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COURTS
PRE-READING DISCUSSION
Before you read about the suggested topic, think of your own judicial
system:
READING PASSAGE
Courts are the branch of government established to administer the
civil and criminal law. They are classified in many ways. Among the more
usual general classifications are courts of record and courts not of record;
courts of superior jurisdiction and courts of inferior jurisdiction; courts of
first instance and appellate courts; civil courts and criminal courts.
In courts of record the proceedings are recorded completely; no
detailed record is made of the proceedings in courts not of record. Courts of
superior jurisdiction, often called higher courts or appellate courts, are
generally those to which appeals are made from decisions of courts of
inferior jurisdiction, referred to as lower courts or courts of first instance.
Civil and criminal courts deal with cases arising from infractions of the civil
law and the criminal law, respectively. Courts with special, limited
jurisdictions are known by the names of those jurisdictions. For example,
probate or surrogates courts are tribunals dealing with the probate of wills
and the disposition of estates.
The judicial organs of military establishments are called military
courts. They have jurisdiction over infractions by military personnel.
Admiralty courts have jurisdiction over cases arising from maritime
contracts and from violations of maritime law.
COMPREHENSION PRACTICE
a)
who advises them on the law. In cities there are also stipendiary
magistrates who are legally qualified and sit alone.
Magistrates decide the vast majority of criminal matters and a limited
range of civil and administrative questions. Appeal can be made from the
magistrates decision to the Crown Court, where a circuit judge sits,
usually with two magistrates who did not hear the case in the magistrates
court.
Either the defendant or the prosecution may appeal to the House of Lords
in its appellate capacity, which does not involve lay members of the
House, but is heard by a committee of paid Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.
The Structure of the Courts: Civil Matters
Other than the limited jurisdiction of the magistrates court, mostly
concerned with family matters, most unexceptional civil disputes come to
the county court. This was created by Act of Parliament, but it has
concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court, which means that in most
areas the litigant has a choice of which court to use.
The High Court is the ancient civil court of England, divided into three
Divisions: Queens Bench; Chancery; and Family Division. Usually, one
judge sits in a High Court case, except when a divisional court is convened.
That consists of usually one High Court judge and a Lord Justice of Appeal,
and usually tries disputes about government decisions.
SCOTLAND
CRIMINAL
COURT OF
CRIMINAL
APPEAL
HIGH
COURT OF
JUSTICIARY
CIVIL
INNER HOUSE
OF COURT OF
SESSION
OUTER
HOUSE OF
COURT
SESSION
NORTHERN IRELAND
COURT OF APPEAL
PRINCIPAL
SHERIFF
HIGH COURT OF
JUSTICE
DISTRICT
COURT
IN BANKRUPTCY
SHERIFF COURT
(civil matters)
HIGH
COURT
CROWN
COURT
SHERIFF
COURT
(criminal
matters)
DISTRICT
COURT
COURT OF APPEAL
CIVIL
CRIMINAL
DIVISION DIVISION
CROWN
COURT
COUNTY
COURT
(circuit judge)
COUNTY
COURT
(district judge)
(4)
COUNTY
COURT
MAGISTRATES
COURT
Arrows show either the course an appeal will follow from one court to
another, or the progression of a case if it is felt to be too complex or
serious for a lower-level court. No indication is given here of the
levels of the different courts represented in relation to one another.
2. Read the text below, study the diagram, and then match the
definitions on the right with the terms on the left.
State Courts
Each state in the United States has an independent system of courts
operating under the constitution and laws of the state. Broadly speaking, the
state courts are based on the English judicial system as it existed in colonial
times, but as modified by statutory enactments; the character and names of
the courts differ from state to state. The state courts as a whole have general
jurisdiction, except in cases in which exclusive jurisdiction has been vested
in the federal courts.
COURTS OF APPEALS
12 Circuits
TAX
COURT
TERRITORIAL
DISTRICT
COURTS with
Federal and Local
Jurisdiction Guam
Virgin Islands
Northern Mariana
Islands
COURTS OF APPEALS
FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT
DISTRICT COURTS
with Federal
Jurisdiction Only 89
Districts in 50 States
1 in District of
Columbia
1 in Puerto Rico
CLAIMS
COURT
COURT OF
INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
1. jurisdiction
2. controversy
3. treaty
4. approval
5. tribunal
6. claim
7. tax
8. enactment
9. involve
10. citizenship
11. misdemeanor
12. felony
13. litigant
14. schedule
15. equity
16. offence
3.
