Chapter 2
Federal Courts
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Define the four primary types of jurisdiction: geographical, subject matter,
personal, and hierarchical.
3. Explain the historical evolution of the federal courts into their present structure
and operations.
5. Analyze the impact the federal courts have on the administration of criminal
justice at the state and local levels through their federal question jurisdiction.
7. Distinguish the various agencies and their hierarchical responsibilities for the
administration of the federal court system.
8. Evaluate the major problems facing the federal courts and the strengths and
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Basic Principles of Court Organization
Learning Objective 1: Define the four primary types of jurisdiction:
geographical, subject matter, personal, and hierarchical.
Learning Objective 2: Compare and contrast the tasks of trial and appellate
courts.
A. Dual Court System
i. The United States has a dual court system consisting of one national court
system and separate court systems in each of the 50 sometimes have
concurrent jurisdiction over certain types of cases.
ii. Moreover, litigants in purely state court proceedings may appeal to the
B. Jurisdiction
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i. Court structure is largely determined by limitations on the types of cases
a court may hear and decide.
ii. Jurisdiction is the power of a court to decide a dispute. A court’s
jurisdiction can be divided into four subcomponents: geographical
jurisdiction, hierarchical jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and
personal jurisdiction.
iii. Courts are authorized to hear and decide disputes arising within a
specified geographical jurisdiction. Venue is the particular location, or
iv. Court structure is also determined by subject matter jurisdiction.
v. Trial courts of limited or special jurisdiction are restricted to hearing a
limited category of cases, typically misdemeanors and civil suits
vi. The federal courts are all courts of limited jurisdiction, because they
adjudicate only certain types of cases. In contrast to trial courts of
vii. Personal jurisdiction refers to a court’s power over an individual person
or corporation. In criminal cases, personal jurisdiction refers to a court’s
viii. Original jurisdiction means that a court has the authority to try a case and
C. Differentiating Trial and Appellate Courts
i. Virtually all cases begin in a trial court that has original jurisdiction. The
losing party in a trial court generally has the right to request an appellate
Class Discussion/Activity 1
Should prosecution for a crime in both state and federal courts be prohibited by
the double jeopardy clause?
See Assignment 1
II. History of the Federal Courts
Learning Objective 3: Explain the historical evolution of the federal courts into
their present structure and operations.
A. The political controversies that have shaped the federal judiciary go to the
heart of the federal system of government. When the delegates gathered at
the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, a resolution was
B. The Constitutional Convention
i. The Nationalists (who later called themselves Federalists) distrusted the
provincial prejudices of the states and favored a strong national
C. The Judiciary Act of 1789
i. After the Constitution was ratified, action on the federal judiciary came
quickly. After extensive debate, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of
1789, which laid the foundation for our current national judicial system.
D. 1789–1891
i. First, the boundaries of the district courts were drawn along state lines.
ii. Second, by custom the selection process ensured that federal district
judges would be residents of their districts.
iii. Third, the act gave the lower federal courts only limited jurisdiction.
iv. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided a temporary compromise on the
E. Court of Appeals Act of 1891
i. The creation of the court of appeals in 1891 was the culmination of “one
of the most enduring struggles in American political history” (Richardson
& Vines, 1970, p. 26). There was no debate over the difficulties facing
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F. Federal Courts Today
i. In 1925, Congress passed the Judges Bill, which gave the Supreme Court
much greater control over its docket.
ii. In 1988, Congress eliminated even more mandatory appeals to the high
court.
iii. The current structure of federal courts is best understood in terms of four
layers of courts: magistrate, district, appellate, and Supreme Court.
iv. The federal judiciary also includes specialized courts and administrative
structures.
III. U.S. Magistrate Judges
Learning Objective 4: Analyze the different responsibilities and workloads of
U.S magistrate judges, district judges, circuit judges, and Supreme Court justices.
A. Congress created U.S. magistrate judges in 1968 to replace the former
C. Caseload of U.S. Magistrate Judges
i. Magistrate judges play an increasingly important role in helping district
court judges dispose of their growing caseloads.
Media Tool
Watch University of Chicago Law School YouTube video A Conversation with
Elena Kagan:
See Assignments 2, 3, 4, and 5
IV. U.S. District Courts
Learning Objective 5: Analyze the impact the federal courts have on the
administration of criminal justice at the state and local levels through their federal
question jurisdiction.
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A. Congress has created 94 U.S. district courts. There is at least one district
court in each state. The president nominates district judges, who must then be
confirmed by the Senate.
B. Judges are assisted by a supporting cast of clerks, secretaries, law clerks, and
marshals. The work of district judges is helped significantly by 350
bankruptcy judges.
