Unit VII Lesson 1

Intro to the American Court System

Essential Question:

• What are the basic civil rights

and liberties of Americans?

• How have significant decisions

of the Supreme Court affected

our basic rights?

• What are the strengths and

weaknesses of court decisions

as instruments of social

change?

Separation of

Powers

Unit I

More than just

More than 1,200 State and Federal

Courts in the U.S.

Federal State

Federal Courts are responsible for cases involving:

*Violations of federal law

(Immigration

Offenses)

(Acts of Terrorism Against

the U.S. Government)

(Assassination of a

Federal Official)

(Counterfeiting) Federal

Courts

1

$1.6 Billion Dollars

Civil

Federal

Courts

Executive Order 9066

2

*Civil suits against the United States

Federal

Court

*Civil suits involving two or more states

Federal

Court

Boundary Dispute, Water Rights, etc.

*Cases involving the Constitutional rights of

American citizens

Federal

Court

Federal State

2% 98%

Burglary Assault

Drug Possession Kidnapping

State

Courts

*Violations of STATE law

State

Courts

*Civil

cases among

STATE

residents

98%2%

Federal State

Federal

Court

…the power to create “inferior” (lower) courts?

Congress has the power to create additional federal courts and

the power to assign the number of judges who will preside over

them (The President nominates who will serve on them)

“Enumerated Powers” “Inferior” Courts”

(Federal courts under

the Supreme Court)

The

Set Up

There are three levels to the U.S. Federal Court System:

1) U.S. District Courts, 2) U.S. Courts of Appeal, and 3) The

U.S. Supreme Court

1

2

3

U.S. district courts have “original jurisdiction” (The right to hear a court case first)

“Original Jurisdiction”

1

2

3

“Original Jurisdiction”

Courts of Appeal have “Appellate Jurisdiction” (They only

hear cases which have been APPEALED from a lower

court)

“Appellate Jurisdiction”

Appeals Courts>5% 2

Which of the following has the responsibility

of creating additional federal courts and

assigning the number of judges who will

preside over them?

A.The Executive Branch

B.The Attorney General

C.The Legislative Branch

D.The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court or any other federal court must be approved

by:

A.A majority vote in the Senate

B.A majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate

C.A two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives only

D.A two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate

Which of the following courts hear only

“original jurisdiction” cases?

A.Federal Courts of Appeal

B.The U.S. Supreme Court

C.U.S. District Courts

D.State Supreme Courts

The difference between an “appellate court”

and a “district court” is that an appellate

court:

A.Conducts trials by jury

B.Has original jurisdiction

C.Reviews previous court decisions

D.Hears civil cases but not criminal cases

http://education-

portal.com/academy/lesson/state-court-

system-structure-overview.html#lesson

Homework!!!Textbook Pages: 411 (“Structure of Federal Courts”),414-417

Graphic Novel Pages: 65-67