The Judicial System

The Judicial System

Courts are impartial tribunals established to settle disputes. The United States has a dual court

system, one system at the federal and another at the state level. In order for a court to hear a

case, it must have jurisdiction (authority) to hear the particular case, and jurisdiction over the

parties (compel the parties to appear before the court) to the case.

1. Federal Courts: The federal court system was created by Congress pursuant to the

Constitution of the United States. Federal judges are nominated by the President, confirmed

by the U.S Senate, and hold their offices for life.

a. Federal District Courts: These are the trial courts within the federal court system. The

purpose of a trial court is to determine what took place and to render a judgment. Each

state has at least one district court with the more populous states having more than one.

California has four federal district courts (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Central).

b. Courts of Appeals: There are thirteen courts of appeals (one court of appeal, therefore,

will accept cases from district courts located in a number of states). The function of each

court is to review appeals from decisions of the district courts within their jurisdiction.

The courts of appeals are presided over by three judges. In the event they determine that a

prejudicial error (a mistake that substantially affected the outcome in a case) took place

during the trial, they can provide for various remedies.

c. Supreme Court of the United States: This is the nation’s highest court. Consisting of

nine justices, the Supreme Court has the power to act as a trial court in certain cases, but

its primary function is to review decisions of the lower courts.

1) Writs of certiorari: Most of the cases that reach the Supreme Court come by means

of a petition for a writ of certiorari. A case is heard if at least four of the nine

Supreme Court justices feel that a petition asking for a review of a lower court’s

decision deals with an issue that is important enough for the Supreme Court to

review.

d. Special Courts: There are a number of federal courts with special jurisdictions.

a. The U.S Court of Federal Claims hears cases where a claim is made against the

federal government,

b. The U.S Bankruptcy Court hears cases involving the Federal Bankruptcy Code.

c. The U.S. Tax Court has jurisdiction over federal tax matters, etc.

2. States Courts: Each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia has its own court system.

In most cases, the judges are elected for a specific number of years. While the court system

may be slightly different from state to state, most have a trial court, court of appeals, and a

supreme court.

3. Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to hear and decide a case.

Jurisdiction can be divided into two parts. Subject matter jurisdiction refers to a court’s

right to hear a certain type of case. Personal jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to

compel a person to appear before that court. a. Subject matter jurisdiction of a federal court: The subject matter jurisdiction of a federal court can be divided into three parts:

1) Exclusive federal jurisdiction: Exclusive jurisdiction cases are case that only the

federal courts may hear. Exclusive jurisdiction covers the following areas: admiralty,

bankruptcy, antitrust, patents, trademarks, copyrights, federal criminal issues, U.S.

Tax cases, and suits against the United States government.

2) Concurrent federal jurisdiction: Both the federal and state courts may hear cases

that involve a federal question. A federal question is any case that deals with a

federal law, treaty of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States.

Example: California passes a law which allows the use of marijuana for medical

purposes. John Smith brings a lawsuit arguing that this state law conflicts with

federal law on the subject. This case involves a federal question, and can be argued

in a state or federal court.

3) Diversity jurisdiction: Diversity jurisdiction is a unique form of concurrent

jurisdiction in that both federal and state courts may hear these cases. What makes

this category of cases so unique is the fact that the subject matter is purely a state, not

federal issue. In order for a case to qualify for diversity jurisdiction and be heard in

federal court, the case must involve a dispute valued at more than $75,000 and the

home state of any of the defendants must be different from the state where the case is

being heard.

Example: California Used Air, a corporation based in Fresno, leased a used Jumbo

jet to Consolidated Airlines, a company owned by Jane Miller of Idaho and Jack

Smith of Montana. The lease is $5,000,000 per year. When a dispute arose regarding

a term in the lease, Consolidated refused to make one of the lease payments.

