Lower Court Discretion
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Federal Courts & What They Do
Federal Courts & What They Do Contents What Is a Court? 1 What Is a Federal Court? 2 What Kinds of Federal Courts Are There? 2 Map: Geographical Boundaries of U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts 3 Who Sets Up the Federal Court System? 4 What’s the Difference Between Civil Cases and Criminal Cases? 4 What Kinds of Cases Are Tried in State Courts? 5 What Kinds of Cases Are Tried in Federal Courts? 6 How Does a Case Come into a Federal Court? 7 Is There a Trial for Every Case? 8 Diagram: The Court Systems of the United States 9 May I Watch a Trial in Progress? 10 What Is the Purpose of the Trial? 10 Who Are the People in the Courtroom? 12 What Happens During a Trial? 15 What Happens After the Trial or Guilty Plea? 20 What Are Some of the Most Noteworthy Facts and Concepts You Should Remember About the Federal Courts? 24 Glossary 25 Federal Courts and What They Do elcome to the U.S. Courthouse. During your visit, you’ll see Wjudges and their staffs, jurors, lawyers, and people who are involved in court cases. This pamphlet answers some of the ques- tions visitors to the federal courts ask most often. It will help you understand what you see and hear in the courthouse. Of course, legal proceedings are often complex, and a pamphlet such as this may not answer all of your questions. In the back is a glossary of legal terms that you’ll find in this pamphlet. -
Lawsuits Against the Federal Government: Basic Federal Court Procedure and Timelines
Updated December 22, 2020 Lawsuits Against the Federal Government: Basic Federal Court Procedure and Timelines Many federal laws and policy initiatives are challenged in cannot succeed as a matter of law. The court may deny a court. In recent years, for instance, plaintiffs have brought motion to dismiss or may grant the motion with respect to cases challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s the case as a whole or only as to certain claims. rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Secretary of Commerce’s decision to include a If the court does not grant a motion to dismiss in full, the citizenship question on the 2020 Census, and the case proceeds to discovery, the process by which parties President’s decision to expend certain funds to construct a exchange evidence. Once the factual record is sufficiently “border wall.” Because the defendant in these cases is the developed, either party (or both) may file a motion for United States or an executive official, the cases generally summary judgment, arguing that the other party cannot proceed in federal court. By understanding the procedures prevail in light of the applicable law and the undisputed governing federal court litigation, legislators can consider facts. The district court judge may resolve legal questions at potential outcomes, estimate timelines, and appreciate the this stage but may not resolve factual disputes. As with a importance of a court’s ruling at a particular stage. This In motion to dismiss, the court may grant summary judgment Focus reviews the most common procedures that govern in full or in part; it may also grant summary judgment in civil suits against the federal government, tracing the path favor of the plaintiff on some claims and in favor of the from federal district court to the Supreme Court. -
A Citizen's Guide
A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON COURTS Eleventh Edition 2008 A Citizen’s Guide to Washington Courts is supported in part by a grant from the Program on Law and Society of the Open Society Institute and the League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund. Previous editions of this booklet were published in 1979, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2006 by the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Revisions are made regularly. Note to educators: Definitions of italicized court terms used in this booklet are included in a companion text, A Guide to Terms Used in Washington Court, an online- only publication. Online copies of A Guide to Terms and A Citizen’s Guide are available and can be downloaded from the Washington Courts homepage at www.courts.wa.gov, by clicking on “News and Info,” and scrolling down to “Informational Brochures.” Table of Contents Page Washington Court System ............................................................................. 1 Visiting our Courts ........................................................................................ 2 Types of Cases ................................................................................................ 2 Trial Process .................................................................................................. 4 Alternative Dispute Resolution ..................................................................... 7 Court Organization ........................................................................................ 9 Courts -
