federal courts Flashcards
what are the 4 features of the judiciary to ensure an independent legal system?
autonomy
hierarchy (federal courts can overturn decisions of state courts or higher federal courts may reverse the decision of lower courts)
judicial review
lifetime appointment
judicial review
SC and other courts of appeals can strike down actions of congress, the president, or states that judges find to be violations of constitution
categories of law
criminal, civil, public
criminal law
government charges individual with violating a statute enacted to protect health, safety, morals or welfare
- arises in state and municipal courts
civil law
disputes among individuals or a private party (companies) between the latter and government where no violation is charged; pay monetary damage; courts apply statutes and legal precedetends
public law
the dispute seeks to show that their case involves the powers of government or rights of citizens as defined under the consititution or statute
administrative law
disputes over the jurisdiction, procedures or authority of bureaucratic agencies, e.g. an individual asserts that government is violating a statute
federal system case trajectory
us district courts -> us courts of appeals -> request for reviews-> SC
State system case trajectory
State trial courts-> State apellate courts-> State supreme courts-> request for review-> sc
what cases takes the federal system?
cases involving federal laws, treaties with other nations or us constitution; in which us government is a party
article III
judges of both supreme and inferior courts shall hold their offices during good behavior
good behavior
judges are not appointed to their seats for set terms and cannot be removed at will; removal requires impeachment
how many judicial districts are there?
94
into how many regional circuits are the judicial districts organized
12
what cases can be appealed to us sc?
both ciil and criminal cases if a federal issue is raised
what kind of cases does the sc accept?
cases whose matter might have a national signigicance
what’s habeas corpus
through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful.
how can a defendant request a writ of habeas corpus
the defendant must have used up all available possibilities for getting a writ from the state and must raise issues not previously raised in their state appealate
from whom one can get a writ of habeas corpus?
federal district courts