The Federal Court System

1.How was the federal court system created?

Article III of the United States Constitution establishes the federal court system to administer justice fairly and impartially. Through Article III of the Constitution, the people grant the judge authority to adjudicate criminal and civil matters arising under federal law and certain enumerated areas.

“Section 1 of Article III: the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

Under section 1 of Article III, The Congress established the U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Courts of Appeals and Federal District Courts.

The Constitution empowers the federal courts the authority to adjudicate cases, while the Constitution also grants the Congress power to ordain and establish courts (where considered necessary).

What are the Article III Courts and the Federal Legislative Courts?

Article III Courts are courts that are empowered by the Article III of the Constitution to hear cases. Federal legislative courts are courts established by federal statutes to oversee specialized matters.

Article III courts include:

• The U.S. District Courts
• The U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
• The U.S. Supreme Court
• The U.S. Court of Claims
• The U.S. Court of International Trade

Federal legislative courts include:

• Magistrate courts
• Bankruptcy courts
• The U.S. Tax Court
• The U.S. Courts of Military Appeals
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

2. Jurisdiction of the federal courts

What kind of cases are tried in federal courts?

The federal court system has limited jurisdiction and can only adjudicate lawsuits that are specifically authorized to handle. The authorization includes both criminal and civil cases, along with special types of cases, such as copyright infringement and bankruptcy.

There are lawsuits that must be filed in a federal court, including: o Lawsuit based on U.S. Constitution

    o Lawsuit based on Treaty
    o Lawsuit based on a federal law
    o Lawsuit based on constitutional challenge (federal challenge)

Federal courts may also adjudicate some lawsuits that state courts have jurisdiction over, but they must include at least one of the requirements listed below:

    o A case where diversity jurisdiction exists; or

    o A case involving federal law.

In summary, federal courts hear (1) cases that must be filed in a federal court (2) diversity jurisdiction cases, and (3) cases that involve federal law.

Cases the federal courts hear include:

• Cases where diversity jurisdiction exists
• Cases where the United States is a party to the case
• Cases that deal with the constitutionality of a law
• Cases involving the laws and treaties of the U.S.
• Cases involving ambassadors and public ministers
• Disputes between two or more states
• Crimes on federal land
• Admiralty law
• Bankruptcy
• Tax
• Patent Rights
• Habeas corpus issues

3. The structure of the federal court system

What makes up the federal court system?

The federal court system consists of three levels— district courts, federal courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal District Courts
Federal District Court is the trial court of the federal court system. There are a total of 94 district courts spreading out throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

Federal Courts of Appeals

Federal Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court of the federal court system. There are 13 federal courts of appeals, including 11 multi-state circuits, the DC Circuit, and the Federal Circuit. Apart from the Federal Circuit, which only hears appeals from specialized trial courts, each circuit court is responsible for an assigned geographic area.

The U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. It is composed of one chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices. The court is located in the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.

4. Federal District Courts

Where does a federal case begin?

Typically, a federal case begins at the federal district court, which is the lowest level of federal court with general jurisdiction.

What can federal district courts do?

The federal district court is the trial court of the federal system. It has the authority to determine facts and make initial determinations of which law is applicable to the case.

What types of cases can federal district courts hear?

Federal district courts have jurisdiction over (1) federal questions, (2) cases arising under the Constitution, U.S. law, and U.S. treaties, (3) diversity of citizenship cases.

5. Federal Courts of Appeals

What types of cases can the federal courts of appeals hear?

The federal courts of appeals have appellate jurisdiction over (1) the district courts, (2) certain specialized federal courts, (3) federal administrative agencies.

When does a federal court of appeals hear a case?

The federal courts of appeals hear a case when the outcome of a case in a lower court is appealed by any party involved in that case (not including the judge).

How do federal courts of appeals adjudicate cases?

Unlike the trial courts, courts of appeals do not accept any new evidence or summon witnesses. The federal courts of appeals only review the trial transcripts, appellate briefs, and sometimes oral arguments of the attorneys to adjudicate a case.

None of the appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, can change the facts that have been determined by the lower court since it is the duty of trial judges or juries to find facts. That being said, the court of appeals reviews issues of law only to see if the lower court misapplied the facts or the law.

The federal court of appeals may also examine the discretionary decisions of the lower judge to see if the lower court abused the discretion, such as improperly disallowing evidence or excluding expert testimony.

To know more about the abuse of discretion, check out General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997).

To know more about Appeals.

6. United States Supreme Court

What is SCOTUS?

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal court system.

What types of cases can SCOTUS hear?

The United States Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all cases appealed from the U.S. Courts of Appeals, as well as from the higher state courts if the cases involve a point of federal law. According to the Constitution, it also has original jurisdiction over cases involving disputes between states, and cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, consuls and those in which states shall be party.

SCOTUS has appellate jurisdiction over

• Cases appealed from the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
• Cases appealed from the higher state courts if the cases involve a point of federal

law.

SCOTUS has original jurisdiction over

• Cases involving disputes between states.
• Cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, consuls and those in which

state shall be party.

What is the Writ of Certiorari?

There are only 100-150 out of more than 7000 cases that can be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court each year. The main way to petition SCOTUS for review is to request it to grant a writ of certiorari. The writ of certiorari compels the lower court to turn over the record of the case to the Supreme Court to review.

Does SCOTUS accept all the cases that appealed to it?

SCOTUS usually does not have any obligation to hear any cases appealed to them, unless the case contains constitutional issues, or have precedential value. SCOTUS will issue a writ of certiorari to the last court that heard the case when it accepts to review the case.

Can the decision of SCOTUS be overturned?

The decisions of the Supreme Court are final, but it can be overturned by a constitutional amendment or the U.S. Supreme Court itself.

Who are the current U.S. Supreme Court Justices?

Judges in the Supreme Courts are called Justices. SCOTUS consists of nine Justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.

Chief Justice of the United States

• John G. Roberts, Jr.

Associate Justices

• Clarence Thomas,
• Stephen G. Breyer,
• Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
• Sonia Sotomayor
• Elena Kagan
• Neil M. Gorsuch
• Brett M. Kavanaugh
• Amy Coney Barrett

How are Supreme Court Justices selected?

The Supreme Court Justices are selected through nomination by the President and confirmation by the Senate with a simple majority. The Justices are appointed for a lifetime and can only be removed from office by impeachment.

Want to learn more about Supreme Court Justices? Check out the FAQs of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Any questions? Want to know more? Leave a comment below!