The
United States federal courts comprises the
Judiciary Branch of government organized
under the
Constitution
and
laws of the
federal government of
the United States. See also
United States federal judge.
Categories
The courts are one of the three coequal branches of the federal
government, and include:
- Courts with geographic-based appellate jurisdiction:
- Courts with original jurisdiction over specific subject matter:
- Courts with appellate jurisdiction over specific subject
matter:
While federal courts are generally created by the
United States Congress under the
constitutional power described in
Article III,
many of the specialized courts are created under the authority
granted in
Article I.
Much greater power is vested in
Article III court
because these courts are much more independent of Congress and the
President. If Article I courts were able to exercise that level of
power, the
balance of
power between the branches of government would be
threatened.
Article III requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and
permits the Congress to create other federal courts, and place
limitations on their
jurisdiction. In
theory, Congress could eliminate the entire federal judiciary
except for a single Supreme Court Justice (who would be the Chief
Justice by default), although the
1st Congress immediately
established a system of lower federal courts through the
Judiciary Act of 1789.
Levels of U.S. federal courts
The
United States district
courts are the general federal trial courts, although in many
cases
Congress has passed
statutes which divert
original jurisdiction to the
above-mentioned specialized courts or to
administrative law judges (ALJs).
In such cases, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear
appeals from such lower bodies.
The
United States courts
of appeals are the federal intermediate appellate courts. They
operate under a system of mandatory review which means they
must hear all appeals from the lower courts.
The
Supreme Court of the United
States
is the supreme court
(court of last resort). It generally is an appellate court
that operates under
discretionary review, meaning that the Court, through granting
of writs of
certiorari, can choose which
cases to hear. There is generally no mandatory right of appeal to
the Supreme Court. In a few unusual situations (like lawsuits
between state governments or some cases between the federal
government and a state) it sits as a court of
original jurisdiction. Such matters
are generally referred to a designated individual (usually a
sitting or retired judge or well-respected attorney) to sit as a
special master and report to the
Court with recommendations.
Related organizations
The
Judicial
Conference of the United States is the policymaking body of the
U.S. federal courts. The Conference is responsible for creating and
revising federal procedural rules pursuant to the
Rules Enabling Act.
The
United States
Marshals Service is responsible for providing protection for
the federal judiciary and transporting federal prisoners.
The
Supreme Court Police provide
security for the Supreme Court building
.
Limitations on U.S. federal courts
The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution as placing some
additional restrictions on the federal courts. For example, the
doctrines of
mootness,
ripeness, and
standing prohibit district courts from
issuing
advisory opinions. Other
doctrines, such as the
abstention
doctrine and the
Rooker-Feldman doctrine
limit the power of lower federal courts to disturb rulings made by
state courts. The
Erie doctrine requires federal courts
to apply substantive state law to claims arising from state law
(which may be heard in federal courts under supplemental or
diversity jurisdiction). In difficult cases, the federal courts
must either guess as to how a state court would decide the issue or
"certify" the issue to a state court if the state has provided for
such a procedure.
Notably, the only federal court that can issue proclamations of
federal law that bind state courts is the Supreme Court itself.
Decisions of the lower federal courts on issues of federal law are
persuasive but not binding authority in the states in which those
federal courts sit.
Study of U.S. federal courts
Most U.S.
law schools offer an elective
course that focuses specifically on the powers and limitations of
U.S. federal courts, with coverage of topics such as
justiciability,
abstention doctrines, the
abrogation doctrine, and
habeas corpus.
See also
References
- People v. Leonard, 40 Cal. 4th 1370, 1416 (2007) (Ninth Circuit decisions
on federal law do not bind Supreme Court of California).
External links