STARE DECISIS in the INFERIOR COURTS of the UNITED STATES Joseph W
STARE DECISIS IN THE INFERIOR COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES Joseph W. Mead* ABSTRACT While circuit courts are bound to follow circuit precedent under “law of the circuit” the practice among federal district courts is more varied and uncertain, routinely involving little or no deference to their own precedent. I argue that the different hierarchical levels and institutional characteristics do not account for the differences in practices between circuit and district courts. Rather, district courts can and should adopt a “law of the district” similar to that of circuit courts. Through this narrow proposal, I explore the historical stare decisis practices in federal courts that are not Supreme. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 788 I. THE ORIGINS AND PURPOSES OF STARE DECISIS ............... 789 A. Stare Decisis and Structure ............................. 789 B. Why Do Courts Have Horizontal Stare Decisis? .......... 792 II. HORIZONTAL STARE DECISIS PRACTICES AMONG LOWER COURTS .................................................... 794 A. Circuit Court Practices ................................. 794 B. District Court Practices ................................. 800 III. DISTRICT COURTS HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ADOPT A STRONG STARE DECISIS DOCTRINE ................................... 804 IV. THE CASE FOR LAW OF THE DISTRICT ........................ 809 A. The Proposal........................................... 809 B. The Policies............................................ 811 1. Predictability ...................................... -
Annual Report of the Maryland Judiciary
3 . \ ""£ " D D D RJ mm ^.J Ui © Q\ MMLYlMm JUBIQAMWJ ANNUAL REPORT of the MARYLAND JUDICIARY 1983-1984 Administrative Office of the Courts Courts of Appeal Building Post Office Box 431 Annapolis, Maryland 21404 301/269-2141 I m RECEIVED nuv zOiybb LAW L!3RA,JvY 7TH CIRCUIT UUURf-LlbKArtii u&MJia uibK. PRINQ&fiEORGFS mUWPf COVER PHOTOGRAPHS 1. District Court Multi-Service Center—Catonsville, Baltimore County 2. The District Court Building—Annapolis, Anne Arundel County 3. District Court Multi-Service Center—Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County 4. District Court Multi-Service Center—Denton, Caroline County 5. District Court Multi-Service Center—Essex, Baltimore County 6. Multi-Service Courthouse Complex—Frederick, Frederick County I 7. District Court Multi-Service Center—Bel Air, Harford County 8. District Court Multi-Service Center—Ellicott City, Howard County 9. The Court Annex Building—Westminster, Carroll County 10. District Court Multi-Service Center—Elkton, Cecil County 11. District Court Multi-Service Center—Centreville, Queen Anne's County LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Page 1 District Court Multi-Service Center, Ellicott City, Howard County 3 Multi-Service Courthouse Complex, Frederick, Frederick County 8 District Court Multi-Service Center, Bel Air, Harford County 15 District Court Multi-Service Center, Ellicott City, Howard County 16 District Court Multi-Service Center, Elkton, Cecil County 16 District Court Building, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County 17 District Court Multi-Service Center, Denton, Caroline County 18 District Court Multi-Service -
State Courts
State Courts Why It Matters Read to the class a local newspaper ar- BEFORE YOU READ TAKING As you read, take NOTES notes on the state ticle concerning a trial or lawsuit. Then The Main Idea Reading Focus Key Terms court system. Use a chart like ask students if the trial is being held in this one to organize your notes. State court systems include 1 What kinds of cases penal code, p. 217 federal or state court. Ask students if lower courts, general trial do state courts handle? Missouri Plan, p. 220 State Court Cases they know why this is so. If they do not, 2. courts, appeals courts, and How is the state court State Court System explain that if a state law is broken, a state supreme courts. system organized? 3. How are state judges Selection of state court handles the trial; if a federal State Judges selected? law is broken, a federal court handles the trial. Discuss with students how the court system affects their daily lives. State legislatures write laws, and Key Terms state executives put those laws Preteach the following terms: into action. Then, state courts make sure everyone is following penal code set of criminal laws (p. 217) the rules. For example, a speeding ticket is usually Missouri Plan method of selecting judges handled in a low-level state court, such as a traffi c in which a committee prepares a list of quali- court. Other cases are heard at different levels, all the fi ed judges, the governor appoints a judge way to the state supreme court. -
