Courts of Original Jurisdiction:• Facts• Guilt or innocence (criminal case)• For the plaintiff or defendant (civil case)
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Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction:• fairness• law• fundamental rights
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Each state has its own court system
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98% of all cases are heard in state courts
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Article III
SECTION 1
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.
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“Constitutional” courts
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“Constitutional” courts
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2007 – SCOTUS renders 71 full
opinions
64 cases from lower federal courts7 cases from state courts
0 cases of original
jurisdiction
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Miscellaneous Notes
I. Adversarial SystemII. Litigants
A. Prosecutor v. defendant (criminal case)B. Plaintiff v. defendant (civil case)C. Standing to sueD. Class actionE. Justiciable dispute
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Miscellaneous Notes
III. Jurisdiction – the authority to hear a caseA. Timing