California Used Air sued in a state court in Fresno, California. Consolidated can

move this case to a federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. The case

involves an issue that is worth more than $75,000 and the plaintiff (from California)

is from a state different from that of the defendants (Idaho and Montana). The federal

court that will hear this case will use California law (Since the contract was created in

Calif.) to settle this dispute.

a) Purpose: The purpose of diversity jurisdiction is to prevent prejudice against an

out of state party. In some cases, a party from outside the state may be at a

disadvantage in a controversial case of significant local interest. By giving the

option to move the case to a federal court, the out of state party may receive a

fairer hearing.

b) Fairness: The reason the out of state party may receive a fairer hearing in a 

federal court is due to the fact that judges in a federal court hold their office for

life. A state court judge must run for re-election periodically and may be unduly

influenced to rule in a specific manner in a case of wide spread public interest.

c) Diversity jurisdiction defeated: In the above example, if a portion of

Consolidated Airlines was purchased by Henry Jones, a resident of California, the

law suit could no longer be moved to a federal court. Since a California resident is represented on the side of both the plaintiff and defendant, there should no longer be prejudice against a party because the party comes from out of state.

d) The right to move a case to the federal court is held by the defendant.

b. Subject matter jurisdiction of state courts: The state courts have the right to hear all

cases not listed above. This would include cases that do not involve federal law and

diversity jurisdiction cases where the amount in controversy does not amount to $75,000.

4. A Court’s Jurisdiction over the Parties to a case.

a. A court not only must have subject matter jurisdiction to hear a particular type of case,

but it must also have personal jurisdiction over the parties to the case. Personal

jurisdiction simply means the ability of a court to have the parties to a case appear before

the court.

Example: A lawsuit is filed in a state court in San Francisco in which a resident of

San Francisco sues a resident of New York. Even if the court has subject matter

jurisdiction over the case, if the court cannot force the party in New York to make an

appearance before the court in San Francisco, the court lacks personal jurisdiction and the

case cannot go forward.

b. How does a court obtain personal jurisdiction over a party. Personal jurisdiction is

obtained in one of three ways:

1) In state parties: If the party is a resident of the state where the court is located, a

court can gain personal jurisdiction simply by locating the party and serving process

on the party within the state.

2) Out of state parties: How does a court gain personal jurisdiction over a party who

is living in a different state. Merely serving process on the party is not enough.

a) Courts have ruled that if an out of state party is temporarily within the state

where the court is located, personal service of a summons is sufficient.

b) Long-arm statutes: Most states have passed Long-arm statutes to try and compel

out of state parties to make a court appearance within the state. These long-arm

statutes are valid so long as the out of state party has some reasonable connection

with the state. The reasonable connection requirement can be satisfied, for

example, if the party transacts business within the state.

Example: General Motors, Inc is a resident of the state of Michigan, but it has

hundreds of dealerships within California and sells thousands of GM cars within

the state each year. If a resident of California should sue G.M., a long-arm statute

could be used to compel representatives of G.M. to appear in a California court.

Because of the business connection with the state, courts in this case would

conclude that it is not unfair to ask this out of state party (G.M.) to make an

appearance in California.

5. Stare Decisis in the Dual Court System. How does precedent or Stare Decisis work when

there are two semi-independent court systems?

a. A decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on a case dealing with federal law

acts as precedent for all the courts within the United States.

b. A decision of a federal court other than the U.S. Supreme Court does not act as precedent

for any state court.

c. A decision of a state court does not act as precedent for any federal court except in

diversity jurisdiction cases where the federal courts uses state law to reach a decision.

d. A decision of a U.S. Court of Appeals act as precedent only for the federal courts within

its jurisdiction.

Example: A decision of the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals will act as precedent for all the federal courts within the 7th circuit, but not for other federal courts.

e. A decision of a state Supreme Court act as precedent for all the inferior courts within that

state.

f. A decision of a state court in one state does not act as precedent for a court in a different

state.

6. Civil procedure: When a civil lawsuit is filed, how the case will eventually get to court and

decided will be determined by rules of civil procedures. These rules are designed to make

litigation as fair, inexpensive, and as fast as possible. In very broad terms, the rules of civil

procedure require the following steps to be taken when a lawsuit is filed:

a. Pleadings: This is a series of documents which the parties to a lawsuit will file. The

purpose is to show what took place, the remedies the injured party is seeking, and to

clarify issues regarding the lawsuit.

