Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts

The jurisdiction of the federal courts is determined by two factors – the subject matter of a case and the parties who are involved in a case.

If the subject of a case involves the interpretation of the Constitution, a federal law, or a treaty with a foreign nation, the case is tried in a federal court. Cases involving admiralty or maritime law – that is, the law of the sea, including ships, their crews, and disputes over actions and rights at sea – also come under the jurisdiction of the courts. If a case involves bankruptcy, it too will be tried in a federal court.

The federal courts also hear cases if certain parties or persons are involved in a case. These include the following: 1) foreign ambassadors and other representatives of foreign governments; 2) two or more state governments; 3) the United States government or one of its offices and agencies; 4) citizens of different states; 5) a state and a citizen of a different state; 6) citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states; 7) a state or its citizens and a foreign country or its citizens.

Concurrent Jurisdiction

In most cases, the difference in jurisdiction between the federal courts and the state courts is clear. There are some kinds of cases, however, in which cases may be tried in either the federal courts or the state courts. Cases in which the two kinds of courts share jurisdiction are said to be under concurrent jurisdiction.Concurrent jurisdiction exists, for example, in cases in which citizens of different states are involved and in which the money in dispute is at least $10,000. In such a case, a person may sue in either a federal or a state court. However, if the person being sued insists that the case be heard in a federal court, it must be tried there.

Original and Appellate Jurisdiction

The court in which a case is first tried is known as a trial court.A trial court is said to have original jurisdictiontothe federal court system, the district courts as well as several other lower courts have only original jurisdiction.

If a person who loses a case in a trial court wishes to appeal a decision, he or she may take the case to a court with appellate jurisdiction.In the federal court system, as you will see, the courts of appeals have appellate jurisdiction. Thus, a party may appeal a case from a district court to a court of appeals. And if that party loses in the court of appeals, he or she may appeal the case to the Supreme Court, which also has appellate jurisdiction.

Types of Law Dealt with in the Federal Courts

The federal courts deal mainly with three types of law in the cases that come before them. These three types are civil law, criminal law, and constitutional law.

Civil Law

Most of the cases tried in the federal courts involve civil law. Civil lawis concerned with disputes between two or more individuals or between individuals and the government. The person who brings a civilsuit is called the plaintiff.The person against whom the suit is brought is called the defendant.The plaintiff in a civil suit usually seeks damages -an award of money - from the defendant. If the court decides in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant is required to pay a specific sum - the damages - to the plaintiff. Usually the defendant is also required to pay court costs. If the court decides in favor of the defendant, the plaintiff must pay the court costs.

In another type of civil case, the plaintiff sues to have the court order a certain action to be taken. Such a case is described as being a case in equity law. Equity lawis a system of rules by which disputes are resolved on the grounds of fairness.

In an equity suit, an action is brought to court in order to prevent certain wrongs from taking place. In an equity case, a plaintiff will ask the court to issue an injunction against the defendant. An injunctionis an order by the court that forbids a defendant from taking or continuing a certain action. For example, suppose a company plans to erect a factory next to your home. You believe that the factory would pollute the air with chemical fumes. You take the factory owner to court and argue that you would suffer serious injury to your health if the factory is permitted to be built. If you win this suit in equity, the judge will issue an injunction ordering the company not to build its factory.

In an equity case, the court may also be asked to order a person or persons to do something. An order by a court requiring a specific action to be taken is called a writ of mandamus. Suppose you have a new stereo set that stops operating, but the manufacturer refuses to repair it. Since the set is guaranteed, you take the company to court to force it to put it in good operating order. If the judge decides in your favor, he or she will issue a writ of mandamus ordering the company to repair your set.

Criminal Law

In a federal criminal law case, the United States government brings suit against an individual or individuals for having broken a federal law. In criminal cases, the government is always the plaintiff. The accused is the defendant. A federal criminal case might involve such crimes as tax fraud, counterfeiting, selling narcotics, mail fraud, kidnapping, and driving a stolen car across state lines. If a person is found guilty of a crime, he or she might be ordered to serve a term in prison or to pay a fine. Sometimes the guilty person must both serve the prison term and pay a fine.

By far, most crimes committed in the United States are violations of state laws and so are tried in state courts. However, the number of criminal law cases that come before federal judges has been increasing markedly in recent years.

Constitutional Law

The third category of cases involves constitutional law. Constitutional lawrelates to the meaning and application of theUnited States Constitution. For the most part, constitutional law is concerned with deciding the limits of the government’s power and the rights of the individual. Cases involving constitutional law may deal with both civil and criminal law.

Although cases involving constitutional law are tried first in the lower federal courts or in the state courts, in the end it is the Supreme Court that makes the final decision in constitutional cases. The Supreme Court has the final decision in constitutional cases. The Supreme Court has the final say as to whether a law or an action does or does not conflict with the freedoms and rights granted by the Constitution. The role of the Supreme Court in deciding constitutional law cases will be dealt with in greater detail below.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1156