Inferior Courts CHAPTER 18 SECTION 2 Starter What

Inferior Courts CHAPTER 18 SECTION 2

Starter What is the subject of the article? Whom does the speak represent? What is the cartoonist saying will happen?

Vocab �Criminal case: a case in which a defendant is tried for committing a crime as defined by the law �Civil case: noncriminal cases (e. g. , contract disputes; suit seeking damages for harm caused by D)

Inferior Courts �What does the term inferior mean? �What does the phrase inferior courts describe?

Inferior Courts �**The inferior constitutional courts are those courts Congress creates under its Article III powers. **

Activity (p. 521 – 530) �In your notes, fill in the boxes (as shown on the board) with the appropriate inferior constitutional court. �Also, give me a definition of a constitutional court; 3 examples; 3 nonexamples. Tell me which circuit TN is in. �Take around 10 minutes. �Once finished compare your chart with the person next to you to see if you have the same results; if not, determine which one is correct.

*District Courts* �These are you federal trial courts. There are 94 U. S. district courts and they have original jurisdiction over most federal civil and criminal cases. � 677 judges handle more than 350, 000 cases per year, about 80% of the federal caseload. �Around 80% of federal cases begin in district courts.

District Courts �Handle both criminal and civil matters. �In federal criminal matters, the U. S. is always a party, i. e. , the prosecutor (U. S. v. Foreman). The U. S. ’s name will always appear first in the style of the case. �Example of civil cases: personal injury; copyright disputes; violate a constitutional right…

*Court of Appeals* �Congress created these courts to relieve the SC of the burden of hearing every appeal from the district courts. �These are courts of appellate jurisdiction over the district courts within their circuit; they also hear appeals from certain special courts such as the U. S. Tax Courts.

Court of Appeals �The country is divided into 12 judicial circuits, which includes the DC Court of Appeals; the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuits is the 13 th circuit. �Cases are usually heard in front of a 3 -judge panel. �They do not conduct trials or accept new evidence. They review the case record and written/oral arguments.

*Court of International Trade* �Know that this federal trial court tries all civil cases that arise out of the nation’s customs and other tariff/trade-related laws. �Appeals from the court go to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuits.

Trace the Path �A citizen is accused of counterfeiting. Where does the case begin (i. e. , which court)? Is this a criminal or civil matter? �Assuming the case is appealed, where would the case go next?

Trace the Path �An American importer of fish claims that the U. S. Dept. of Commerce placed an unusually high tariff on fillets from Vietnam. Where does this case begin? �The case is lost by the American importer and then appealed. Where does this case go next?

Exit Ticket �An Ohio company claims that a Florida company produced an identical product and files for copyright infringement, seeking damages. Where does this case begin? What type of case is this? �The Ohio company loses the case and appeals. Where does this case go next?

Video �Federal Court System