Constitutional Rights Applying to Trials

Fourth Amendment - prohibits unwarranted searches and seizures by the government

Fifth Amendment - protects against self incrimination

Sixth Amendment - guarantees a speedy, fair trial before a jury of one’s peers.

Eighth Amendment - prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

Both federal and state courts are supreme in their own sphere, but if a matter simultaneously affects the states and the federal government, the federal courts have the decisive power.

The district court is the lowest federal court. Each state has at least one federal district, and some of the more populous states contain as many as four districts. There are 11 circuit courts of appeals (each with jurisdiction over a defined territory) and a court of appeals for the District of Columbia; these hear appeals from the district courts. There are, in addition, various specialized federal courts, including the Tax Court and the federal Court of Claims. Heading the federal court system is the U.S. Supreme Court.

The American court system is based on the English Common Law system. The basic idea is that there are two sides, the plaintiff and the defendant, who present their arguments before an impartial judge (and sometimes a jury). In a criminal case, the prosecutor acts as a plaintiff on behalf of the citizens or state.

It is the judge’s duty to determine what the law is in relation to the particular case at hand. It is the jury’s duty, in a jury trial (or also the judge’s, in trials without a jury – a bench trial) to determine what the facts are in the case. The lawyers in the case are charged with representing their respective clients to the very best of their ability. The outcome (or at least the goal) of this process is justice.

In the United States, there are more than 51 different interpretations of this basic model. Each of the 50 states has its own rules and procedures. The federal courts also have their own rules, which are occasionally interpreted differently in different parts of the country. However, for the most part, they are all very similar.

The system is generally a three-tiered one. A case is typically brought at the lowest level or court, usually a “District” or “Trial” court. Once this case is heard and a decision, or “judgment” has been made, both the defendant and the plaintiff have the opportunity to appeal the decision to an Appellate Court or Court of Appeals. In other words, if they do not like what the judge and/or jury decided, they can complain to the next higher level in the court system, and try to get the decision reversed. However they can only appeal if they believe the judge made a legal error, not just because they are disappointed in the outcome.

At the Appellate Court level, there is usually a panel of three judges who hear arguments on either side. Judges at the Appellate Court can usually only decide matters of law. In general, all of the facts in the trial record are assumed to be true. The Appellate Court has three options: it can decide that the judge was wrong and change the judgment, it can decide the judge was wrong and send the case back for the judge to change (also called a “ remand”), or it can agree with or “affirm” the judgment of the lower court.

Again, if either party to the case does not like the decision (again there must be a legal error in the lower proceedings), they can appeal to the highest court, usually called the Supreme Court and usually composed of nine justices. All 50 states and the federal courts have some version of a Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decides issues in the same manner as the Appellate Court. However, there is no court higher than the Supreme Court to which to appeal. The judgment of the Supreme Court is final.

While all American court systems, or “jurisdictions”, follow this basic structure there are many differences among them and all have exceptions. However, it is important to stress that they all do follow the same basic structure.

The court systems of the states vary to some degree. At the bottom of a typical structure are local courts that have authority only in specific matters and jurisdictions (e.g., court of the justice of the peace, police court, and court of probate). County courts, or the equivalent, exercising general criminal and civil jurisdiction, are on the next level. All states have a highest court of appeals, and some also have intermediate appellate courts. In a few states separate courts of equity persist.