The Supreme Court's Ill-Advised Rejection of Anticipatory Overruling
Fordham Law Review Volume 59 Issue 1 Article 2 1990 Following Dead Precedent: The Supreme Court's Ill-Advised Rejection of Anticipatory Overruling C. Steven Bradford Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation C. Steven Bradford, Following Dead Precedent: The Supreme Court's Ill-Advised Rejection of Anticipatory Overruling, 59 Fordham L. Rev. 39 (1990). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol59/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Law Review by an authorized editor of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Following Dead Precedent: The Supreme Court's Ill-Advised Rejection of Anticipatory Overruling Cover Page Footnote Research for this article was funded in part by a Ross McCollum Summer Research Grant. I wish to thank Professor Josephine Potuto for helpful comments on an earlier draft. I also wish to thank Todd Bice, University of Nebraska College of Law Class of 1991, for his excellent research assistance. This article is available in Fordham Law Review: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol59/iss1/2 FOLLOWING DEAD PRECEDENT: THE SUPREME COURT'S ILL-ADVISED REJECTION OF ANTICIPATORY OVERRULING by C. STEVEN BRADFORD* Introduction ............................................. 39 I. Anticipatory Overruling Prior to Rodriguez ............... 43 II. Prior Supreme Court Pronouncements .................... 48 III. The History Behind Rodriguez: Securities Arbitration and the Supreme Court ....................................... 52 A. -
Following Lower-Court Precedent Aaron-Andrew P
+(,121/,1( Citation: 81 U. Chi. L. Rev. 851 2014 Provided by: The University of Chicago D'Angelo Law Library Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org) Tue Feb 2 13:08:33 2016 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: https://www.copyright.com/ccc/basicSearch.do? &operation=go&searchType=0 &lastSearch=simple&all=on&titleOrStdNo=0041-9494 The University of Chicago Law Review Volume 81 Summer 2014 Number 3 © 2014 by The University of Chicago ARTICLES Following Lower-Court Precedent Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhlt This Article examines the role of lower-court precedent in the US Supreme Court's decisions. The Supreme Court is rarely the first court to consider a legal question, and therefore the Court has the opportunity to be informed by and per- haps even persuaded by the views of the various lower courts that have previously addressed the issue. This Article considers whether the Court should give weight to lower-court precedent as a matter of normative theory and whether the Court in fact does so as a matter of practice. To answer the normative question, this Article analyzes a variety of potential reasons to give weight to lower-court precedent, in- cluding reasons related to stability, constraint, and the wisdom of crowds. To ad- dress the descriptive question, this Article examines the currentjustices' voting be- havior and reasoning, over a period of several recent years, in cases in which the Court resolved splits in the lower courts. -
Appealing a Civil Case to the Superior Court
Representing Yourself: Appealing a Civil Case to the Superior Court A GUIDE ON HOW TO APPEAL A FINAL ORDER OR JUDGMENT FROM A JUSTICE COURT OR MUNICIPAL COURT IN NON-TRAFFIC CIVIL CASES JULY 2008 Table of Contents Page I. INTRODUCTION 3 II. ARIZONA LOWER COURT APPEALS PROCESS – FLOW CHART 4 III. BASIC STEPS OF APPEAL – FLOW CHART 5 IV. FILING AN APPEAL: STEP-BY-STEP 6 Step 1: Receive fi nal order or judgment from justice or municipal court Step 2: File Notice of Appeal/Designation of Record Step 3: Appellant pays lower court fi ling fee or gets waiver/deferral Step 4: Appellant pays cost bond or gets waiver/deferral Step 5: Appellant pays supersedeas bond Step 6: Appellant fi les Memorandum Step 7: Appellee fi les Memorandum Step 8: Appellant pays Superior Court fee or gets waiver/deferral Step 9: Oral Argument (if permitted) V. SUPERIOR COURT APPEALS PROCESS 12 VI. LIMITATION ON FURTHER APPEAL 12 VII. SPECIAL ACTIONS 13 VIII. ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS 13 IX. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 14 X. IMPORTANT TERMS 17 XI. SUPERIOR COURT CONTACT INFORMATION 21 XII. FORMS 22 2 Introduction If you want to appeal a fi nal order or judgment you received from a justice court or municipal court, you have the right to do so in the Superior Court. You may appeal a Judgment of Eviction (forcible/special detainer); an Injunction Prohibiting Harassment/Order of Protection (restraining order); or any other fi nal order or judgment handed down by a justice court or municipal court. You cannot appeal a small claims court decision. -
Understanding Your Court System
