COURTS 



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COURTS 



of a law is final; there can be no appeal. 

 Under the provisions of laws which are ac- 

 cepted as constitutional, the courts inflict pun- 

 ishment for offenses against society and also 

 decide cases in which the rights or interests 

 of individuals are in conflict. The orders of 

 the courts are carried out by bailiffs, marshals, 

 sheriffs and other executive officers. 



United States there are two distinct systems 

 of courts, one established by Federal authority, 

 the other by the state. 



Federal Supreme Court. The Constitution 

 (Article I, Sec. 1) provides that "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." The first Congress In 1789 decreed 



UNITED STATES COURTS 



* The supreme court has both original and appellate jurisdiction; the circuit courts of appeals, and the court of appeals 

 for the District of Columbia, have only appellate jurisdiction; the other courts only original jurisdiction. 



Original and Appellate Jurisdiction. The 

 term original jurisdiction refers to the legal 

 power of a court to conduct the first trial of 

 a case at law. In this it differs from a purely 

 appellate court, which may hear only cases 

 which have been tried first in a lower tribunal 

 and appealed to it for a change in the verdict 

 rendered. Some courts have both original and 

 appellate jurisdiction; they may hear cases 

 appealed from a lower court and may also 

 decide new issues. 



United States Judicial System. In the 



that the Supreme Court should be composed of a 

 Chief Justice and five Associate Justices. At the 

 same time the United States was divided geo- 

 graphically into six judicial circuits, for the bet- 

 ter handling of court business, and a Justice of 

 the Supreme Court was assigned to each circuit. 

 In 1869 the number of Justices and circuits was 

 Increased to nine. Justices of the Supreme Court, 

 like all Federal judges except in the territories, 

 are appointed for life or during good behavior. 



Lower Courts. By the same act of 1789, al- 

 ready referred to, the United States was divided 

 Into thirteen judicial districts, since increased to 

 103. In each district there is a district judge, 

 appointed by the President. At first there were 