SUPREME COURT
COURT
COURT
OF
OF CUSTOMS
CLAIMS
COURT OF COURT OF
CUSTOMS
MILITARY
AND PATENT APPEALS
APPEALS
11
Circuit Courts of Appeals
94
District Courts
B. The Supreme Court is the Last Court of Appeal. What does this
mean?
a. No other court has higher decision-making power.
b. Citizens can appeal its decision (take the same case) to lower
courts.
C. What does the Supreme Court do?
a. It approves or overturns decisions of lower courts and explains
and interprets laws.
G. Who chooses the Chief Justice (head judge) of the Supreme Court?
a. the President and the Cabinet
b. The nine justices of the Supreme Court elect him or her.
H. Has there ever been a woman Supreme Court justice?
a. Yes. Sandra Day OConnor became the first woman justice in
1981.
b. No, because the Constitution states that all Supreme Court
justices must be men.
I.
J.
Must the Supreme Court hear all appeals from lower courts?
a. Yes, because hearing appeals is its only responsibility.
b. No. It takes only the more important cases (especially cases
concerning individual rights and the constitutionality of laws or
actions.)
L. What other kinds of courts and how many of them are there in the
federal system?
a. eleven Circuit Courts of Appeal and ninety-four District Courts.
b. two Executive Courts and three Legislative Courts.
M. Are there any special federal courts?
a. Yes. There are a Court of Claims, a Court of Customs, a Court
of Customs and Patent Appeals, and a Court of Military
Appeals.
b. No. All courts must accept all kinds of cases.
N. What do the Circuit Courts of Appeals do?
a. They hear appeals (request to hear the case again) from lower
courts.
b. They overturn decisions of the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court decisions are very important to the nation because they
set precedents. They serve as a guide in law making and the future
decisions of all courts. Here are some examples.
Year
1803
1824
1832
Case
Marbury v.
Madison
Gibbons v.
Ogden
Worchester v.
Georgia
Decision
The Supreme Court has the right to interpret
laws and judge their constitutionality.
Only Congress can regulate interstate
commerce (trade between states)
No state may control Indian Lands.
10
Year
Case
1941
Poor
Migrants
1954
Brown v. the
Board of
Education of
Topeka, Kansas
1963
Gideon v.
Wainwright
1964
1966
1971
Escobedo v.
Illinois
Miranda v.
Arizona
Womens
Rights
1973
Roe v. Wade
1981
Rotsker v.
Goldberg
1982
Plyer v. Doe
1987
INS v. Cardoza
- Fonseca
Decision
It is unconstitutional for states to control or stop
migration (movement) of people from one state
to another.
Segregated schools are unconstitutional because
they are unequal. Integration (the bringing
together of different races) is a part of
education.
Even in small cases, the government must
provide a lawyer to a defendant (person on
trial) if he or she cant afford one.
The police must tell an arrested person about
his or her right to remain silent and to have an
attorney (lawyer) present when he or she
answers questions.
Unequal treatment based on sex violates (goes
against) the Fourteenth Amendment.
States cannot make abortion illegal, except in
the later stages of pregnancy.
Congress may draft (take for military service)
only men (not women) into the armed forces.
Illegal (undocumented) aliens are persons under
the Constitution and have the same protections
under the law as citizens and residents.
The United States government can give asylum
(protection) to refugees if they have reason to
fear death or mistreatment in their native
countries. Refugees no longer have to prove
that their lives are in danger.
Read each situation and answer this question: Why would the Supreme
Court disapprove of the situation? On the line, write the name and year of
the Supreme Court case that is the precedent.
1) __Plyer v Doe (1982)___________________________:
Texas keeps the children of illegal aliens out of its public schools.
2) ___________________________________________:
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12
Congress makes the Speaker of the House the head of the armed
forces even though the Constitution gives that position to the
President.
5.
The Jury
If the parties in a civil case cant agree on how to settle the case on
their own, or if a defendant in a criminal case pleads not guilty, the court
will decide the dispute through a trial. In a civil case, the purpose of a trial
is to find out whether the defendant failed to fulfill a legal duty to the
plaintiff. In a criminal case, the purpose of a trial is to determine whether
the defendant committed the crime charged.
If the parties choose to have a jury trial, determining the facts is the
task of the petit jury. If they decide not to have a jury and to leave the factfinding to the judge, the trial is called a bench trial. In either kind of trial,
the judge makes sure the correct legal standards are followed. If there is a
jury, the judge tells the jury what the law governing the case is. For
example, in a robbery case in which an unloaded gun was used, the judge
would tell the jury that using an unloaded gun to rob a store is legally the
same as using a gun that is loaded. But the jury would have to decide
whether the defendant on trial was actually the person who committed the
robbery and used the gun.
The group of people seated in the boxed-in area on one side of the
courtroom is the petit jury or trial jury.
