Specialized Courts in the US Court System - Research Paper Example

Specialized Courts in the US Court System Introduction The legal system of the United s has changed rapidly over the years in order to enhance the overall legislative domain of the country. One of the prominent changes in the legal sector of the nation is the formation of the specialized courts that deal with special, controversial and complex cases further reducing the burden of the generalized courts’ operations. This particular paper will undergo a research on the prevalence of the specialized courts within the legal system of the United States. Overview of the Specialized Courts in the United States Court System The specialized courts are found in a few of the nations of the world including certain countries in the European continent and the United States in an extensive manner. These courts had been established with the intention of strengthening the legal system of the respective nations. In simple terms, it is believed that specialization refers to the specialized subject matter that is accompanied with utmost level of expertise in any particular sector. Contextually, with regard to the court system or the legal system, specialization or specialized courts refer to the courts that have limited as well as exclusive sort of legalizations. A few of the specialized courts include commercial courts, administrative courts and drug courts among others. All these courts are specialized in one particular domain and deal with cases only relevant to the genre the courts belong. It will also be crucial to mention that the judges of such type of courts also hold contrasting features in comparison with general jurisdiction courts. The significance of the specialized courts in the United States is deemed to be in the primary level and it holds a commendable position in the legal sector of the nation. Contextually, it has been analyzed that the formation of the specialized courts in the United States was owing to certain specific reasons which were expected to benefit the legal system of the nation in an extensive manner. Notably, the primary aim of the formation of the specialized courts in the country i.e. US is to enhance the decision making process of the courts in the presence of expertise jury with regard to the execution of complex litigation within the country. Furthermore, it has also been noted that the number of pending cases in the generalized courts of the nation has also been quite large which further affects the legal system of the country negatively. Contextually, with the formation of the specialized courts in the nation, a large number of pending cases is expected to be shifted to the specialized courts based on the genre or the type of cases in order to ensure fast and better decision-making for the same. Another prime reason for the formation of the specialized courts in the country relates to the increasing amount of time spent in deciding the cases in the generalized courts. In the regard, the formation of specialized courts will ensure that judges take less time in deciding the cases which I turn can significantly enhance the efficacy of the entire legal system of the country (Zimmer, 2009). Main Objectives of the Specialized Courts As mentioned previously, the formation of the specialized courts in the United States court system has certain objectives to be accomplished in the long run within the legal system of the country. The first objective of the formation of the specialized courts has been to enhance the efficacy of the legal system of the nation. With the prevalence of the specialized forms of courts within the country, the decision making process will probably receive a positive impact. Furthermore, the formation of the specialized courts within the legal system of the nation is also expected to enhance the overall legal system in terms of accuracy and promptness of the judgments laid down. Since in the presence of the specialized judges the complex cases within the nation are expected to be solved more effectively with consuming less amount of time, the overall legal system of the nation is deemed to get impacted positively. Ensuring uniformity within the legal system is another objective with regard to the formation of the specialized courts in the country. It has been noted that in the presence of the specialized courts within the United States, the decision making in the complex and controversial cases will be equal and uniform further ensuring the deliverance of universally accepted results. Furthermore, the formation of the specialized courts is also intended towards enhancing the expertise of the courts in the presence of specialized jury. Additionally, the formation of the courts is also deemed to enhance the aspect of case management within the judicial domain of the country (Zimmer, 2009). The accomplishment of these objectives as per the operations of the specialized courts will surely benefit the entire legal system of the United States altogether up to a considerable extent. Forms of Specialized Courts in the United States Notably, a few of the prime forms of courts that fall within the specialized courts include the drug courts, the commercial courts, youth courts, domestic violence courts, mental health courts and veteran treatment courts among others (National Institute of Justice, 2013). The drug courts are among the specialized courts within the United States which deal with cases of drug abuse. In such cases, the expertise judges work in alignment with the prosecutors, the defense council along with the treatment specialists to make decisions for the drug abuse culprits with regard to providing them appropriate medical treatment. Another form of specialized courts within the United States is the business or the commercial courts. These courts are mainly accountable for dealing with cases involving trusts and estates along with fiduciary duties among others. These courts also deal with corporate governance issue which majorly includes accounting frauds amid the prime (Zimmer, 2009). The