The Court System
The Court System
Crime Scene Forensics,LLC
State Court System

1. Courts of Limited Jurisdiction or Local Courts hear the following cases:
      A. Misdemeanor and Violations
      B. Traffic Infractions
      C. “Small claims” civil matters
      D. Oversee cities, towns, villages

2. Courts of General/Trial Jurisdiction, are usually referred to as County
    or District Courts by their respective states. Different states use slightly
    different structures for their court systems, however, most county or
    district courts follow these guidelines:
         1. Hear all Felony Cases
         2. Hear lesser offenses if they are grouped with felony charges
         3. Issue Pistol Permits
         4. Original trial jurisdiction
         5. Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction   

3. Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction        
         1. Hear appeals from trial courts
         2. Do not hear trials…procedural law only
         3. Review alleged “mistakes” or errors in procedural law from trial courts
        4. Usually consist of 3 to 9 judge panels                

1. U.S. District Courts
 1. Created in 1789
2. Trial Courts of federal system
3. Each state has at least one district court with 1 to 28 judges
4. Fed Dist Court judges are appointed by the president, with senate
    confirmation, for life terms
5. Fed Dist Court Judges appoint Federal Magistrates
        (full time – eight yr terms)
        (part time – four yr terms)
6. Federal Magistrates perform limited functions:
        A. Issuing warrants
        B. Conducting preliminary hearings
        C.  Determining Bail
7.  Hear cases involving the violation of federal statutes:
        A. Kidnapping
        B. President Assassinations
        C. postal violations
        D. Interstate transportation of stolen property
        E. Interstate flight to avoid prosecution
        F. Federal wildlife laws
        G. Taxation and finance laws
8. Civil Jurisdiction: (limited to)
        A.  Suits exceeding $10,000- federal question is raised
        B.  Suit involves citizens from two or more states
        C.  Citizen of one state sues another state


2. U.S. Courts of Appeals
        1. Created in 1891 to reduce the number of appeals to the
            U.S. Supreme Court                                            
        2. Hear appeals from U.S. District Courts
        3. Cases are heard by three judge panels
                (each circuit has from 4 to 20 judges)
        4. Judges are appointed by president for life terms
        5. Appellant must travel to court, as these courts are regional
        6. Interprets laws – both statutory and constitutional

3. U.S. Supreme Court (nation’s highest court)
         1. Nations highest court
         2. Composed of nine judges
         3. Judges are appointed by the president, with senate
             confirmation, for life terms
         4. President appoints a Chief Justice
         5. Court convenes 1st Monday of October through mid June
         6. Only Hears about 5% of all petitions
         7. Has appellate and original jurisdiction
         8. Original Jurisdiction is limited to:
                 A. Cases involving treaties made by the Federal Gov’t
                 B. Controversies in which the U.S. Gov’t is a party
                 C. Disputes between two states
          9. Must hear cases when:
                 A. a federal court holds an act of congress to be
                     unconstitutional
                 B. Court of Appeals finds a state statute to be unconstitutional
                 C. a state’s highest court holds a federal law to be invalid
                 D. an individual’s challenge to a state statute is upheld by a
                     state Supreme Court
          10. The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:
                 A. is responsible for administrative duties
                 B. assigns a member of the court to write the decision
                 C. has no more authority than any other judges when it comes
                     to ruling on cases
          11. One of the “majority judges” will be assigned to write the
                 decision
                  A. Consenting judges may write an opinion
                  B.  Dissenting  judges may write an opinion
State Courts VS. Federal Courts
The fascinating
world of forensic
science...made
simple