English for Law Students

Vocabulary

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Supplementary texts

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Vocabulary

1. multitiered adj	– многоярусный
2. legal case	– судебное дело
3. ultimately [‘ʌltɪmətlɪ] adv	– в конечном счёте
4. state court	– суд штата (в отличие от федерального суда)
5. trial court	– суд первой инстанции
6. tier [‘taɪə] n	– ярус, уровень
7. municipal court	– муниципальный суд (Суд первой инстанции в ряде штатов, обладающий исключительной юрисдикцией по делам о нарушении постановлений муниципального органа. Закон штата может ограничить его юрисдикцию по некоторым гражданским и уголовным дел.)
8. justice of the peace	– мировой судья
9. county or circuit court	– окружной суд (Основной суд первой инстанции в штате, ведающий делами одного или нескольких округов (графств), в которых по очереди проходят регулярные судебные заседания.)
10. limited jurisdiction	– ограниченная юрисдикция (право рассматривать лишь определенные типы дел)
11. magistrate(‘s) court	– суд магистрата, магистратский суд, мировой суд
12. juvenile case	– дело несовершеннолетнего, дело о несовершеннолетнем
13. minor criminal case	– уголовное дело о малозначительном преступлении
14. traffic violation	– нарушение правил движения
15. pretrial [͵pri:ʹtraıəl] n	– совещание суда с адвокатами сторон
16. serious crime	– тяжкое преступление
17. general jurisdiction	– общая юрисдикция
18. lawsuit [‘lɔːs(j)uːt] n	– судебный процесс; иск
19. probate court	– суд по делам о наследстве
20. family court [͵fæm(ə)lıʹkɔ:t]	– суд по семейным делам (примирительная камера, разбирающая дела об алиментах, месте жительства детей)
21. juvenile court	– суд по делам несовершеннолетних
22. small claims court	– суд малых исков (до 2000 долларов)
23. uphold [ʌp’həuld] v	– поддерживать
24. reverse [rɪ’vɜːs] v	– аннулировать, отменять
25. monetary reward	– денежное вознаграждение
26. retrial [ˌriː’traɪəl] n	– пересмотр судебного дела; повторное слушание дела
27. federal court	– федеральный суд
28. bankruptcy court	– суд по делам о банкротстве [несостоятельности]
29. United States Court of Federal Claims	– Федеральный претензионный суд Федеральный суд, рассматривающий иски к правительству США в качестве суда первой инстанции
30. United States Court of Veterans Appeals	– Апелляционный суд США по делам ветеранов Федеральный суд, созданный в 1988 с исключительной юрисдикцией в области контроля над решениями Совета по обращениям ветеранов [Board of Veterans Appeals].
31. court of appeals	– апелляционный суд (Судебная инстанция, существующая в каждом штате и обладающая исключительным правом пересмотра решений низших судебных инстанций [appellate jurisdiction]).
32. resign [rɪ’zaɪn] v	– уходить в отставку, подавать в отставку; оставлять пост
33. impact [‘ɪmpækt] n	– воздействие

Text

The United States court system is actually many court systems: a federal system and 50 state systems. Each has its own structures and procedures. All are multi-tiered. Legal cases begin in a lower court and sometimes work their way up to a higher court. Some cases initiated in a state court system ultimately end up in the federal court system.

State courts

Most legal issues are resolved in state trial courts, the courts at the lowest tier in a state’s court system. Depending on the specific structure of the state’s court system, trial courts may be city or municipal courts, justice of the peace or jp courts, county or circuit courts, or even regional trial courts.

Most states have two levels of trial courts: trial courts with limited jurisdiction and trial courts with specific jurisdiction. Jurisdiction simply refers to the types of cases a court can hear. For example, trial courts of limited jurisdiction – which can include municipal courts, magistrate courts, county courts and justice of the peace courts – hear some kinds of civil cases, juvenile cases, minor criminal cases and traffic violations. Most legal problems are resolved in this kind of trial court.

Some trial courts with limited jurisdiction also hold pretrial hearings for more serious criminal cases.

Courts of general jurisdiction include circuit courts, superior courts, district courts, or courts of common pleas, depending on the state. They hear lawsuits that involve greater amounts of money or more serious types of crimes than the cases heard in trial courts of limited jurisdiction.

Many states also have specialized trial courts that hear cases related to a very specific area of the law. These courts can include probate courts, family law courts, juvenile courts, and small claims courts.

Next tier up in the typical state court system are the appellate courts. These courts don’t hold trials but instead review the decisions and procedures of the trial courts in their systems and either uphold or reverse their decisions or modify the amount of a monetary reward. Sometimes appellate courts order retrials.

Lower court decisions are not automatically appealed. One must initiate an appeal and provide a legal basis for appealing.

Every state has a court of last resort, generally called the “supreme court.” Although Supreme Court decisions are final within a state court system, sometimes they can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Like appellate courts, supreme courts review the decisions and the procedures of lower courts; they don’t hold trials.

Federal courts (see table 1)

Most of the federal court system is divided into districts and circuits. There is at least one federal district in every state, but populous states can have multiple districts, e.g. Texas has northern, western, southern and eastern districts.