veteran treatment court deals with the case of health and other issues associated with the veterans. It is believed that one in every five veteran possesses complaints of trauma and mental health pressure or any cognitive disorder. Contextually, the specialized veteran courts work in alignment with the allied experts to design appropriate treatments for treatment cases of veterans (Justice for Vets, 2014). Correspondingly, the mental health courts are specialized in dealing with the cases involving individual having mental health issues. These courts ensure the deliverance of decision making that might work towards reducing the number of crime rates along with the enhancing the lives of the individuals within the United States (Judicial Council of California, 2014). Another specialized form of court in the US court system is the domestic violence courts. This sort of courts works towards the cases related to domestic violence involving spouse and other family members or partners. This sort of cases are deemed to be quite complex and need specialized consideration of the criminal justice system. With the formation of this type of courts, the cases related to domestic violence are deemed to be decided more efficiently with uniform results (National Institute of Justice, 2011). Advantages of Specialized Courts There are certain crucial benefits for the entire legal system of the United States owing to the formation of the specialized courts. One of the most vital advantages with the formation of the specialized courts is with regard to enhancing the efficacy of the legal system of the country. Notably, the presence of specialized courts within the legal system of the country will enable better decision making in very less time further enhancing smoothness of the legal system of the country. This is one of the most important aspects, which has encouraged the formation of specialized courts within the United States. Another benefit that is apparent from the formation of the specialized courts within the nation is the aspect that these courts are less expensive as compared to the criminal courts operating in the country. This is because of the fact that these courts operate in quite a prompt manner as the judges consume less amount of time in taking their decisions which further reduces the cost of the entire operations of the courts. On the other hand, since the generalized courts consume more time in their decision making, the cases take more time to complete which again impacts the cost of operations of the courts negatively. This aspect also justifies the formation of the specialized courts within the United States. Another advantage of the presence of the specialized courts within the legislative system of the country is the specialization of both the lawyers as well as the judge. Since this sort of courts has judges that are specialized in one particular genre, they have the opportunity to concentrate on one particular legal domain which further enhances the efficacy of the entire outcome of the cases. The special courts also deemed to relieve the pressure from the general courts by dealing with complex and time consuming cases which will otherwise remain pending for a longer duration of time further affecting the flow of operations of the entire legal system of the country. Again, since the specialized courts are target oriented, the participants are expected to get better remedy for themselves (Neuberger & Meinhold, 2012; Zimmer, 2009). Disadvantages of the Formation of Specialized Courts The prevalence of the specialized courts within the United States also has certain potential negative impacts on the legal system of the nation. Notably, with the formation of the specialized courts, the due process related to legal decision making will get diminished. Observably, due process is a particular legal requirement where the state has the requirement to respect all the legal rights of a person. However, with the cases conducted in the specialized courts, this particular legal aspect might not be entertained. Another disadvantage of the presence of the specialized courts is the fact that the defendants might feel forced to participate in the court hearings. Notably, in cases conducted in the specialized courts, the participation of the defendants and the prosecution is considered mandatory which might further ignite a coerced situation amid the defendants. Moreover, the other shortcoming of the specialized courts is that their approach is considered to be quite merciful which can be considered as a negative aspect by the public. Besides, for judgments related to certain cases public may not trust the outcomes of the proceeding to be universally applicable and fair owing to the perception of leniency (Neuberger & Meinhold, 2012). Hence, these aspects certainly can impact the operations of the specialized courts negatively. Conclusion From the overall analysis, it can be concluded that the formation of the specialized courts in the United States is deemed to be one of the most prominent steps of the legislative authorities in the Unites States. It has several key benefits for the entire legal systems of the country which will certainly have a positive impact on the citizens of the nation by a considerable extent. References Justice for Vets. (2014). What is a veterans treatment court? Retrieved from http://www.justiceforvets.org/what-is-a-veterans-treatment-court Judicial Council of California. (2014). Mental health courts. Retrieved from http://www.courts.ca.gov/5982.htm Neuberger, D. & Meinhold, S. (2012). Judicial process: law, courts, and politics in the United States. US: Cengage Learning. National Institute of Justice. (2011). Domestic violence courts. Retrieved from http://www.nij.gov/topics/courts/domestic-violence-courts/Pages/welcome.aspx National Institute of Justice. (2013). Specialized courts. Retrieved from http://www.nij.gov/topics/courts/pages/specialized-courts.aspx Zimmer, M. B. (2009). Overview of specialized courts. International Journal for Court Administration, 1-15. Read More