Тhe federal court system Реферат

В США существует единая федеральная система судов и самостоятельные судебные системы каждого из штатов, округа Колумбия и четырех федеральных территорий. Федеральные суды прежде всего рассматривают уголовные дела о преступлениях, предусмотренных федеральным законодательством, и гражданские дел по искам к федеральным властям и по спорам. По ряду вопросов компетенция федеральных судов и судов штатов совпадает как по уголовным, так и по гражданским делам. Основная часть уголовных и гражданских дел рассматривается судами штатов, их часть рассматривается федеральными судами. 

В федеральную систему судов входят: Верховный суд США, апелляционные и окружные суды, а также специальные суды. Всю систему федеральных судов возглавляет Верховный суд США, который одновременно занимает исключительно важное положение во всей структуре высших государственных учреждений наряду с Конгрессом и президентом США. 

Верховный суд США состоит из девяти судей, председатель которого назначается Президентом США, а члены суда утверждаются Сенатом. Верховный суд рассматривает по первой инстанции дела по спорам между двумя или более штатами, по искам, в которых одной из сторон являются послы иностранных государств, и некоторые другие. Основная его функция – рассмотрение жалоб на решения нижестоящих федеральных судов и судов штатов, а также просьб об отмене постановления любого суда, которым признается противоречащим Конституции США закон какого– либо штата или акт Конгресса США. Верховный суд вправе также разъяснить какой– либо вопрос права, возникший по гражданскому или уголовному делу, и дать по нему обязательное толкование. Верховный суд принимает к разбирательству дела по своему усмотрению, если признает их достаточно существенными и общезначимыми, что бывает относительно редко. 

Апелляционные суды были созданы в 1891 г. в качестве судов промежуточной юрисдикции между Верховным судом США и окружными судами. В настоящее время имеется 13 апелляционных судов: один в федеральном округе Колумбия, 2 –  в каждом из апелляционных округов. 

Окружные или районные суды являются основным звеном федеральной судебной системы. Вся территория страны поделена на округа с учетом границ между штатами, так что в одном штате имеется от одного до четырех округов. Соответствующие окружные суды созданы также в четырех заморских территориях США. Уголовные дела и гражданские иски по большинству категорий слушаются с участием присяжных. 

The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 and amended only since then, is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution established a republic under which the individual states retain considerable sovereignty and authority. The Constitution also established three separate branches of the U.S. Government—the legislative (Article I), executive (Article II), and judicial (Article III) branches. The constitutional system divides powers among these three branches of the federal government and establishes a system of “checks and balances.” Each branch is formally separate from the other two, and each has certain constitutional authority to check the actions of the other branches.

Nowadays, courts in the US have great power and are highly respected in the American system, because in the process of implementing the principle of separation of powers, the court has become responsible for making many important decisions on public issues. [6]

Historians, political scientists, sociologists and lawyers have devoted a lot of work to the study of American statehood, but the potential of the strength of American political and legal institutions is outstanding. That’s why we decided to study the federal court system. Our aim is to examine profoundly the  judicial branche of the USA, in order to understand  a judicial administration in other countries. So our aim defines several tasks: to study the role and place of federal courts in the system of US governing, to give a classification of federal courts, determine the role of the judge the US federal court system.

The object of our study is the judicial brunch itself. The subject is the court system of the USA. The paper includes the glossary, annotation, theoretical part, conclusion.

The framers of the Constitution considered an independent federal judiciary essential to ensure fairness and equal justice to all citizens of the United States. As a result, the federal judiciary is a separate, self–governing branch of the government. The Congress enacts the laws, the president and the many executive branch departments and agencies act on and enforce the laws, and the courts interpret the law. The courts play no active role in enforcing the laws — that is the role of the president and the executive branch departments and agencies. 

The courts interpret the law by issuing judgments on actual legal disputes brought before them by adversarial parties. Federal judges also interpret and issue rulings on the constitutionality of laws when parties to a dispute challenge a law’s constitutionality. The federal courts are often called the guardians of the Constitution, because court rulings protect the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Constitution protects the independence and integrity of the judicial branch in two principal ways: 

First, federal judges appointed under Article III of the Constitution may serve for life and may only be removed from office through impeachment and conviction by Congress for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”. 

