The U.S. Court System

We've learned about the U.S. court system and the Florida court system. The information below will help you review and practice this subject.

To review the slideshow used in class, click on this link.

Federal Court System Review:

Cases only go to the federal court if:

• The case involves a federal law or the Constitution
• The US government is one side of the case
• Two states are in conflict

The levels of the court system are:

• U.S. District Courts
• These are the lowest levels that have original jurisdiction
• Cases generally start here and a jury makes the decision
• These function as trial courts
• U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
• These are appeals or appellate courts
• People appeal their cases to these courts if they are unhappy with the decision from the Districts Courts
• Three judges hear the case and determine if there was an error in the ruling
• U.S. Supreme Court
• This is the court of final appeal
• Decision of the Circuit Courts can be appealed here
• The decisions are made by 9 justices and are final

For more information on the federal court system, go here and read pg 3-4. Use pg 5-6 for practice.

Florida Court System:

All cases that do not qualify for federal court go to state court. These include cases that:

• involve state laws
• involve driving infractions
• involve family disputes

The levels of the Florida court system are:

• County courts
• These act as trial courts with limited jurisdiction. 
• Only low-level issues start here, such as misdemeanors or crimes involving less than $15,000
• Circuit courts
• These act as the courts of original jurisdiction for higher level issues such as felonies or crimes involving more that $15,000
• They also act as a court of appeals for cases that started in the county courts
• District courts of appeal
• These act as appeal or appellate courts for cases from the circuit courts
• Florida Supreme Court
• This acts of the final appeal court for state issues
• Only cases that qualify for the U.S. Supreme court can be appealed from here

For more information on the Florida court system, watch the following video from 4:30-9:30

Further Resources:

You may use the following websites for additional help-

• Websites from the scavenger hunt
• https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/federal-courts (federal)
• https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure (federal)
• http://www.fedbar.org/Public-Messaging/About-US-Federal-Courts_1.aspx (federal)
• https://www.flcourts.org/Florida-Courts (state)
• https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure/comparing-federal-state-courts (both)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLwYHSMJ8v4 (federal)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGyx5UEwgtA&t=159s (both)