C. Caseload of U.S. District Courts
i. In the federal system, the U.S. district courts are the federal trial courts of
D. Diversity Jurisdiction
i. Diversity of citizenship cases involve suits between citizens of different
states or between a U.S. citizen and a foreign country or citizen.
E. Federal Questions
i. Cases that fall under Article III jurisdiction are generally referred to as
involving a federal question.
Media Tool
Read the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Arizona v. United States (2012):
What If Scenario
If you were Chief Justice John Roberts of the United States Supreme Court,
how would you have ruled in the recent case regarding the Affordable Health
Care Law, commonly known as Obama Care? Why?
See Assignment 6
V. U.S. Courts of Appeals
A. The courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the federal
system. All 12 of these circuit courts are empowered to review all final
B. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces hears appeals only from cases
decided in military courts and tribunals. These cases concern only members
of the U.S. armed forces on active duty or other persons subject to the
Uniform Code of Military Justice.
C. Each circuit has a chief judge who performs administrative duties in addition
to hearing cases.
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hearings are relatively rare.
E. Caseload of U.S. Courts of Appeals
i. Over the past five decades, the caseload of the U.S. courts of appeals has
skyrocketed. Criminal and prisoner petitions account for nearly 48
ii. The losing party may request that the Supreme Court hear the case, but
such petitions are rarely granted. As a result, the courts of appeals are the
Class Discussion/Activity 3
Discuss with students the different tasks required of appellate and trial
courts. Have students identify tasks, and write them down where the class
can see. Given the caseloads of some of the courts, ask students which type
of case appears to them to be more time-consuming. Ask how they think that
plea-bargaining affects the caseloads.
VI. U.S. Supreme Court
A. The Supreme Court has one chief justice and such number of associate
justices as may be fixed by Congress. The Constitution grants the Supreme
B. The Supreme Court exercises its discretion through the granting of a writ of
certiorari, which means that the Court, upon petition of a party, agrees to
review a case decided by one of the circuit courts of appeals or the highest
court of a state.
C. Granting Cert: The Rule of Four
i. A vote of four Supreme Court justices is required to grant certiorari to
D. Caseload of U.S. Supreme Court
i. Only a small percentage of the requests for a writ of certiorari (or cert, as
it is often called) is granted. In particular, the legal issue must involve a
“substantial federal question.” As a result of this limitation, the vast
majority of state cases are never reviewed by the Supreme Court.
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ii. With the exception of capital cases, the Court does not really act as an
error-correction court. Rather, the Court marshals its time and energy to
decide the most important policy questions of the day.
E. Circuit Justices
i. Each justice on the Supreme Court is assigned to serve as a circuit
justice. Their role today is concerned primarily with addressing certain
requests for extension of time, and ruling on requests for stays in cases
coming from the circuit to which the justice is assigned.
Class Discussion/Activity 4
How have prisoner petitions impacted the caseloads of the courts? What has
been done to address this problem? Does the “solution” to this problem represent
a crime control or a due process viewpoint?
generations to come.
What If Scenario
What if you could change the way that federal justices were appointed? Would
VII. Specialized Federal Courts
Learning Objective 6: Differentiate the jurisdiction and functions of Article III
courts from those of Article I courts and other specialized federal courts.
A. These courts are called “specialized federal courts” because they are
authorized to hear only a limited range of cases.
B. Judicial bodies established by Congress under Article III are known as
E. Military Justice
i. As with other systems of criminal law, the objective of military justice is
to provide a forum for determining guilt or innocence. Courts-martial
serve the additional purpose of enforcing order and discipline in the
military. Military justice differs from state and federal justice in a number
of ways.
F. Enemy Combatants
i. The military decided that those captured in the War on Terror did not
qualify as prisoners of war (and therefore subject to the Geneva
Convention), but instead would be considered enemy combatants.
ii. The Bush administration asserted that international law did not require
any legal process for enemy combatants. It was argued that the president,
as commander-in-chief, could detain enemy combatants until the War on
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iii. Less than two weeks after the Rasul decision, the Department of Defense
established Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) to review
evidence, in secret proceedings, to determine whether a detainee had been
iv. The Supreme Court declared the MCA unconstitutional in Boumediene v.
Bush (2008).
G. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
i. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has authority over electronic
ii. For years the FISA Court labored in obscurity. The only visible public
iii. In the wake of controversy, a Republican-controlled Congress enacted the
Protect America Act of 2007. The law was upheld in 2008 by a decision
H. Immigration Courts
i. The vast majority of undocumented immigrants that are deported daily
are disposed of by immigration courts. Immigration courts house in the
U.S. Department of Justice.
ii. Their chief function is to conduct administrative hearings to determine if
foreign-born individuals should be removed from the country or granted
protection from removal.