Generally, federal lawsuits start out at the district level in a federal court. Most are civil, not criminal, cases involving legal issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the federal government, not state government. If a lawsuit deals with certain types of federal law, it is heard in a special federal court. Tax court, bankruptcy court, court of federal claims, and court of veteran appeals are all examples of special federal courts.

Each federal circuit includes more than one district and is home to a Federal Court of Appeal. This court plays a role analogous to a state appellate court.

At the very top of the federal court system is the U.S. Supreme Court. Its legal interpretations are The Final Word on the law in this country. The nine justices who sit on the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and approved by the U.S. Senate. They can remain on the court until their death or until they resign.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears only a very small number of cases. To get to that level, a case must usually work its way up through the lower tiers of a state court system and/or the federal system. The justices choose the cases they hear every year based on a case’s implications for Americans in general or for a certain group within society, not just the impact on the parties actually involved in the lawsuit itself.

The Constitution only allows certain kinds of cases to be heard by the federal courts. In general, these courts are limited to cases that involve the following:

− Issues of Constitutional law

− Certain issues between residents of different states

− Issues between U.S. citizens and foreigners

− Issues that involve both federal and state law

Table 1

	The final appeal goes to the Supreme Court, the last and highest authority	SUPREME COURT	Federal Questions from State Courts
Disputes can be appealed and decided by these courts.	United States Court of Appeals 13 Circuits	United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit	United States Court of Appeals For the Armed Forces
Cases start in these courts.	94 U.S. Courts and United States Tax Court	U.S. Court of International Trade U.S. Court of Federal Claims U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals	Army, Navy-Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard Courts of Criminal Appeals

Supplementary texts

Text 1. Comparing Federal & State Courts

The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land in the United States. It creates a federal system of government in which power is shared between the federal government and the state governments. Due to federalism, both the federal government and each of the state governments have their own court systems. Discover the differences in structure, judicial selection, and cases heard in both systems.

Court Structure

The Federal Court System	The State Court System
Article III of the Constitution invests the judicial power of the United States in the federal court system. Article III, Section 1 specifically creates the U.S. Supreme Court and gives Congress the authority to create the lower federal courts.	The Constitution and laws of each state establish the state courts. A court of last resort, often known as a Supreme Court, is usually the highest court. Some states also have an intermediate Court of Appeals. Below these appeals courts are the state trial courts. Some are referred to as Circuit or District Courts.
Congress has used this power to establish the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, the 94 U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. U.S. Bankruptcy Courts handle bankruptcy cases. Magistrate Judges handle some District Court matters.	States also usually have courts that handle specific legal matters, e.g., probate court (wills and estates); juvenile court; family court; etc.
Parties dissatisfied with a decision of a U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of Claims, and/or the U.S. Court of International Trade may appeal to a U.S. Court of Appeals.	Parties dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court may take their case to the intermediate Court of Appeals.
A party may ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, but the Supreme Court usually is under no obligation to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of federal constitutional questions.	Parties have the option to ask the highest state court to hear the case.
	Only certain cases are eligible for review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Selection of Judges

The Federal Court System	The State Court System
The Constitution states that federal judges are to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They hold office during good behavior, typically, for life. Through Congressional impeachment proceedings, federal judges may be removed from office for misbehavior.	State court judges are selected in a variety of ways, including • election, • appointment for a given number of years, • appointment for life, and • combinations of these methods, e.g., appointment followed by election.

Types of Cases Heard

The Federal Court System

The State Court System

• Cases that deal with the constitutionality of a law; • Cases involving the laws and treaties of the U.S.; • Cases involving ambassadors and public ministers; • Disputes between two or more states; • Admiralty law; • Bankruptcy; and • Habeas corpus issues.

• Most criminal cases, probate (involving wills and estates) • Most contract cases, tort cases (personal injuries), family law (marriages, divorces, adoptions), etc. State courts are the final arbiters of state laws and constitutions. Their interpretation of federal law or the U.S. Constitution may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may choose to hear or not to hear such cases.

http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure/co...

Text 2. Introduction to The Federal Court System

The federal court system has three main levels: district courts (the trial court), circuit courts which are the first level of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States, the final level of appeal in the federal system. There are 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts, and one Supreme Court throughout the country.

Courts in the federal system work differently in many ways than state courts. The primary difference for civil cases (as opposed to criminal cases) is the types of cases that can be heard in the federal system. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, meaning they can only hear cases authorized by the United States Constitution or federal statutes. The federal district court is the starting point for any case arising under federal statutes, the Constitution, or treaties. This type of jurisdiction is called “original jurisdiction.” Sometimes, the jurisdiction of state courts will overlap with that of federal courts, meaning that some cases can be brought in both courts. The plaintiff has the initial choice of bringing the case in state or federal court. However, if the plaintiff chooses state court, the defendant may sometimes choose to “remove” to federal court.

Cases that are entirely based on state law may be brought in federal court under the court’s “diversity jurisdiction.” Diversity jurisdiction allows a plaintiff of one state to file a lawsuit in federal court when the defendant is located in a different state. The defendant can also seek to “remove” from state court for the same reason. To bring a state law claim in federal court, all of the plaintiffs must be located in different states than all of the defendants, and the “amount in controversy” must be more than $75,000. (Note: the rules for diversity jurisdiction are much more complicated than explained here.)