Understanding Your Court System: A Guide to the Judicial Branch Published by the Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts Introduction to the Tennessee Judicial System The judicial branch, one of the three basic divisions of state government, serves as a check on the powers of both the legislative and executive branches. Through the power of judicial review, the courts rule on the constitutionality of legislation passed by the General Assembly and consider the legality of administrative policies and regulations. Tennessee’s judicial system is derived from a constitutional foundation: “The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such Circuit, Chancery, and other inferior courts as the legislature shall from time to time ordain and establish ...” (Article VI, Section 1, Constitution of the State of Tennessee). Although not a part of the court system, the offices of the attorney general, district attorneys general and district public defenders are associated with the judicial branch of state government. The attorney general represents the interests of the state in civil litigation. The 31 district attorneys serve as prosecuting counsel in criminal cases. Public defenders and court-appointed private attorneys represent indigent defendants, primarily in criminal cases. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. The five justices are nominated by the Judicial Selection Commission, appointed by the governor and retained by a “yes-no” vote for eight-year terms. The majority of this court’s workload consists of cases appealed from lower state courts. The Intermediate Appellate Courts - the Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals - hear civil and criminal cases appealed from the trial courts. -
GUIDE to IOWA's COURT SYSTEM Page 16
Guide to Iowa’s Court System GUIDE TO IOWA’S COURT SYSTEM Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction to Iowa’s Court System ....................................................................................................... 1 Trial and Appellate Court Structure Chart ............................................................................................... 1 The District Court .................................................................................................................................. 2 A Snapshot of Iowa’s District Court Case Load ...................................................................................... 2 District Court Procedures: civil, criminal and juvenile ........................................................................... 3 Civil Procedure ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Other Civil Procedures: small claims and family law cases ................................................................... 4 Criminal Procedure and Sentencing ...................................................................................................... 4 Juvenile Court Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 7 District Court: judges, court staff and court structure ........................................................................... 8 Iowa’s Judicial Districts ........................................................................................................................ -
Connecticut's Courts
Connecticut’s Courts The judicial power of the state shall be vested in a supreme court, an appellate court, a superior court, and such lower courts as the general assembly shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The powers and jurisdiction of these courts shall be defined by law. Article V, § 1, of the Constitution of Connecticut, as amended by article XX of the amendments, § 1. The purpose of this booklet is to provide the people of Connecticut with a basic understanding of the history, organization and operations of their judicial system. It is based upon the laws of the State of Connecticut and the rules and procedures set forth in the Connecticut Practice Book at the time of publication. Table of Contents 3 | The Role of the Courts 3 | Separation of Powers 3 | State Courts vs. Federal Courts 3 | Organization of the Courts 3 | Supreme Court 4 | Appellate Court 4 | Superior Court 4 | Civil Division 5 | Criminal Division 5 | Housing Division 5 | Family Division 6 | Juvenile Matters 6 | Special Sessions of the Superior Court 7 | Steps in a Jury Trial 8 | Judges – Appointment and Terms 8 | Non-judicial Officers 8 | Funding for the Courts 9 | Court Administration and Operations 9 | Judicial Functions 9 | Administrative Operations 9 | Administrative Services Division 10 | Court Support Services Division 10 | External Affairs Division 10 | Information Technology Division 10 | Superior Court Operations Division 11 | History of Connecticut’s Courts 12 | Probate Court 13 | Visiting the Courts Connecticut’s Courts | 1 Relationship Between Connecticut’s Courts Dotted Lines With Arrows Indicate Routes of Appeal Supreme Court Court of Last Resort The Supreme Court can transfer to itself any appeal in the Appellate Court.