Class Discussion/Activity 5
Recently captured terrorists have become classified as military non-combatants
instead of prisoners of war and are thus being tried in secret military courts. As a
controversial topic, should these prisoners be tried in secret in the name of
national security, should they be tried in regular courts, or should the United
States even have jurisdiction over these prisoners in lieu of some kind of
international court?
VIII. Federal Judicial Administration
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Learning Objective 7: Distinguish the various agencies and their hierarchical
responsibilities for the administration of the federal court system.
A. The Administrative Office Act of 1939, to a large extent, created the current
administrative structure of the federal judiciary. The act expanded the
responsibilities of the Judicial Conference, created the Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts, and established the judicial councils.
B. Chief Justice
i. The chief justice is the presiding officer of the Supreme Court and has
supervisory authority over the entire federal judicial system.
ii. At the Supreme Court itself, the chief justice presides over all courtroom
proceedings, as well as the private conferences in which the justices
discuss and vote on cases.
iii. While the chief justice’s vote in a case carries no more weight than the
vote of any of the associate justices, the most senior justice always
C. Judicial Conference of the United States
i. The Judicial Conference of the United States is the administrative
amendments to the rules that govern proceedings in the federal courts.
ii. The Judicial Conference directs the Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts in administering the judiciary budget, and makes
recommendations to Congress concerning the creation of new judgeships,
increases in judicial salaries, and budgets for court operations.
D. Administration Office of the U.S. Courts
i. Since its establishment in 1939, the Administrative Office (AO) of the
U.S. Courts has been responsible for implementing the policies
established by the Judicial Conference by handling the day-to-day
administrative tasks of the federal courts.
E. Federal Judicial Center
i. The Federal Judicial Center is the research and training arm of the federal
judiciary.
ii. One of the principal activities of the Federal Judicial Center is the
F. Judicial Councils
i. The judicial council is the basic administrative unit of a circuit. The
membership consists of both district and appellate judges of the circuit.
ii. A judicial council is given sweeping authority to “make all necessary and
appropriate orders for the effective and expeditious administration of
justice within its circuit.”
iii. Judicial councils are also authorized to investigate complaints of judicial
disability or misconduct.
G. U.S. Sentencing Commission
i. The U.S. Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the
judicial branch of government. Its original purpose was to develop federal
sentencing guidelines.
ii. Today, the Commission is also charged with evaluating the effects of the
sentencing guidelines on the criminal justice system, recommending to
What If Scenario
What if you were the chairperson of a presidential commission to reform the
federal court system; what would your recommendations be? Please list five
See Assignment 7
IX. Caseloads in the Federal Courts
Learning Objective 8: Evaluate the major problems facing the federal courts and
the strengths and weaknesses of the major solutions that have been proposed to
address these problems.
A. For most of our nation’s history, the growth in federal cases was gradual.
B. The caseload problem is particularly acute in some metropolitan jurisdictions
where federal judges must postpone civil schedules in accordance with the
Speedy Trial Act.
C. The solutions most often suggested for the problem of rising federal court
caseloads are increasing the number of federal judges and reducing federal
jurisdiction.
D. Increase the Number of Federal Judges?
E. Reduce Federal Jurisdiction?
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X. Consequences of Federal Involvement in the Criminal Justice System
A. Crime has been a pressing national concern for decades. As a result, national
elected officials, whether members of Congress or the president, have often
made crime a key campaign issue.
B. Despite all this clamor at the national level, the role of the federal
government in the criminal justice system is limited. Crime remains primarily
the responsibility of state and local governments.
C. Forum for Symbolic Politics
i. In spite of the limited scope of its involvement in crime, the federal
D. Federal Dollars
i. A basic rule of American politics is that citizens’ demands for services
exceed the willingness of voters to raise taxes to pay for those services.
Faced with these limitations, local and state officials often turn to
Washington as a source of “free” money. Congress has authorized
spending for a variety of anticrime programs, but overall the amount of
federal dollars is small compared to what local and state governments
spend.
Media Tool
Go to the Justice at Stake website, Federal Court Issues section:
See Assignment 8
KEY TERMS
appellate court: A court that hears appeals from trial courts on points of law.
appellate jurisdiction: The authority of a court to hear, determine, and render judgment
in an action on appeal from an inferior court.
Article I: Section of the U.S. Constitution concerning the legislative branch of the
national government.
