'Equal Justice Under Law'. These words, which affirm that the United States is a nation governed according to law and that that law protects and directs the actions of all people equally, are carved in marble, high overhead, on the front of one of the most significant buildings in Washington, D.C. The four-story building, in the style of an ancient Greek temple, is the, one in which the Supreme Court of the United States does its work.
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established a separate judicial branch of government that operates independently alongside the i executive and legislative branches. The judicial branch, or judiciary, is ' the branch of government responsible for applying laws to settle disputes between parties. Courts possess jurisdiction, the legal right and power to interpret and apply laws and make binding decisions.
Within the judicial branch authority is divided between state and federal (national) courts. In fact, there are two coexisting court systems: the federal courts and the state courts. Each court system has its own areas of jurisdiction.
Federal courts hear cases, which arise under the U.S. Constitution or under any law or treaty, as well as any controversy to which the federal government is itself a party. Federal courts also hear disputes involving governments or citizens of different states.
The federal court system includes district courts established by Congress, federal courts of appeals and the Supreme Court (created by ' the U.S. Constitution).
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the federal court system. Within the limits set by Congress and the Constitution, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases, including both civil and criminal matters. There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each district includes a United v States bankruptcy court as a unit of the district court. Three territories of the United States the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern v Mariana Islands have district courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy ones.
The 94 judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a United States court of appeals. A court of appeals hears appeals from the district courts located within its circuit, as well as appeals against the decisions of federal administrative agencies.
The United States Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. It consists of the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices and the responsibility and power of these nine people are extraordinary. Supreme Court decisions can affect the lives of all Americans and can change society significantly. This has happened many times in the course of American history. In the past, Supreme Court rulings halted actions by American presidents, declared unconstitutional and therefore void laws passed by the Congress (the government's lawmaking body), freed people from prison and gave new protection and freedom to black Americans and other minorities.
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The Supreme Court is the court of final appeal and it may rule in cases in which someone claims that a lower court ruling on a federal law is unjust or in which someone claims there has been a violation of the United States Constitution, the nation's basic law.
The Chief Justice and the Associate Justices are named by the president. But no one can become a member of the Supreme Court unless the upper house of Congress the United States Senate approves. The Senate does not approve an appointment until its members are satisfied that the candidate is qualified. Once approved, a justice cannot be removed by either the president or the Congress without very good reason, nor can the salary of the justice be reduced. The Chief Justice and Associate Justices, therefore, serve on the court for life and need not and should not take into consideration political issues or the opinions of officials in the other branches of government when making legal decisions.
Because the USA is a federal rather than a unitary system, the 50 states are not dependent on the central government for their powers. In fact, the Constitution makes clear that, instead, the people of the states have delegated certain powers to the central, or federal, government while reserving all remaining authority for the states and the people.
Just as each state legislates as it sees fit, each state has its own court system responsible for interpreting and enforcing state statutes and constitutions. Although the Constitution is supreme law and the U.S. Supreme Court has jurisdiction over state courts, only a tiny fraction of legal cases come before a federal court; almost 99 percent of American cases are handled in state courts. Most crimes and violations of private rights, as well as civil law cases, are matters for state court adjudication.
States are free to structure their judicial systems as they choose. Most have chosen a four-tier model. At the lowest level are courts of limited jurisdiction, which hear minor civil and criminal cases, for example, traffic, juvenile, and small claims courts, which settle disputes involving small sums of money. These are the workhorses of the state judicial system, processing the bulk of the state's legal cases. The next level consists of state courts of general jurisdiction. These are the major trial courts empowered to hear more serious criminal cases and civil cases in which large sums of money are involved. Most states have a third tier, the intermediate court of appeals, as well as a top level, the state supreme court. Legal custom grants each losing litigant (with the notable exception of the prosecution in a criminal case) one appeal. In states without an intermediate appellate court, the state supreme court must hear these appeals.
In the United States a person accused of a crime is considered to be innocent until he or she is proven guilty. The Constitution requires that any accused person must have every opportunity to demonstrate his or her innocence in a speedy and public trial and to be judged innocent or guilty on the basis of evidence presented to a group of unbiased citizens/ called a jury. A person who has been judged guilty must still be treated' justly and fairly, as prescribed by law. A person treated unjustly or cheated by another or by a government official must have a place where he or she can win justice. That place, to an American, is a court.
