Deck 2: Courts and Court Procedures

Question 1

What is the chief function of the courts?

Answer 1

The chief functions of court are explained below:
• A court generally applies and declares judicial precedents or case laws and applied laws passed by the legislative arm of government.
• Interpret laws and apply the law to whatever situation or dispute that may arise.For example , the US Constitution gives Congress the power to collect taxes. Under this power, Congress passes a law that requires monetary penalty from anyone who fails to buy health insurance. If someone challenges this law as being unconstitutional, the courts decide whether imposing such a penalty is allowable under Congress' power to collect taxes.

Question 2

Over what must a court have jurisdiction before it can try a case?

Answer 2

The authority of a court to decide a case is called its jurisdiction.
Personal jurisdiction means a court has the authority to hear the claims of a person or business involved in a case. For example, if a New Jersey resident is charged with committing a robbery in New Jersey, a New York court will not have personal jurisdiction to hear the case. 
Subject matter jurisdiction means that a court has the power to hear the type of dispute. For example, if a claim is made against a deceased person's estate, only a probate court has subject matter jurisdiction. This is because probate courts handle all estate matters.
Geographic jurisdiction refers to the court's authority to act on a dispute within a certain area. For example, a state supreme court has jurisdiction over all cases within the state. However, a municipal court only has jurisdiction over cases arising within the municipality.
Before a court can hear a case it must have jurisdiction
• over the persons involved in the case,
• over the subject matter of the case, and
• over the geographic area where the dispute occurred.

Question 3

How does a party get a case to the U.S. Supreme Court?

Answer 3

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. There are certain cases that are by default heard by the Supreme Court only; these include cases involving ambassadors, public ministers, consuls or those cases where state is one of the parties.
Apart from these cases, cases brought from the federal courts of appeal are heard by the Supreme Court. But all the cases appealed are not heard; certain selected cases from the ones appealed are heard.
Supreme Court decisions are binding on the other courts. To bring a case to the Supreme Court, an application has to be file for a writ of certiorari. The party who wants Supreme Court to review the case would ask it to issue a writ of certiorari. The writ issued would require the lower court that had decided the case to issue all the records of the case, so that they can be reviewed by the court.

Question 4

Name the court in which the following disputes would be settled:
a. A claim for an unpaid bill of $100
b. A dispute over the amount of income taxed owed
c. An allegation that a lower court made a mistake
d. A controversy among cousins regarding their share of a deceased grandparent's estate
e. A divorce case
f. A damage suit for $7,500

Question 5

Must a party to a lawsuit be represented by a lawyer? Explain.

Question 6

Why are courts of original general jurisdiction referred to as courts of record?

Question 7

Who are the officers of
a. An inferior court?
b. A state court of record?
c. A federal court?

Question 8

Why is it important to comply with procedural laws?

Question 9

List the ordered events that occur when a civil action is brought.

Question 10

What is the procedure by which an appellate court learns about a case?