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Article III: Section of the U.S. Constitution concerning the judicial branch of the
national government.
bankruptcy judge: Judicial officer who presides over the legal procedure under federal
law by which a person is relieved of all debts after placing all property under the court’s
authority. An organization may be reorganized or terminated by the court in order to pay
off creditors.
Bivens actions: Permits private persons to sue those who act under color of federal
authority for alleged deprivation of constitutional rights.
concurrent jurisdiction: Shared judicial powers over certain kinds of cases.
diversity of citizenship: When parties on the opposite sides of a federal lawsuit come
from different states, the jurisdiction of the U.S. district courts can be invoked if the case
involves a controversy concerning $75,000 or more in value.
dual court system: A court system consisting of a separate judicial structure for each
state in addition to a national structure. Each case is tried in a court of the same
jurisdiction as that of the law or laws involved.
federal question: Case that contains a major issue involving the U.S. Constitution or
U.S. laws or treaties.
geographical jurisdiction: Geographical area over which courts can hear and decide
disputes.
habeas corpus: Collateral challenge by inmates to a conviction based on the argument
that the trial was constitutionally unfair.
habeas corpus petitions: Document by which inmates collaterally challenge their
convictions based on the argument that their trial was constitutionally unfair.
hierarchical jurisdiction: Refers to differences in the functions of courts and involves
original as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.
motions to vacate sentences: Allow a federal prisoner to try to get a sentence set aside
or corrected because the sentence was imposed contrary to law. Such motions might
allege that the court lacked jurisdiction to impose a criminal sentence or that the sentence
was in excess of that allowed under law.
original jurisdiction: Jurisdiction in the first instance; commonly used to refer to trial
jurisdiction as opposed to appellate jurisdiction. Appellate courts, however, have limited
original jurisdiction.
personal jurisdiction: A court’s power over an individual person or corporation.
subject matter jurisdiction: Types of cases courts have been authorized to hear and
decide.
stay: A court order that temporarily suspends activity in a case.
U.S. district courts: The trial courts of the federal court system.
U.S. magistrate judges: Judicial officers appointed by the U.S. district courts to perform
the duties formerly performed by U.S. commissioners and to assist the court by serving as
LECTURE NOTES
Discuss the creation of the Constitution, focusing on how the court systems fell under a
dual system. Discuss the federal system in conjunction with the state system, while
showing the differences between the two. Explain how the Federalists and Anti–
Federalists played a role in the court system as a whole. Discuss the case of Marbury v.
Madison, which affected the way the court system operates.
Discuss the section of federal questions in depth with your students, focusing on the
changes that were recognized over time. Focus on the changes and influence Chief
Discuss the key elements of the Federal Judicial Administration, including the judges, the
duties of the key players, the power of those in charge, and the many other personnel that
assist in the functioning of this organization. When discussing the judges, focus
additionally on the administrative office of the U.S. Courts. Ask students who they
believe works under this umbrella and what goes on “behind the scenes” during the day
to day functions of federal judges.
POSSIBLE DISCUSSION POINTS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What does dual court system mean here? Subject to abuse? Why might it be helpful
to be able to try someone in federal court after a failed attempt in state court? Can
students think of any examples?
2. What did the students find in their research? What did they discover versus what they
thought they would find? Were they surprised? How were their expectations
supported/refuted?
3. Trial courts hear evidence, witnesses, go through the entire court process. Appellate
courts review the actions of the trial courts. Which process takes longer? Does it
depend on the case? Trial courts handle a small percentage of the total criminal cases
4. Growth of prisoner petitions. Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). Types of
5. With respect to national security, is the United States a vigilante? Do defendants truly
meet the definition of soldier or enemy and thus become subject to the Geneva
Convention?
LO6
ASSIGNMENTS
1. In a two-page paper, compare and contrast the four primary types of jurisdiction.
2. Contact a judge in your local area, and conduct an interview with him or her. Ask the
3. Write a five-page paper detailing a Supreme Court case from this year, tracing how
the case made it all the way to the highest court. In your paper, include a description
of the role of the U.S. Supreme Court. How is it similar to and different from other
types of federal courts? How does it control its caseload? Why did the Court choose
to hear the case you decided to write about?
4. “U.S. Supreme Court Arguments”
5. “U.S. District Courts”
6. Locate and review a federal question case handled by a federal court in your district.
Identify the impact of the case.
LO5
7. “Federal Judicial Center”
8. Discuss the two solutions proposed in the chapter for the problem of caseloads in the
federal courts. What are the potential positive and negative outcomes of each? Which
solution do you agree with?