Like all modern governments, the U.S. also comprises of three branches
namely the legislature, executive and judiciary. Article III of the U.S.
Constitution establishes the judicial branch in the country. The framers of the
U.S. Constitution have divided powers among the three branches in accordance
with the checks and balances so that no single branch can dominate or overpower
and take their powers for granted.
The appointments in the Judicial Branch are done by the President and
these appointments are confirmed by the Senate. It is the Congress that has
significant discretion to determine the structure of the federal judiciary.
As per Article III of the U.S. Constitution, the judicial branch
comprises of the Supreme Court and other lower courts. The Constitution grants
Congress the power to establish these lower courts. The judicial branch interprets the meaning of
laws, decides if laws violate the Constitution etc. and it has the power to
strike down laws that are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is the highest
Court in the United States. It is at the apex of the judicial branch. The
Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and must be
approved by the Senate.
The Supreme Court of United States of America is located at Washington,
D.C. “EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW” are the words written above the main entrance to
the Supreme Court Building. This Court rarely hears new i.e., (cases from the
start) cases because most of the cases reach the Supreme Court on appeal. In
simple words appeal means a request for a higher court to reverse the decision
of the lower court. The number of Supreme Court Judges is left to the Congress
to decide and the current number is nine. There are nine members that make up
the Supreme Court namely one Chief Justice and eight associate Justices.
In-order to decide a case there must be minimum six Judges in the Supreme
Court. The members of the Supreme Court are referred to as ‘Justices’ and this
Court is charged with ensuring the people of America the promise of equal justice
under law.
The Congress has established 94 district courts and 13 United States
courts of appeal. The term jurisdiction means the extent of authority conferred
by the law upon the Court to administer justice and original jurisdiction means
that the Court has the authority to hear a matter as a Court of first instance.
In simple words this court is approached first for a particular matter and the
Court has the authority to hear the matter from the beginning. E.g., When a
dispute between two or more U.S. States arises, they can approach the Supreme
Court under its original jurisdiction. The office of Solicitor General is given
the task to supervise and conduct government litigation meaning the process of
conducting a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of United States. The Solicitor
General regularly appears before the Supreme Court.
The cases that are brought before the judicial branch generally proceed
from district court and these courts can also be referred as trial courts. The
district courts hold both civil and criminal trials and most of the cases end
up being finally decided in the district courts without moving up in appeals
while some cases may move to the appellate court and may also finally reach to
the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is also referred as Constitutional Court because it is
established under Article III of the U.S. Constitution whereas the lower courts
are also referred as legislative courts because they are created by the
congressional legislation where the U.S. Constitution empowers the Congress to
establish lower courts.
The Supreme Court is the final judicial arbiter in United States i.e.,
the final place to get justice. The Courts decisions cannot be appealed to any
other authority. The Courts task is to interpret the meaning of law, decide
whether a particular law is relevant to the facts presented before the Court
and to accordingly apply the law and provide justice to the ones who approach
the Court.
The Federal Judiciary Act, 1789 is one of the first Acts of the US
Congress which established the Federal court system. This Act provided
foundation for the establishment of Federal courts in the U.S. In the United
States, there are 94 district courts which resolve disputes by applying the
legal principles and there are 13 appellate courts which are empowered to
review the cases on appeal from the district courts.
There is also United States Court of International Trade which has
nationwide jurisdiction over civil actions arising out of customs and
international trade laws of the United States. Its purpose is to provide
independent, fair and impartial application as well as interpretation of
customs and international trade laws. It aims to provide speedy adjudication of
matters that are brought before the court and quick redressal of disputes.
The laws and Constitution of each State of U.S. establishes its own
State Courts. Side by side with the national judicial system is the state
judiciary which specifically provides justice to the people of that particular
state. The Supreme Court of the State is the highest Court of that State and
below it is the court of appeals and below the court of appeals are the
district courts. Like the federal Constitution in U.S. the various States of
U.S. have their own Constitutions.
The task of these courts is to interpret the state laws and to interpret
the State Constitutions as these are Courts having jurisdiction of dealing with
the matters of that particular state only.
The States have courts that handle specific legal matters like criminal
cases, contract cases, tort cases etc. whereas the Federal Court system deals
with cases relating to constitutionality of law, cases involving ambassadors
and public minsters, admiralty law, bankruptcy etc. There can be appeals
against the decisions of the State Supreme Courts to the U.S. Supreme Court but
this usually happens especially when a federal law is involved. The federal and
the state judicial systems are parallel but yet connected to each other.
Matters from state courts can be transferred to the federal court if a federal
law or issues involving the Constitution are present.
