Basic principles of the american courts

American courts present a complex and often confusing variety of names, functions and types. However, there are three basic principles underlying their organization: jurisdiction, dual⁶ court system, and distinction between trial and appellate courts.

Court system is largely determined by the legal limitations on the types of cases a court may hear and decide. The power of the court to try a certain type of cases is called the court’s jurisdiction. Constitutions, statutes and court decisions define a court’s jurisdiction. The authorization¹ for the federal court system is found in Article III of the US Constitution. State and municipal courts receive their power from their state constitutions and state statutes. Jurisdiction contains three aspects: territorial, personal, and subject matter². Courts are authorized to decide disputes arising within specified political boundaries (a city, a county³, a group of counties).

America has a dual court system: two independent but interrelated⁴ judicial schemes, one at the national level and the other at the state. The dual court system reflects the federal system of government in the United States, which divides powers between the national government and the state governments.

Another key element of court structure is the division between trial and appellate courts. The principal difference between a trial and an appeal is that a trial focuses on facts, whereas an appeal focuses on correctly interpreting the law. Practically all cases, whether civil or criminal, begin in a trial court. Because only trial courts hear disputes over facts, it is only in trial court that witnesses appear⁵. The decision of a judge (or jury) about a factual dispute normally cannot be appealed. The losing party in the trial court generally has the right to request⁶ an appellate court to review the case. In criminal cases, however, the constitutional protection against double jeopardy⁷ does not allow the prosecutor to appeal if the judge or jury has returned a verdict of not guilty.

Module 2

READING

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Before you read the text decide if the statements below are true or false. Don’t look in the text for answers.

1. In the United States, people break state laws more often than federal laws.

2. Criminal procedures are different for children and adult offenders.

3. If a child commits a serious offence, he or she may be sent to a prison for adult criminals.

4. The US constitution gives every defendant a right to choose between a jury trial or a bench trial¹.

5. In American courts, sentences are always given by judges, not by juries.

6. In the United States, people may be sentenced to death in all states.

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Now read the text quickly to check your answers in 1.

Depending on the crimes people commit, they may break a federal law, a state law, or both. However, the great majority of crimes committed in the United States are state crimes. Prosecutions of serious crimes (felonies) are more complicated than prosecutions of less serious offenses (misdemeanors). Criminal laws and procedures vary from state to state, but in general the following actions take place when children and adults break the law.

What Happens to Children

When minors, people under the age of 18, break the law, they usually appear in juvenile court. Since a minor will rarely have a jury trial, the judge hears the evidence and decides whether or not there is enough evidence to prove that the child has broken the law. In most cases, the child admits to the crime and depending on the situation, the judge may put the child on probation, place the child in a foster home, or in serious cases, the child may be sent to a juvenile institution. If the child denies the charge, however, an adjudicatory hearing, much like a criminal trial, is held. At this hearing, the child is represented by a lawyer. If the judge determines that there is enough evidence, a second hearing is arranged to order a sentence.

What Happens to Adults

When an adult commits a serious crime and is arrested by police, sometimes there will be a trial. In the federal system and in some states, a grand jury decides whether or not there is enough evidence for a trial. If there is enough evidence, the person is indicted. If there is not enough evidence the charges are dropped. In states that don't use grand juries, an information will be issued by the prosecutor. An information is a formal written accusation by the prosecutor. Once the indictment or information has been filed, the defendant is arraigned.

Arraignment is the first stage of the trial process, at which the indictment or information is read in open court and the defendant must enter the plea. When a defendant pleads guilty, they admit that they in fact committed the offense. Of course, such a plea means that no trial will take place. The judge must make sure that the defendant understands the charges and the possible penalty upon conviction. If the judge accepts the plea of guilty, a date of sentencing is set. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the case goes to trial.

Sometimes plea bargaining occurs. The defense attorney and the prosecutor try to settle a case with the court's approval. In a plea bargain, the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or the prosecutor drops some of the charges, or agrees to ask for a lighter sentence from the judge.

If there is a trial, the Constitution guarantees every defendant certain rights. With serious crimes, there is the right to be tried before a jury; the defendant can also waive this right and then the judge returns the verdict. The basic rules of jury trials are the following: 1) the defendant is presumed innocent, 2) the prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, 3) the defendant has the right not to take the stand, and 4) evidence obtained through unconstitutional police procedures is excluded.

If the defendant is found not guilty, he is acquitted. If he is found guilty, he is convicted and then sentenced. Usually the trial judge hands out the sentence, but sometimes the jury does. The sentence may be a fine, incarceration, probation, or, in some states, the death penalty.

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Read the text again using the Legal Vocabulary and answer the questions.

1. What sort of offenders do juvenile courts deal with?

2. Why are jury trials rarely held in juvenile courts?

3. How are minors usually punished?

4. What decision does the grand jury make?

5. Who brings charges against the defendant in the states which don’t use grand juries?

6. What happens at the arraignment?

7. What must the judge do before they accept a plea of guilty?

8. What is a plea bargain?

9. What basic rights are guaranteed to criminal defendants?

10. What are the general types of punishment used in the United States?

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Put these steps in the criminal justice process in the correct order.

• trial

• grand jury hearing

• arrest

• sentencing

• arraignment

• jury verdict

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Read and translate the sentences below that give additional information about the proceedings outlined in the text. Where do you think each sentence could fit in the text?

1. Sentencing will actually occur at a separate hearing several weeks after the verdict has been returned.

2. The grand jury hearing is usually closed to public, grand jurors hear only the witnesses summoned by the prosecutor, and defendants are seldom present at a grand jury hearing.

3. A recent survey revealed that 67% of felony defendants plead guilty.

4. After sentencing, defendants may appeal their convictions (or in a few states, sentences) to a higher court.

5. Pleas of not guilty are more common among defendants charged with serious violent crimes such as murder or rape than among those charged with less serious property or drug offenses.