Article three, section one of the United States Constitution states “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office (Cornell University Law School, 2014)”. Our court systems have developed over the years based on this fundamental idea.
The State of Florida has four judicial branches. These are County courts, Circuit courts, the District Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. County courts have limited jurisdiction and will generally dispose misdemeanor and civil cases (up to fifteen thousand dollars) as well as traffic violations. Circuit courts have slightly more jurisdiction than county courts; processing civil cases exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, felonies, probate, cases involving mental health, juvenile delinquency, family law such as divorce, juvenile custody, and injunctions; just to name a few. The circuit courts will also hear appeals from the county court level. “The District court of appeals hears any case that is not directly appealed to the Supreme Court (State of Florida, 2014)”. The Supreme Court will dispose alleged constitutional violations and capital cases. The Judiciary Act of 1789 allowed for the development of circuit and district courts which was done in an effort to provide for increasing populations (Kelly, 2014).
As of 2004 the State of Florida has approximately eight hundred and seventy six judges. Seven of these occupy the Supreme Court bench, si...
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...014, from http://www.judicialselection.us: http://www.judicialselection.us/uploads/documents/Florida_1184079915969.pdf
Cornell University Law School. (2014). Article III. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu: http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleiii
Kelly, M. (2014). Early Development of the United States Court System. Retrieved May 10, 2014, from http://americanhistory.about.com: http://americanhistory.about.com/od/judicialbranch/a/Early-Development-Of-The-United-States-Court-System.htm
State of Florida. (2014). Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://flcourts.org: http://flcourts.org/core/fileparse.php/240/urlt/Jurisdiction_chart.pdf
State of Florida. (2014). Judicial and Judicial Nominating Commission Information. Retrieved May 10, 2014, from http://www.flgov.com: http://www.flgov.com/judicial-and-judicial-nominating-commission-information/
The Honorable Jonathan Yates, former deputy general counsel for the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the U. S. House of Representatives, writes, “This lifetime term now enjoyed by justices not only contravenes the spirit of the Constitution, it counters the role intended for the court as a minor player in the equal judiciary branch of government. Term limits are needed to adjust the part of the court to the intent of the founding fathers” (Np). Judge Yates explains that the greatest powers of the Supreme Court did not originate from the Constitution or Congress, but from their own rulings (Np). The most prominent of which, was being Marbury v. Madison, in which the court granted itself judicial review, or the power to determine the constitutionality of legislation (Yates). Furthermore, the intended role of the court by the founding fathers was so small, that it did not have a home, or meet to hear any cases (Yates). An amendment to the Constitution removing the lifetime tenure of U.S. Supreme Court judges needs consideration by Congress. Lifetime tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court has led to four points that could not have been foreseen by the creators of the Constitution. The first problem resulting from the Supreme Court’s tenure policy is that judges’ are holding on to their seats, disregarding debilitating health issues. The second issue that has arisen from lifetime tenure is the use of strategic retirement by sitting judges to ensure a like-minded replacement. The third development resulting from lifetime tenure is the steady decrease in case decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. The fourth and final effect lifetime tenure has had on the Supreme Court is an increase in celebrity status of the judges, which has le...
The Judicial Branch was written to have very little power, it originally had a federal court and then had to be divided into lower. The President is in charge of appointing the justices, and all of the decision from congress and the executive branch have to go through the judicial branch in order for them to decide if it constitutional or unconstitutional.
In America we have common law just like Canada. Article III of the constitution is what established the judicial system. The bottom is just the local courts and then state courts. There is also the federal court system where judges are nominated by the president then confirmed by the Senate. These courts include: the 94 district courts, Tax court, Court of Appeals, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Court of Claims, and Court of Military Appeals. With most courts of the United States, juries are the ones who decide whether one is guilty or not. The constitution calls for the creation of the Supreme Court and leaves the responsibility of creating the inferior courts to Congress.
The Florida court system is composed of four different court structures. First, there is the Supreme Court, which is the highest court system in Florida and according to Florida Courts website, “Decisions stemming from Florida’s highest court have helped shape, certainly, the state itself, but the nation as a whole.” (FL Courts, n.d.) The Supreme Court is comprised of seven Justices and at least five of those Justices must contribute in every case and four must agree so a resolution can be reached. Secondly, there is the District Courts of Appeal which provides the chance for a thoughtful review of decisions of lower hearings by a multi-judge panel. “District Courts of Appeal correct harmful errors and ensure that decisions are consistent with
People have always been concerned about our judicial system making massive decisions in an undemocratic manner and while there are parts of our nation’s history (Jost). There have been decisions that were dreadful for our nation, Dred Scott v. Sandford; but there are decisions that everyone can agree with in retrospect, Brown v. Board of Education. Also, there are decisions that still divide us as a nation, Bush v. Gore and Roe V. Wade. There are a lot of issues that come from our current judicial system; however, I understand that the problems that come from it are not going to come from any quick fix, and we may have to live with some of them. Looking at the history of the judicial branch of the United States Government, I believe it needs to be limited in its judicial review power, but have certain exceptions where necessary in some cases.
