Dual Court System in America

 Dual Court System in America

America has a federal government. Subsequently, it comprises two national and state governments (Smith, 2004). Accordingly, two court systems (known as a dual court system) are independent of each other: the federal court system and the state court system. Federal and state courts deal with criminal and civil cases. Both courts have different jurisdictions for the kind of cases they deal with. Jurisdiction, in this case, is the type of issue that each court system is allowed to handle by the Constitution. Notably, the U.S. Supreme Court is the highest in America.

The jurisdiction of federal courts involves cases involving more than one state, interstate crime, or major crimes like drug smuggling, human trafficking, counterfeiting, and crimes by government officials like public ministers and ambassadors (Simon et al., 2019). Also, federal courts handle cases involving disputes between foreign countries and American citizens. The federal courts use federal laws that Congress has passed in its subjects. The U.S. federal courts comprise 13 district courts, 94 Courts of Appeal, the Court of Claims, and the Court of International Trade. Any disagreements with decisions made in the federal courts are appealed to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court (Simon et al., 2019). The president nominates federal judges who are confirmed by the Senate and can only be removed from office through impeachment by Congress. Also, federal courts have no juries.

Jurisdiction in state courts is within the state. State courts handle criminal and civil cases. State courts include the State Supreme Courts, Intermediate Courts of Appeal, and State Trial Courts (Simon et al., 2019),  while state trial courts have the family, juvenile, and probate courts. State court laws guide the proceedings and decisions of these courts. Further, state laws differ across various states; for example, abortion may be legal in one form but illegal in another (Simon et al., 2019). State courts can make their own decisions as long as state laws do not contradict federal law. Appeals in state courts can be made in the Intermediate Courts of Appeal. Furthermore, State court judges can be elected, appointed for a short term or life, or a combination of both methods, whereby one is selected and elected.

References

Simon, C. A., Steel, B. S., & Lovrich, N. P. (2019). Courts. State and Local Government and Politics: Prospects for Sustainability.

Smith, D. B. (2004). Federalism in the United States. Duq. L. Rev., 43, 519.

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America Dual Court System

Discuss how the dual court system works in the United States, how the procedures are organized, and how they operate.