Juries were first used hundreds of years ago in England. The jury
was a factor in the events that led to the Revolutionary War. The
Declaration of Independence charged that King George III deprived the
colonists in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury. Thus, the U.S.
Constitution now guarantees the right to a jury trial to most defendants in
criminal cases and to the parties in most civil cases.
In federal criminal cases, there are usually twelve jurors and
between one and six alternate jurors. Alternate jurors replace regular jurors
who become ill, disqualified, or unable to perform their duties. In federal
civil cases there can be from six to twelve jurors. All of the jurors are
required to join in the verdict unless the court excuses a juror from service
during the trial or deliberations.
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6.
7.
14
15
8.
1.
2.
3.
______ a search
warrant
______ charge (noun)
______ grand jury
4.
5.
6
7.
______ a trial
______ testify
______ guarantee
______ jurors
f.
e.
f.
g.
8.
______ a unanimous
verdict
9. ______ witnesses
10. bail
9.
h.
i.
j.
give evidence
decision agreed on by everyone
b.
c.
a) for
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d) verdict
d) out of
a) bad
a) on
7) The suspect is not under arrest, nor have the police placed any
.. on his movements.
a) obstacle
b) regulation
c) restriction d) veto
8) You should only make serious accusations like that if they
have a sound in fact.
a) basis b) foothold
c) framework
d) principle
9) The judge the pedestrian for the accident.
a) accused
b) blamed
c) charged
d) sued
10) His legal training enables him to put his case very
convincingly.
a) down b) out
c) over
d) up
10. Study the following words:
grand jury/ petit jury
In law, a jury is a group of people sworn to hear the evidence and
inquire into the facts in a case, and to give a decision based on their
findings. A grand jury is a special jury of a statutory number of citizens,
usually more than 12, that nowadays investigates accusations against people
charged with crime. If there is sufficient evidence, the grand jury indicts
those people for trial before a petit jury (or trial jury). This is a jury of 12 or
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fewer citizens picked to weigh the evidence in, and decide the issues of, a
trial in court.
plaintiff/defendant
Two parties are involved in every civil lawsuit-that is, every court
action relating to rights and injuries. The party who initiates the suit is
called the plaintiff or complainant.( at first glace, these two words may not
seem to be related. Yet, both having in their development a from of the
Latin verb plangere, which meansto beat the breast, they share the sense
of giving expression to one`s grievance. That is why we talk about a
plaintive song, the plaintive sound of an oboe, and the like.) The party
defending or denying-that is, the one sued or accused in the suit-is called the
defendant.
The adversarial roles of the opponents can be seen in the way the
cases are referred to, the Latin word versus( usually abbreviated as v. or vs.)
meaning in contest against. As the following case titles show, the plaintiff
or the defendant, or both, can be one or more individuals, companies, or
federal, state, or local agencies: Hellman v. McCarthy, Namath v. Sports
Illustrated, Westmoreland v. CBS, United States v. Louisiana, and Dawson
v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. In saying a case title, some people
pronounce the v. asvee; some give the full from, versus; and some
substitute the word against.
In the case title of the original suit, the plaintiff is listed first.
However, if the losing party in a suit in a federal court appeals the case, this
party`s name appears first; in other words, the case title in the appellate
procedure gives appellant versus appellee. If the appeal goes all the way to
the U.S. Supreme Court, the party seeking the review is called the petitioner
and the party responding to the petition is called the respondent. For
example, when James J.Hill sued Time, Inc., for invasion of privacy, the
case was titled Hill v.Time, Inc., but on appeal the title became Time, Inc. v.
Hill.
Every criminal case-that is, every court action taken to redress a
public wrong-also has a defendant, but here the initiator of the proceedings
is called the prosecution. The prosecutor, or prosecuting attorney, who is a
public official such as a district attorney, conducts the criminal suit on
behalf of the state or the people.
Criminal actions are referred to much the same way as civil ones.
In the original case title the prosecution ( the name of the federal, state, or
local entity) precedes the name of the defendant; but in any appellate
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procedure whoever seeks the review is listed first. For example, by the time
Illinois v. Gacy reached the U.S. Supreme Court for review, it was called
Gacy v. Illinois, John Wayne Gacy having appealed his conviction and
death sentence for murder.
suspected
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a) account
b) notice c) statement
d) summary
d) suppress
18) After a close cross-examination, the barrister was his client was
telling the truth.
a) contend
b) glad
c) happy d) satisfied
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d) trial
d)
refused
24) I wish youd let me speak for myself and not the words out of my
mouth.
a) grab
b) pull
c) snatch
d) take
25) The suspect is to have been in the neighborhood at the time of the
crime.
a) accused
b) affirmed
c) alleged
d) announced
d) out of
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14. Put each of the following words and phrases into its correct place in the
passage below.
accused
court
acquit
cross-examination
judge
jurors
legislature
panel
trial
list
sentence
civil suits
counsel
fault
guilty
jury
legal disputes
money
swear
witnesses
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officer
testimony
Trial by Jury
A jury is a selected group of laymen that hears the .. in .. and
decides the facts.
