The Modern American Legal System

The judicially-created common law, rich in history and tradition, is an important part of the American legal structure. Law also is made by the other two branches of government, the legislative and executive branches, and they have played important roles in the development of the American legal system. As described below, each branch of government has unique powers and methods for exercising them. Together, they constitute a system of checks and balances and separation of powers, in which power is distributed among the three branches in such a way that they can check each other's actions. In this way, the country's founders sought to prevent tyrannical rule by any one branch.

Judicial Branch


The federal government, the District of Columbia, and each state has its own court system. The main federal court system has three different levels of courts: district courts, courts of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. These are called the Article III courts because they were created pursuant to Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Judges on Article III courts have lifetime appointments, barring misconduct. In addition to these courts of general jurisdiction, a few specialized federal courts exist, such as the bankruptcy courts and tax courts. Federal court judges are appointed by the president, subject to Senate confirmation.

Except for the specialized federal courts, the district courts are the trial courts of the federal system. Litigants first bring their disputes to the district court and present their witnesses and other evidence. The person who brings the lawsuit is the "plaintiff/' and the person against whom it is brought is the "defendant." In many cases, the litigants can request that the trial be conducted before a jury. Most cases are heard by one district court judge, though a few types of cases are heard by a panel of three judges.

If a litigant is dissatisfied with the decision at the district court level, the decision can be appealed to the federal court of appeals. There are thirteen circuit courts of appeals. The Courts of Appeals for the First through Eleventh Circuits and for the District of Columbia Circuit each hears appeals from district courts in a particular geographic area that is called a "circuit." For example, as shown on the map, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit hears appeals from the federal district courts in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on the other hand, hears appeals from a few specialized courts, such as the Court of International Trade, or from federal district courts on certain specialized issues, such as patent law issues.

The court of appeals must hear the appeal from the federal trial court decision if the person appealing the decision (the "appellant") follows the proper procedures in filing the appeal against the "appellee." The court of appeals does not conduct a new trial. Instead, it decides the appeal based on the evidence presented before the trial court. Since a new trial is not held, there are no juries or witnesses. Instead, the appellant and appellee submit written "briefs" to the court that explain why the court should affirm or reverse the trial court decision.

The court of appeals also frequently allows the parties to make oral arguments before the court. At an oral argument, each party, either in person or through an attorney, presents its case and responds to the judges' questions. Unlike trial court decisions, court of appeals decisions usually are .rendered by a three-judge panel. Particularly important cases are heard and decided en banc by all the judges for that circuit. In some circuits, fewer than all the judges are sufficient for an en banc hearing for certain types of cases.

A party who loses before the court of appeals can seek Supreme Court review of the decision by filing a petition for certiorari. Like the court of appeals, the Supreme Court does not conduct a new trial; cases are decided by the Court en banc based on the evidence produced before the trial court and on written briefs and oral arguments. Unlike the court of appeals, however, the Supreme Court does not have to hear the appeal from the lower court's decision. The Supreme Court will grant certiorari only if at least four of the Court's nine justices vote to grant certiorari. The Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions for certiorari each year and grants only a relatively small number. During the 1994 Term, for example, it received 8,100 petitions and granted only 136, which is less than 2%.

Usually, the Court will grant certiorari only if the case raises a particularly important issue or an issue about which courts of appeal have rendered conflicting decisions. Contrary to popular belief, the Court's denial of certiorari does not necessarily mean that the Court agrees with the lower court's decision. By denying certiorari, the Court simply has decided not to decide. In your civil procedure course, you will learn about more specialized avenues for having a case heard by the United States Supreme Court, such as the right to appeal from a court of appeals decision and the right to a trial before the Supreme Court. You also will study the division of authority ("jurisdiction") between the federal courts and the state courts.

Each state has its own system of courts, most of which are organized like the federal system with district courts (called "trial courts," "circuit courts," or "superior courts" in some jurisdictions), an intermediate appellate court, and a state supreme court. In a few states, the names of the appellate courts are reversed. For example, in New York the trial and intermediate appellate courts are called the "Supreme Court," and the highest court is the "Court of Appeals." Some states do not have an intermediate appellate court, so that a disappointed litigant has only one opportunity to reverse the trial court decision. Many states also have specialized courts for matters such as family law, small claims, or juvenile crimes. The states have different methods for selecting state court judges. In some states, judges are elected; in other states, they are appointed by the governor or legislature or are chosen under a merit plan.