1) Complaint. A lawsuit starts with the plaintiff issuing a complaint. This document

states what happened, how the plaintiff was injured, and what remedies the plaintiff is

seeking.

2) Summons: Once the complaint has been filed, the county clerk will issue a summons

that must be served upon the defendant. The summons will alert the defendant to the

fact that a lawsuit has been filed and the information in the plaintiff’s complaint.

Unless the summons is served upon the defendant, the lawsuit cannot continue.

b. Defendant’s response: Once the defendant receives the complaint, the defendant has

several options.

1) Defendant refuses to respond: If the defendant elects not to respond to the

complaint and decides not to show up for the trial, a default judgment may be

entered against the defendant. This means the plaintiff will automatically win.

2) Pre-trial motions: The defendants may make a number of motions before the trial.

The defendants may ask that the complaint be dismissed. They could challenge the

court’s right to hear the case (the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction), etc.

3) Answer: The defendants in most cases will respond by filing an answer to the

complaint. In the answer, the defendant could admit certain things, deny certain parts

of the accusations made by the plaintiff, and also countersue if he or she has a claim

against the plaintiff.

c. Discovery Process: In preparation for the trial, both the plaintiff and defendant have the

right to request information and documents that are in the hands of the other side. The purpose of this process is to make sure that both sides have all the relevant information

concerning the controversy so that the trial will be based upon the facts. The courts wish

to eliminate surprises. By giving each side the information held by the other side, it will

give each party a chance to see the strength of each party’s case. The hope is that this

information will encourage both parties to settle and to avoid an expensive trial. The

discovery process can take the form of:

1) Deposition: Sworn testimony of the opposing parties and their witnesses.

2) Responses to written questions called interrogatories and requests for admissions.

3) Production of documents and other evidence.

d. Pretrial conferences: The attorneys for both sides will meet with the judge in order to

reach agreement on as many of the issues as possible before the trial. If both parties

agree on an issue in dispute, there will be no need to prove it during trial. The purpose of

the conferences is to encourage settlements before the trial or, if a trial becomes

necessary, to streamline the process by eliminating as much of the contested issues as

possible.

1) Summary judgment: A court may issue a binding decision even without a trial

called a summary judgment.

See the case of Parker v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. for the criteria used by

the courts in granting summary judgments.

e. Trial: In almost all cases, a party may request a jury trial. The number of people serving

on a jury can vary from state to state, and unanimous verdicts are not required in civil

trials in some states.

f. Appeal: An appeal is simply a request for another court to review the work of the trial

court (and sometimes the work of a court conducting the appeal) to determine whether

mistakes that affected the outcome of the trial may have been made.

7. Alternative dispute resolution: There are other ways to resolve a dispute than to go to court.

Because of the expense of a trial and the length of time required for a case to be heard by a

court, many people use the following alternatives to a formal trial:

a. Arbitration: In this process, both sides to the conflict will select a neutral person to hear

the dispute and to render a decision. The decision of the arbitrator is binding on both

parties. The rule of evidence is much more relaxed when a case is heard before an

arbitrator, and the entire process is faster and less costly. Also, in cases involving a very

special area, the parties may select an arbitrator with experience in that subject matter.

The quality of a decision rendered by an arbitrator can be quite high.

b. Consensual arbitration: In consensual arbitration, both parties to the dispute voluntarily

agree to use arbitration to resolve their dispute. In many contracts, the parties entering

into the contract agree beforehand that if a dispute should arise, it would be resolved by

an arbitrator.

c. Compulsory arbitration: Some state and federal law require that disputes be resolved by

an arbitrator. d. Conciliation: Conciliation is a process whereby a neutral third party is appointed to try to

help the disputing parties to resolve the problem by facilitating communication.

e. Mediation: In mediation, a neutral third party selected by the parties to the dispute will

not only offer the services of a conciliator but offer specific proposals for the parties to

consider. Unlike the arbitrator, mediators do not have the power to make binding

decisions.