Dual Court System

Goals:

You will learn about jurisdiction of courts, the structure of the federal court system, and the structure of the state court system. There are several types of courts, which hear cases for different reasons.

Objectives:

  1. Define the concept of jurisdiction and explain how it applies to the court system
  2. Differentiate between the federal and state court systems
  3. Contrast the three levels of the federal court system
  4. Identify the principal state courts and describe their functions

Introduction

Trial

In this unit, we will discuss the dual court system. The United States has two court systems, the federal and the state. The federal court system, with exceptions, hears cases involving federal matters. There are 50 state court systems, one for each state. These are independent of one another (the laws in Wisconsin may be different than the laws in Oregon), and have their own rules and regulations. Generally, state courts decide cases that involve issues happening within that state.

Info to Know

Court Justice The first U.S. Supreme Court was established in 1789 with six justices. In 1869, the Court had nine justices. Justices are appointed by the President for life, with the Senate giving final consent.

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