The Court System
Street Law, Chapter 5
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Chapter 5: The Court System
The United States has a federal court
system as well as state court systems.
Tribal court systems exist to settle
disputes on Native American
reservations, while international courts
deal with issues relating to international
law and justice.
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Trial Courts
Trial courts listen to testimony from
witnesses, consider evidence, and decide
the facts in a dispute.
In a trial, there are two parties, or sides.
In a civil case, the party bringing the
legal action is called the plaintiff.
In a criminal trial, the government
brings the case and is called the
prosecutor.
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Trial Courts (Cont.)
In both civil and criminal trials, the person who
must respond to the complaint or charges is
called the defendant.
Defendants in both criminal and civil cases are
guaranteed the right to have a jury hear and
decide their case.
Once the trial court has made a decision, the
losing party may be able to appeal the decision
to an appellate court.
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Appeals Courts
The losing party may ask an appeals
court to review the decision made by the
trial court.
There are no witnesses or juries in
appeals courts—the lawyers for each side
appear before a group of judges to
present the legal arguments.
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Appeals Courts (Cont.)
When an appeals court decides a case, it
generally issues a ruling with a written
opinion.
This opinion sets a precedent for future
cases, which means lower courts will
have to follow the appellate court's
interpretation of the law.
This is how courts make law.
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Appeals Courts (Cont.)
However, a higher court, such as a state
supreme court or the U.S. Supreme
Court, has the power to reverse this
precedent.
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Federal and State Court
Systems
Many state court systems have the same
structure as the federal court system.
If you lose your case in a state trial court,
you may be able to appeal to an
intermediate court of appeals and
possibly to the state supreme court.
State courts can handle cases that deal
with state and federal law.
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Federal and State Court
Systems
In contrast, the federal courts may only
hear cases involving federal law or
certain cases that involve parties from
different states. If you lose a case in a
federal district court, you can appeal to a
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in your
region. The court of final appeal is the
U.S. Supreme Court.
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Tribal Courts
Native Americans have certain powers
over their reservations, such as the power
to regulate family relationships, tribal
membership, and law and order on the
reservation. Sometimes Congress allows,
or delegates, additional authority to
tribal courts.
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The Supreme Court of the
United States
The U.S. Supreme Court establishes the
most important legal precedents. All
courts in the United States must follow
U.S. Supreme Court decisions. There are
nine Supreme Court justices. These
justices are nominated by the president
and confirmed with the advice and the
consent of the Senate
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International Courts
The United Nations established the
International Court of Justice, the most
important court that enforces
international law. The International
Criminal Court tries individuals for war
crimes and other international crimes.
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