branch (McBride, 2007, P.1). The motivation behind this case was to affirm the power of the Supreme Court to survey law, to figure out if or not that law is sacred, and to set up the check and offsets. We see these techniques existing today in our nation, in light of the fact that every branch can check the other to keep one branch from turning out to be too intense from the others, as legal over official can pronounce official activities illegal, official over legal can select Supreme Court judges, Legislative over Judicial can change the size of government court framework and the quantity of Supreme Court judges, and so on. The case, State v. Rose, demonstrated that "Henry Rose was accused of murder after he struck the casualty, David J. McEnery, with his auto and headed out with" the casualty wedged underneath the vehicle (Casebriefs,2012, P.2). The rule of this case was to find the appellant guilty of manslaughter; the jury would have to find that the victim was alive

When the delegates of the 1875-1876 Texas Constitutional Convention came together, their main priority in drawing up a new constitution was to restrict the amount of power the state government had over Texans. After Texas suffered thought the corruption that occurred under the previous governor, Edmund J. Davis, the delegates wanted to ensure that a similar situation would never happen again. The first step they took towards that goal was writing a bill of rights, which would be the first article of the constitution. This article ensured that the people’s rights would be protected from the government such as “guaranteed liberty of speech and press, the right of the accused to obtain bail and to be tried by a jury, and the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.”

The judicial review process is an important aspect of the US Court system. The process involves the use of powers by the Federal Courts to void the congress' acts that direct conflict with the Constitution. The Marbury v. Madison is arguably the landmark case that relates to Judicial Review. The Marbury v. Madison case was written in the year 1803 by the Chief Justice at that time named John Marshall. Thomas Jefferson won an election on the Democratic - Republican Party that had just been formed creating a panicky political atmosphere having defeated John Adams of the previous ruling party. Adams had appointed several justices for the District of Columbia prior to being defeated. The senate had approved the commissions and the commissions signed by the president as well as being affixed with the government's official seal. However, the commissions were not delivered, and when Jefferson took office, he instructed James Madison the Secretary of States not to deliver them. William Marbury who was on the list of appointees petitioned the Supreme Court for a legal order compelling Madison to explain why he was not to receive the commission (Clinton 1994).

The court system is made up of many operational parts that all work together to achieve an overall goal. For my courtroom observation I have chosen the State of Florida v Casey Marie Anthony trial. This trail took place on the 23rd floor of the Orange county courtroom in Florida which seats about 50 people. Casey Marie Anthony (the defendant) is on trial for the death of her two-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony. She is being tried for first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and four counts of providing false information to police. Around two months after being indicted on those charge’s police found Caylee Anthony body in a wooded area near her mother’s home.

The District Courts have original jurisdiction and is where most of the violations of federal law as well as civil law are decided. There are 94 district courts divided into 13 circuits in the federal court system to include territorial courts in Guam, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. The Circuit Courts of Appeals was created by Congress to lessen the load of the Supreme Court just like the intermediate courts of appeals does for the state supreme court. With only appellate jurisdiction, it only reviews cases for errors in the law. The third component of the federal court system and the highest court in America is the United States Supreme Court. In any case that includes the Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties with nations, the U.S. Supreme Court has the final ruling (Bohm & Haley, 2011). The Supreme Court can hear cases from state supreme courts where federal law as well as the Constitution play a part in them. The Supreme Court will only make a ruling on the federal laws, not the applicable state laws in the

Many people believe the Texas Judicial Branch needs refurbishing for the 21st century. However, the Texas Judicial Branch operates efficiently now because of the way Texas has set up its Judicial Branch and court system. The reason for this is because Texas has structured layers of courts and those layers of courts allow cases ideal time to be heard, which works efficiently and adequately for the court system. At times, those five sections of the Texas court structure overlap because they all proceed to a higher level if needed. Those levels are local trial courts, county trial courts, state trial courts, state intermediate appellate courts and the state 's highest appellate courts. The Judicial Branch also

County Court judges have a county wide role in government, whereas the Supreme Court judges’ jurisdiction runs statewide. Most county courts handle criminal

How does the Supreme Court control its docket? Using information from both the textbook and class lecture, discuss the main steps/hurdles/factors in play regarding whether the Supreme Court will actually hear and consider a case. Explain and discuss the significance of each factor.

In Texas, there are two separate high courts: The Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Having two separate high courts in Texas is good because make this system more professional. However, these two high court heard different cases. The Supreme Court of Texas is the highest civil and juvenile cases, and it is the final appellate jurisdiction in Texas. In contrast, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest and the final criminal court in Texas, and the jurisdiction of death penalty cases.

There are also no juries or witnesses and it involves only lawyers from both sides that argue the law and answer any questions the judges may have. There are seven judges at this level or one Chief Justice and six judges on the panel. The Chief Justice is elected by the court?s sitting judges and is elected a two-year term. Cases can be appealed to the Supreme Court that were heard in the Circuit Courts or the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court can override those courts decisions. The Supreme Court?s role is to guarantee a firm and reasonable judicial system and is the final arbitrator in disagreements that involve the state?s constitution and laws. The Supreme Court hears the most contentious legal issues that involve Missourians, businesses or even sections of the government. The voters of Missouri approved changes in the Missouri Constitution so that the Supreme Court has sole jurisdiction in five kinds of cases that are appealed to them and these are, the legitimacy of a U.S. or Missouri statute, the state?s revenue laws, any challenges to a state elected official?s right to possess an office, and to enforce the death penalty. These are the five types of cases that the Supreme Court will hear, and if they do not meet the requirements when people are wanting a trial court to appeal a case they will have to appeal to the Missouri Court of

There is a doctrine that states a lower court must follow a precedent which is known as stare decisis. There are reliances on previous cases, which is important to find common cases to make sure they are still good law. Once a case has been finalized by the states highest court, it can be appealed to the Supreme Court only if there is a federal legal question.

Federal judges are appointed by the President of the United States and are confirmed on the advice and consent of the United States Senate. There are a few ways that the President

Appellate practice refers to the legal steps that must be taken to appeal a court decision, such as a judge’s order or a jury verdict. Typically, appeals are filed when it is believed that the judge made some sort of mistake when reaching the final decision in a case. Appeals may not be filed simply because one of the parties does not like the court’s decision—there must be some mistake upon which to base the appeal.

Our courts structure is divided into superior courts and subordinate courts. The High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court are superior courts, while the Magistrates Court, the Court for Children and the Sessions Court are subordinate courts. A