Criminal cases may not be brought under diversity jurisdiction. States may only bring criminal prosecutions in state courts, and the federal government may only bring criminal prosecutions in federal court. Also important to note, the principle of double jeopardy – which does not allow a defendant to be tried twice for the same charge – does not apply between the federal and state government. If, for example, the state brings a murder charge and does not get a conviction, it is possible for the federal government in some cases to file charges against the defendant if the act is also illegal under federal law.

Federal judges (and Supreme Court “justices”) are selected by the President and confirmed “with the advice and consent” of the Senate and “shall hold their Offices during good Behavior.” Judges may hold their position for the rest of their lives, but many resign or retire earlier. They may also be removed by impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. Throughout history, fourteen federal judges have been impeached due to alleged wrongdoing. One exception to the lifetime appointment is for magistrate judges, which are selected by district judges and serve a specified term.

District Courts

The district courts are the general trial courts of the federal court system. Each district court has at least one United States District Judge, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. District courts handle trials within the federal court system – both civil and criminal. The districts are the same as those for the U.S. Attorneys, and the U.S. Attorney is the primary prosecutor for the federal government in his or her respective area.

District court judges are responsible for managing the court and supervising the court’s employees. They are able to continue to serve so long as they maintain “good behavior,” and they can be impeached and removed by Congress. There are over 670 district court judges nationwide.

Some tasks of the district court are given to federal magistrate judges. Magistrates are appointed by the district court by a majority vote of the judges and serve for a term of eight years if full-time and four years if part-time, but they can be reappointed after completion of their term. In criminal matters, magistrate judges may oversee certain cases, issue search warrants and arrest warrants, conduct inital hearings, set bail, decide certain motions (such as a motion to suppress evidence), and other similar actions. In civil cases, magistrates often handle a variety of issues such as pre-trial motions and discovery.

Federal trial courts have also been established for a few subject-specific areas. Each federal district also has a bankruptcy court for those proceedings. Additionally, some courts have nationwide jurisdiction for issues such as tax (United States Tax Court), claims against the federal government (United States Court of Federal Claims), and international trade (United States Court of International Trade).

Circuit Courts

Once the federal district court has decided a case, the case can be appealed to a United States court of appeal. There are twelve federal circuits that divide the country into different regions. The Fifth Circuit, for example, includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Cases from the district courts of those states are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Additionally, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has a nationwide jurisdiction over very specific issues such as patents.

Each circuit court has multiple judges, ranging from six on the First Circuit to twenty-nine on the Ninth Circuit. Circuit court judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Any case may be appealed to the circuit court once the district court has finalized a decision (some issues can be appealed before a final decision by making an “interlocutory appeal”). Appeals to circuit courts are first heard by a panel, consisting of three circuit court judges. Parties file “briefs” to the court, arguing why the trial court’s decision should be “affirmed” or “reversed.” After the briefs are filed, the court will schedule “oral argument” in which the lawyers come before the court to make their arguments and answer the judges’ questions.

Though it is rare, the entire circuit court may consider certain appeals in a process called an “en banc hearing.” (The Ninth Circuit has a different process for en banc than the rest of the circuits.) En banc opinions tend to carry more weight and are usually decided only after a panel has first heard the case. Once a panel has ruled on an issue and “published” the opinion, no future panel can overrule the previous decision. The panel can, however, suggest that the circuit take up the case en banc to reconsider the first panel’s decision.

Beyond the Federal Circuit, a few courts have been established to deal with appeals on specific subjects such as veterans claims (United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims) and military matters (United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces).

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the American judicial system, and has the power to decide appeals on all cases brought in federal court or those brought in state court but dealing with federal law. For example, if a First Amendment freedom of speech case was decided by the highest court of a state (usually the state supreme court), the case could be appealed to the federal Supreme Court. However, if that same case were decided entirely on a state law similar to the First Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States would not be able to consider the case.

After the circuit court or state supreme court has ruled on a case, either party may choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. Unlike circuit court appeals, however, the Supreme Court is usually not required to hear the appeal. Parties may file a “writ of certiorari” to the court, asking it to hear the case. If the writ is granted, the Supreme Court will take briefs and conduct oral argument. If the writ is not granted, the lower court’s opinion stands. Certiorari is not often granted; less than 1% of appeals to the high court are actually heard by it. The Court typically hears cases when there are conflicting decisions across the country on a particular issue or when there is an egregious error in a case.

The members of the Court are referred to as “justices” and, like other federal judges, they are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. There are nine justices on the court – eight associate justices and one chief justice. The Constitution sets no requirements for Supreme Court justices, though all current members of the court are lawyers and most have served as circuit court judges. Justices are also often former law professors. The chief justice acts as the administrator of the court and is chosen by the President and approved by the Congress when the position is vacant.

The Supreme Court meets in Washington, D.C. The court conducts its annual term from the first Monday of October until each summer, usually ending in late June.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/federal-courts