HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: United States Senate Committee On The Judiciary, American Bar Association, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
6 Jun 2018
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The Federal Court System
With the exception of the Supreme Court, the Constitution left the organization of the federal
court system up to Congress. Congress accomplished this task through the Judiciary Act of 1789,
which created the three federal court levels: the district courts, the courts of appeal, and the
Supreme Court. In addition, legislative and special courts deal with specific types of cases
involving narrow legal issues.
District courts
The 94 federal district courts function as both trial and appellate courts. These courts are
assigned specific geographic areas in the nation. As a trial court, they have jurisdiction over such
federal crimes as mail fraud, counterfeiting, smuggling, and bank robbery. Federal civil cases
may involve water rights, interstate commerce, and environmental controversies. About half of
the cases tried in district courts are decided by juries.
District courts also serve as the first federal courts to hear state cases involving constitutional
questions. The case of Gideon v. Wainright (1963), in which the Supreme Court ruled that even a
poor defendant has the right to an attorney, began when Clarence Gideon appealed his conviction
in a superior court trial.
Courts of appeal
Decisions of the district courts and rulings by federal administrative agencies can be brought to
federal courts of appeal. There are 13 such courts, each covering a geographic area called a
circuit. Eleven of the circuits take in multistate areas. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit, for example, includes eight Western states and Alaska. There is a court in the District of
Columbia and one that specializes in patents and contract claims against the federal government.
The courts of appeal hand down decisions based on the majority vote of a three-judge panel.
As in the state system, there is a winnowing of cases as the appeals are brought to the next level.
Of the approximately 276,000 cases heard by the district courts each year, about 48,500 reach the
courts of appeal, and the vast majority is resolved there. The Supreme Court may receive as
many as 7,000 requests for review, but it takes under consideration fewer than 100 per year.
Legislative and special courts
Some federal courts deal with technical matters of law or specific areas of jurisprudence. These
courts include the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, and the U.S. Court of
Veterans Appeals. Cases tried in any of these courts can be appealed to the district courts.
Other special courts are related to espionage and the war on terrorism. The Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (1978) established a court to authorize electronic surveillance and/or physical
search of individuals involved in spying or international terror. The FISA court meets in secret
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Document Summary
With the exception of the supreme court, the constitution left the organization of the federal court system up to congress. Congress accomplished this task through the judiciary act of 1789, which created the three federal court levels: the district courts, the courts of appeal, and the. In addition, legislative and special courts deal with specific types of cases involving narrow legal issues. The 94 federal district courts function as both trial and appellate courts. These courts are assigned specific geographic areas in the nation. As a trial court, they have jurisdiction over such federal crimes as mail fraud, counterfeiting, smuggling, and bank robbery. Federal civil cases may involve water rights, interstate commerce, and environmental controversies. About half of the cases tried in district courts are decided by juries. District courts also serve as the first federal courts to hear state cases involving constitutional questions.