Second, the Constitution provides that the compensation of Article III federal judges “shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office,” which means that neither the president nor Congress can reduce the salaries of most federal judges. [2]

The USA has its own federal court system and the independent judicial systems of each of states and the District of Columbia as well, and four federal territories. The federal courts deal with: 

• criminal cases;

• civil cases.

The federal court system of the USA includes: 

• district courts (the trial court), 

• circuit courts or appellate courts which are the first level of appeal, 

• the Supreme Court of the United States, the final level of appeal in the federal system. 

There are 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts, and one Supreme Court throughout the country.

Courts in the federal system work differently in many ways than state courts. The primary difference for civil cases (as opposed to criminal cases) is the types of cases that can be heard in the federal system. 

The district courts are the general trial courts of the federal court system. Each district court has at least one United States District Judge, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. District courts handle trials within the federal court system – both civil and criminal. The districts are the same as those for the U.S. Attorneys, and the U.S. Attorney is the primary prosecutor for the federal government in his or her respective area.

Although federal courts are located in every state, they are not the only forum available to litigants. The great majority of legal disputes in American courts are addressed in the separate state or local court systems. Most of the state or local court systems have trial courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate appellate courts, and a supreme court. They may also have specialized lower level courts, county courts, municipal courts, small claims courts, or justices of the peace to handle minor matters. 

The state courts have jurisdiction over a wider variety of disputes than the federal courts. State courts, for example, have jurisdiction over virtually all divorce and child custody matters, probate and inheritance issues, real estate questions, and juvenile matters. Most criminal cases, contract disputes, traffic violations, and personal injury cases are also resolved in the state courts. 

Federal courts decide cases that involve the U.S. government or its officials, the U.S. Constitution or federal laws, or controversies between states or between the United States and foreign governments. A case also may be filed in federal court if the litigants are citizens of different states or the dispute arises between citizens of the United States and those of another country.

The primary criterion for appointment to a federal judgeship is a person’s total career and academic achievements. No examinations are administered to judicial candidates. A person seeking a judgeship is required to complete a lengthy set of forms that set forth in detail his or her personal qualifications and career accomplishments, including such matters as academic background, job experiences, public writings, intellectual pursuits, legal cases handled, and outside activities. Candidates also are subject to extensive interviews, background investigations, and follow– up questioning prior to their nomination.

Politics may be an important factor in the appointment of Article III judges. Nominees are normally selected by the president from a list of candidates provided by senators or other office holders within the state in which the appointment is to be made. Article III judges are nominated by the president, usually from among the ranks of prominent practicing lawyers, lower federal court judges, state court judges, or law professors who reside within the district or circuit where the court sits. The president’s nominee must appear in person at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate votes to confirm each judge.

Each federal judge is appointed to fill a specified, authorized judgeship in a particular district or circuit. Judges have no authority to hear cases in another federal jurisdiction unless they are formally designated and assigned to the other court as a visiting judge. Courts seek assistance from visiting judges to manage temporary increases in caseloads, cases that present a conflict of interest for local judges, or backlogs that result from unfilled judicial vacancies.

The judicial branch includes U.S. Court of Federal Claims judges, bankruptcy judges, and magistrate judges who exercise specific authorities delegated to them by Congress or assigned to them by the district courts.

U.S. Court of Federal Claims judges are appointed for terms of 15 years by the president, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and they can be removed from office for cause by a majority vote of the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

In this paper we defined the aim to examine the judicial system of the United States of America. In the result of our research we learned some urgent questions about the legislative system of the USA and made several conclusions.

First, American court system presents the pyramidal structure, at the base of which here are 90 federal district courts, the medial parts – the appellate courts which are 12, and at the top of this pyramid the US Supreme Court is situated.

Second, the judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court, which is the only court specifically created by the Constitution. 

Third, Federal judges are appointed for life or voluntary retirement, and can only be removed from office through the process of impeachment and trial in the Congress.

Fourth, federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising out of the Constitution: laws and treaties of the United States: maritime cases; issues involving foreign citizens or governments; and cases in which the federal government itself is a party. Ordinarily, federal courts do not hear cases arising out of the laws of individual states.

Fifth, the Supreme Court today consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. With minor exceptions, all its cases reach the Court on appeal from lower federal or state courts. Most of these cases involve disputes over the interpretation of laws and legislation. In this capacity, the Court's most important function consists of determining whether congressional legislation or executive action violates the Constitution.