The US Court System
The courts are the overseers of the law. They administer it, they resolve disputes undef it, and they ensure that it is and remains equal and impartial for everyone.
In (he United States each state is served by the separate court systems, state and federal. Both systems are organized into three basic levels of courts-trial courts, intermediate courts of appeal and a high court, or Supreme Court. The state courts are concerned essentially with cases arising under state law, and the federal courts with cases arising under federal law.
Trial courts bear the main burden in the administration of justice. Cases begin there and in most instances are finally resolved there. The trial courts in each state include: common pleas courts, which have general civil and criminal jurisdiction and smaller in importance municipal courts, county courts and mayors' courts.
The common pleas court is the most important of the trial courts. It is the court of general jurisdiction — almost any civil or criminal case, serious or minor, may first be brought there. In criminal matters, the common pleas courts have exclusive jurisdiction over felonies (a felony is a serious crime for which the penalty is a penitentiary term or death). In civil matters it has exclusive jurisdiction in probate, domestic relations and juvenile matters. The probate division deals with wills and the administration of estates, adoptions, guardianships. It grants marriage licenses to perform marriages. The domestic division deals with divorce, alimony, child custody.
The juvenile division has jurisdiction over delinquent, unruly or neglected children and over adults, who neglect, abuse or contribute lo the delinquency of children. When a juvenile (any person under 18} is accused of an offence, whether serious or minor, the juvenile division has exclusive jurisdiction over the case.
The main job of courts of appeal is to review cases appealed from trial courts to determine if the law was correctly interpreted and applied.
The supreme court of each state is primarily a court of appeal and the court of last resort.
The federal court structure is similar to the structure of the state court system. The trial courts in the federal system are the United States district courts. The United States courts of appeal are intermediate courts of appeal between the district courts and the United States Supreme Court.
The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation and the court of last resort. It consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices, all of whom are appointed for life by the President with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. The duty of the Supreme Court is to decide whether laws passed by Congress agree with the Constitution. The great legal issues facing the Supreme Court at present are Government involvement with religion, abortion and privacy rights, race and sex discrimination.
EXERCISE I. Answer the following questions;
1. What is the dual court system existing in the USA? What
three levels of courts does it consist of?
2. What is the jurisdiction of the trial court? Define the
jurisdiction of the common pleas court.
3. What kind of civil matters are brought to common pleas
courts? Elaborate on probate, domestic relation and juvenile
matters.
4. Speak about the jurisdiction of state and federal courts of
appeals and state supreme courts. 5. What is the duty of the US Supreme Court?
EXERCISE II. Summarize the text in 3 paragraphs, specifying the following:
ЛЕКСИКУ УЧИТЬ НАИЗУСТЬ!
1) the dual system of US courts;
2} trial courts — courts of general jurisdiction;
3) the US Supreme Court — the court judging the most explosive issues in American life
Vocabulary. Study these words and word combinations:
1. judicial— судебный
2. to administerjustice — отправлять правосудие
3. a court of first / second instance — суд первой / второй
инстанции
4. to examine a case in substance — рассматривать дело по
существу
5.to bring in a sentence / a decision, a judgement /
вынести приговор /решение/
6. an appeal — жалоба
7. a protest — протест
8. a case of major importance — более важное дело
9. the power of supervision over — право надзора над...
10. a collegial — коллегия
11. to be subject to removal — подлежать отзыву
12. an assessor — заседатель
13. to sit (sat) — заседать в суде
14. (average) earnings — (средний) заработок
15. to receive — получать
16. in public — открыто
17. proceedings— судопроизводство
18.oral — здесь: гласный
19. a participant — участник
20. a prosecutor —обвинитель
21. an accused — обвиняемый
22. a de` fendant — ответчик
23. defense — защита
EXERCISE III. Read and translate the following words:
to act (поступать, действовать) — an act; just (справедливый) — justice;
basis (основа) —basic; to guide (руководить)—guidance; to instruct — instruction;
to try (рассматривать дело) — trial (суд); present (присутствующий) — presence; interest — interested (причастие).
EXERCISE IV. Match up these lines:
1. a criminal case зал судебных заседаний
2. higher courts Верховный Суд
3. a civil case государственная власть
4. court practice открыто
5. state power вышестоящие суды
6. in public уголовное дело
7. courtroom гражданское дело
8. the Supreme Court судебная практик
The system of court in the United States
The judicial branch has the responsibility of judging the constitutionality of acts of law. According to Article 3 of the Constitution “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”.
There are about 100 Federal courts throughout the country, final authority resting in the United States Supreme Court.
The US Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the United States. It includes a Chief Justice and eight associate justices. They are all appointed by the Senate.
Under the Constitution the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction (i.e., it is the court in which proceeding may be brought in the first instance) in case affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and cases in which a state is a party. In all other cases coming within the judicial power of the United States, the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is only appellate, and is subject to exceptions and regulations by Congress.
The Supreme Court cannot alter the Constitution. The Court’s function is to interpret the Constitution, but not to alter or modify it.
Besides the US Supreme Court there are various other Federal courts, including the district courts and courts of appeals.
The Courts of Appeals were organized to relieve the Supreme Court of pressure resulting from the accumulation of appellate cases. In general these courts have final jurisdiction over the great masses of litigation not involving constitutional cases. The district court is the only Federal court where trials are used, and witnesses are called. Each state has at least one district court; a few has as many as four. District courts are also found in Washington, D.C., and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal Zone. Each court has from one to twenty four judges, depending on the volume of business, but each judge holds court separately. In most states the lowest courts are the magistrate courts or police courts, where the judge or magistrate can send a drunk to jail for 30 days, or fine a motorist for speeding, without the aid of jury. Some of the states have special traffic courts, probate courts, or other special courts among their courts of small claims. The magistrate may also have authority to receive a man accused of murder and decide whether to hold him for trial in a higher court
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