Chapter 7: The
Courts
Tracy Walder
Are courts in crisis?
• Police officers complain offenders treated too
leniently
• Corrections officials who lack room in prison for
more inmates are concerned about severe
sentences
• Lawbreakers are released on technicalities
• It is perceived that justice isn’t dispensed in a fair
manner
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History of
courts
England
Inquest
• After a war, the monarch needed to determine how
to divide conquered land.
• Men summoned before a court to attest to the
ownership of land in the surrounding area.
• Some issues:
• Accusers fail to follow through on complaints
• Guilty would go free and community would not be
protected.
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Assize of Clarendon 1100s
• 1166 law
• First grand jury system
• 12 men from each jurisdiction
• This was the decision to charge was taken from the
individual accuser and given to civic-minded citizens who
performed this duty as a community service.
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Trial by Ordeal 1200s
• Trial by cold water
• Trial by hot water – accused had to reach into a hot
water and pick up a stone. Inability pick it up,
meant guilt
• Trial by hot iron (trial by fire)
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Court of the star chamber (1400s)
• Met in a room with stars painted on the ceiling
• Important because it demonstrated how a court
without due process could violate citizens human
rights
• Secret interrogation of suspects
• Use of torture
• No right to a jury trial
• Accusations brought without evidence
• Accused not knowing identity of accuser
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Bill of rights 1700s
• Created to specify the relationship between the
people and the state
• Courts left to interpret how specific behaviors
should be viewed
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Organization
of modern US
courts
Subtitle
Jurisdiction
What is it…..
• Jurisdiction refers to the authority of the court to hear
certain cases.
• Jurisdiction depends on three factors:
• The seriousness of the case
• The location of the offense
• Whether the case is being heard for the first time or is on
appeal
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1. Subject matter jurisdiction
• Authority of a court to hear a case based on the nature
of the case.
• Ex. Drug courts, traffic courts, juvenile courts
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2. Geographic jurisdiction
• Authority of a court to hear a case based on the location
of the offense
• Military bases, Indian reservations, national parls
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3. Hierarchical jurisdiction
• Authority to hear a case based on where the case is
located in the system
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Federal
Courts
Federal courts hear the following types of cases:
• The U.S. government or one of its officers is a party
• Involves violations of federal law or the Constitution
• Between residents of different states if the dollar amount
exceeds $75,000
• Involves bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law
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Offenses that may trigger a federal
charge
• drug trafficking • offenses that cross state
• immigration lines
• identity theft • bank robbery
• • racketeering
child pornography
• • organized crime
child molestation
• terrorism
• explosives
• fraud
• offenses committed in
federal facilities or on • bribery
federal property • extortion
• kidnapping • piracy
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US District courts
• Trial courts of general jurisdiction that try felony cases
involving federal laws and civil cases in which the
amount of money in controversy exceeds $75,000.
• Civil cases constitute most of the district courts’
workload
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District courts case responsibility
• involve a federal question
• an issue of diversity of jurisdiction
• a prisoner petition
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US supreme court
• The top of the hierarchical jurisdiction for both the
federal and state court systems
• Typical case involves a “substantial federal question.”
• Rule of four—At least four of the nine Supreme Court
justices must vote to hear a case before it is put on the
docket.
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State courts
How they are divided….
• state trial courts of limited and general jurisdiction – pass
sentences or hold preliminary hearings. Can hear civil or
criminal cases
• state intermediate courts of appeals – 41 states have them,
must accept all criminal cases
• state supreme courts – court of last resort, can discipline
lawyers and judges
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Local and community courts
• 1. Drug courts – problem solving courts, typically a fine
(possession), consistency, treatment options
• 2. conflict-resolution programs – street fights/burglaries,
apology, restitution
• 3. Family courts – sometimes incorporated into juvenile
court, specialized knowledge of family
• 4. magistrate courts – bail, initial arraignment.
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