United States Judicial System - Essay Example

by Abstract In the US court system, the interpretation and application of law is in the hands of the judicial branch of the state and federal governments. There is namely two broad administrative divisions of the US court system – the state and the federal. Each of these divisions are completely independent from the legislative and the executive brancehes of th government. This kind of dual court system is essentially a remnant of the colonial judicial system. The federal judiciary’s establishment was first mandated by the US constitution in the year 1789. Prior to that, the thirteen US colonies already had in place a complete court system which was based on the English judicial model. Hence, the two systems started to grow and develop simultaneously, and each of them had exclusive jurisdiction in certain aspects while in other legal areas, they often had overlapping jurisdiction. The US is basically a federal system, comprising of individual and federal governments for the fifty states. Just like other branches of government, each of the fifty states has their own state courts. Even though there are a number of differences between the federal and state courts, there are certain common characteristics. The federal judicial system has several courts which deal in original jurisdiction, wherein cases are registered and tried. The trial court’s jurisdictions an be subject matter based, or can be geographically based. Furthermore, each of the systems contain intermediate appellate courts. The appellate courts can hear the appeals which are brought from he trial courts. An appeal is defied as a claim made to higher courts by a losing party in a case, informing that the lower court’s decision is a mistake. In the US, the losing arty has the right to one appeal agaisnts the decision of the lower court. Additonally, the US court system reports to the supreme court, which decides on appeals made by the appellate court. In the US, the appeals made to the Supreme court are discretionary, as the Supreme Court choses wheter to har an appeal or not. There are two primary objectives of the US judicial system. First of all, protecting the rghts of the US citizens, and secondly, interpreting the law correctly so that it relates to the presented case. There are numerous layers of courts which make up the US judicial system. For example, there are state courts which pertain to specific issues such as enformcement of traffic laws. Again, important state subjects are handled by the Suprem court. The US court is established on the adversarial justice system. In the adversarial justice system, a neutral party like the judge is presented with the case by the litigants. The argumenst of the case is given by both the parties, thus making it easier for the jury to pass a correct judgement about the conflict. Argumenst can be written or oral, furtehrmroe, other types of testimony and evidence is also presented to the court. In a scenario such as criminal case, judges and the prosecution work for the government and there’s always a chance that the system might be unfair. As the US judicial system is created with checks and balances, it ensures that procedural rights which are given to any accused of the United States, is granted. The procedural rights are all designed for promoting fairness and a rea due process, facilitating each side to offer its case adequately to the court. The federal laws standardize the way the presentation of the court cases is rendered. This prevents the US government convicting the accused without proper judicial processes which each American citizen is entitled to. Under the US constitution, the federal judges are appointed by the US president with the consent and advise of the senate. The senators are consulted regarding the election of federal court officials. One of the interactions between the judiciary and the executive is the appointment of federal judges by the President of the US. Additionally, another one of the important interactions between the federal and the executive is the Department of Justice’s power of prosecuting crimes which are federal in nature. Also, the Department of Justice represents the US government for civil cases, and in the federal system, the Department of Justice litigates most frequently. The federal court operations are affected by other executive agencies as well, one of them include the United States Marshals Service. The agency offers the judges and the federal courthouses with security personnel. Moreover, the courthouse are built and maintained by the General Services Administration. The congress has also a power over the federal courts, since it can confirm the justice or judge appointments in the courts. The Congress even has the power to impeach a judge and has removed seven judges till date. Moreover, the Congress can change the federal court system organization as well as amend the US constitution. Anotehr power of the Congress s that it can evade a court ruling by implementing a different law, which slightly different from the law which was previously deemed as unconstitional. Also, there is a limited decision making power of ht court. If the ruling of a court is ignored by the President, then the federal courts generally can do nothing. Howbver, one of the strongest powers of the US judiciary is the judicial revieiw. In judicial review, the federal court can make a reiniteretaion of the US constitution, and thus affect the executive in a substancial manner. The judicial powers of the US legal system can be broken into a number of categories. Here are a few of the most important judicial powers of the US federal system: Original jurisdiction: The first court hearing a case is considered to have originial jurisdiction Appellate Jurisdiction: The type of jurisdiction which hears the case after an accused has appealed against the original decision. Redress: Redress pertains to the subject of relief and damages Diversity Jurisdiction: The power of the federal courts to hear cases from people belonging to different states. Subject Matter Jurisdiction: The federal law related cases are under the jurisdiction of federal courts. There are some crucial constraints which the judicial system of the US is subject to, these include: Stare Decisis: This essentially means ‘standing on a decision’. In this legal concept, the court needs to depend on precedent, and not attempt changing the law. Precedent: This is established on law and finings from earlier cases. It’s a rule that the lower courts should abide by the precedents cerated by the higher courts. For instatnce, in the case of Roe v Wade, if the Supreme court’s decision is that abortion will be protected by the constitution, then the lower courts must follow the ruling. Read More