Judicial Branch Flashcards
court the constitution creates
supreme court
the constitution allows congress to create
other courts
what are the two systems of courts in the us
- the federal court system
- the state court system
two kinds of legal cases
criminal and civil
definition of criminal case
relating to crime
definition of civil case
lawsuits/divorce cases: decide which side’s version of the story is correct
evidence is used to
prove the side of the story
what type of trial has no jury?
bench trial (civil cases)
if the losing side is unhappy with a court’s decision they can ask a higher court to review the decision
appeal
courts above the trial court
appellate courts
federal system and most state systems’ two appellate-level courts:
Court of Appeals and Supreme Court
appellate courts can
affirm: the trial court’s decision, letting it stand (confirm)
reverse: the decision
remand: the case back to the trial court to start over
trial court has ______ judge
one
most Court of Appeals cases are heard by a _____________
three-judge panel
supreme court cases are
disputes about whether a law goes against the Constitution
deciding what is constitutional
judicial review
the job of the judicial branch
interpret the laws
district court
trial court
hears cases for the first time
court of appeals
reviews cases from the district court
does not hear cases for the first time
supreme court
highest court in the country
reviews selected cases from Court of Appeals
job of the Court of Appeals
review a case
the Supreme Court _____________ which cases it wants to hear
chooses
if you lose a case in the trial court you can
appeal
if a law is unconstitutional the supreme court can
reverse it
hears civil cases
both
might have a jury trial
both?
does not hear cases for the first time
appellate court
hears criminal cases
both
reviews a verdict to look for mistakes
appellate courts
usually has three-judge panels
appellate courts
hears cases for the first time
trial court
works with laws
both
levels of courts
district court→court of appeals→supreme court