A courtroom trial in which a .. decides the facts is called a .. by
jury.
Before each .. term, a jury commissioner or another public ..
prepares a panel, or large initial .. of qualified jurors. For each trial, ..
are selected by lot from this .. . Before the trial begins, the jurors .. to
decide the facts fairly. They hear the .. given by witnesses for both sides,
including .. . Then .. for each side sum up, or summarize the case, and
the .. explains the applicable law in his instructions to the jury.
In .. for financial damages, the jury must decide who is at .. and
must determine the amount of .. to be paid. In criminal cases, the jury
must decide whether or not the .. is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt ,
and then either return a verdict of guilty, or .. the defendant by a verdict
of not guilty. If the verdict is .. the judge imposes the .. , or
punishment, within limits that have been fixed by the .. .
GRAMMAR PRACTICE
Fill in the text below with the missing prepositions:
The evolution of courts in ancient Rome was marked (1) the development
of a complex structure (2) which criminal, civil, and other jurisdictions
were differentiated and exercised by separate courts and officials.
Violations (3) criminal law were prosecuted by the state; higher and
lower courts were organized; the right of appeal was juridical guaranteed;
and a corps (4) professional jurists was established (5) the first time
(6) the history of Mediterranean civilization. (7) Christianity became
the state religion of Rome, the ecclesiastical courts, previously established
by Christians who had refused to have recourse (8) pagan courts, became
a part (9) the Roman legal system. As the Roman Empire disintegrated,
the ecclesiastical courts survived and assumed jurisdiction (10) secular
affairs.
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Constitution
offenses
jurisdiction
governor
cases
nomenclature
lawyers
judgeships
State courts share jurisdiction with federal courts, and they exercise sole, or
exclusive, jurisdiction in other cases, mainly those involving state law. Only
those state court decisions that involve the U.S. (1) and federal law may be
appealed to the federal courts.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest appellate court for
cases within federal jurisdiction. The Court agrees to decide only about 150
of the 4,000 to 4,500 (2) appealed to it each year; the other federal courts
decide approximately 330,000 cases a year, and the state courts, far more
than that. The Supreme Courts (3), however, are binding on all other
courts.
Throughout U.S. history, the federal court system has been small. In the
mid-1990s there were 179 permanent circuit (4) in the 13 courts of appeals;
the 89 district courts had 610 permanent judgeships in the 50 states plus 15
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in the District of Columbia and 7 in Puerto Rico. Three special courts hear
cases involving customs duties, (5), and monetary claims against the
government. Congress provided (1978) for bankruptcy courts in each
district, staffed by bankruptcy judges.
The state court systems are similar in structure, but they vary widely in
specifics and (6). The major trial court may be a circuit court in one state
and a district court, or superior court, in another. Some courts derive their
titles and functions from a past era and are not the result of systematic
planning.
Most states have a trier of trial courts with limited or special jurisdiction,
such as justice-of-the- peace courts or juvenile courts. Courts having
jurisdiction over cases involving minor criminal (7) may also conduct
preliminary hearings for more serious crimes to be tried in higher trial
courts. These limited-jurisdiction courts often receive most of their financial
support from local governments. Next is a level of general-jurisdiction trial
courts that hear the full range of serious cases and often appeals in minor
cases from lower courts. Finally, each state has courts with mainly appellate
(8). Every state has a supreme court, although it is not always called by that
name; about half of the states have intermediate appellate courts below the
level of their highest courts.
There are about 7,600 judges in state courts of general jurisdiction and over
1,000 judges in state appellate courts. Additional thousands of judges serve
in special state courts. Historically, state judges were popularly elected, but
increasingly states are adopting a judicial selection system in which the (9)
appoints judges from a list submitted by a commission composed of judges,
(10), and representatives of the public.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
1) If you have not already done so, make vocabulary cards for the legal
words that you want to remember, or add them to your own personal
vocabulary lists.
2) Comment on the following: The law is the last result of human wisdom
acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public.
3) Is the Death Penalty a necessary and proper means of punishment?
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SUGGESTED PRESENTATIONS
Courts of Appeal
European Court of Justice
Supreme Court of the United States
European Court of Human Rights
International Court of Justice (UN), World Court
Personal experience in a law court
What may happen if the witness gives false
evidence?
Or if the jurors do not agree on the verdict?
Your opinion on films about court trials
Jury trials vs. Judge trials
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