The Supreme Court and Federal court have the same authority as in the Constitution. This system is called checks and balances which prevents the sole power of any one of the three branches. In addition, this power can be divided between the states and Federal government. The Federal government’s role in “domestic and foreign affairs and how they have grown” (Fe...
The life of every American citizen, whether they realize it or not, is influenced by one entity--the United States Supreme Court. This part of government ensures that the freedoms of the American people are protected by checking the laws that are passed by Congress and the actions taken by the President. While the judicial branch may have developed later than its counterparts, many of the powers the Supreme Court exercises required years of deliberation to perfect. In the early years of the Supreme Court, one man’s judgement influenced the powers of the court systems for years to come. John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, and as the only lasting Federalist influence in a newly Democratic-Republican government, he and his fellow justices sought to perpetuate their Federalist principles in the United States’ court system. In one of the most memorable court cases of all time--the case of Marbury v. Madison-- Marshall established the idea of judicial review and strengthened the power of the judicial branch in the government. Abiding by his Federalist ideals, Marshall decided cases that would explicitly limit the power of the state government and broaden the strengths of the national government. Lastly, the Marshall Court was infamous for determining the results of cases that dealt with the interpretation of the Constitution and the importance of contracts in American society. The Marshall Court, over the span of a mere three decades, managed to influence the life of every American citizen even to this day by impacting the development of the judicial branch, establishing a boundary between the state and national government, and making declarations on the sanctity of contracts ("The Marshall Court"...
Proverbs 21:15 New Living Translation (NLT) states, “Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.” With that being said, there are “94 district courts, 13 circuit courts, and one Supreme Court throughout the country.” The court systems are not in place to be abused by the representative nor those that are looking for assistance. The court systems exist to provide justice for all.
“A court of appeals hears appeals from the district courts located within its circuit, as well as appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies.” Most of the appeals from federal district courts develop into the court of appeals “serving the circuit in which the case was first heard. Federal appellate courts” have required jurisdiction over the agreement of district courts within their boundaries. Unlawful appeals from federal district courts are generally tried by committees of three inspectors situated on a court of appeals instead of by every judge of each boundary. “Appeals generally fall into one of three categories; frivolous appeals, ritualistic appeals,
The American Court System is an important part of American history and one of the many assets that makes America stand out from other countries. It thrives for justice through its structured and organized court systems. The structures and organizations are widely influenced by both the State and U.S Constitution. The courts have important characters that used their knowledge and roles to aim for equality and justice. These court systems have been influenced since the beginning of the United State of America. Today, these systems and law continue to change and adapt in order to keep and protect the peoples’ rights.
The United States judicial system has the least written about it in the constitution out of all of the three branches, with only two sections outlining the structure of the entire system. This means that much of the judicial branch's power has come from precedents over time and legislation from Congress, leaving the branch far from perfect. Sadly one of the biggest flaws of the court system comes from Article 3, Section 1 of the Constitution, which says that federal judges serve for life while on good behavior. Lifetime tenure for federal judges must be replaced with fixed terms in order ensure the courts stability and functionality.
The United States government consists of three main branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Within the contents of this essay, the judicial branch will be examined. The judicial branch of the United States government oversees justice throughout the country by expounding and applying laws by means of a court system.1 This system functions by hearing and determining the legality of such cases.2 Sitting at the top of the United States court system is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States encompasses the federal judiciary, explicitly the judicial branch. This court is comprised of life-long serving Justices who are selected by the President of the United States and approved by the Senate.3 Cooperatively, the Supreme Court, the President, and Congress attempt to work in accord to run the three-pronged government of the United States.
The judges that are a part of this group has many different roles, some of which are to issues warrants, making a determination of probable cause in evidence, denying or granting bail to offenders, overseeing trials, making rulings on different motions and even overseeing hearings. The prosecuting attorney is the one who will represent that state in c...
The US court system consists of a trial court, an appellate court, and a supreme or high court. The trial court is the first to hear the facts of a case and has original jurisdiction. The appellate court hears cases whose resolution is disputed by the losing party in the trial court. The supreme or high court hears cases whose outcome is disputed by the losing party in the appellate court. The supreme or high court chooses which cases warrant a hearing. The federal and the state court system have the same basic structure. Each consists of a trial court, an appellate court, and a supreme or high court. The Federal Court of Appeals has thirteen (13) circuits which cover most states except the District of Columbia. The federal system also has specialty courts such as the Court of Federal Claims and the United States Tax Court.
Before the 1899 there was no Juvenile court established. That changed when Illinois was the first to have a juvenile court to have a hearing in 1899. Illinois passed the Juvenile Court Act of 1899, which established the Nation’s first juvenile court. The courts created a parens patriae which is another word for the state as parent. It was created to be the rationale for the right of the State to intervene in the lives of the children in a way that is different from the normal way that the adult court interacts with the lives of adults. It was also created for the State to act or ...