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The US Judicial System

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In 1787, delegates from across the country traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend the Constitutional Convention. Federalist wanted a strong central government and antifederalist wanted more powerful state governments. Nevertheless, delegates from all of the states traveled to the Constitutional Convention and drafted the United States Constitution. Later, all delegates’ from the states ratified the U.S. Constitution. Under Article I, II, and III of the U. S. Constitution established the legislative branch of government, executive branch of government, and a judicial branch of government (History of the Federal Judiciary. n.d.). The President of the United States heads the executive branch as the head of state and Commander-in-Chief …show more content…

Federal trial courts were organized within state borders which give citizens access to the federal judicial system, also allows federal judges to familiarize themselves with the geographical areas where they are serving. This approach was considered decentralized, and it ensured the federal courts in those locations understood the local areas they served, as it united our nation under a uniform system of federal law. Initially, the federal system consisted of a single Supreme Court, regional trial courts, and appellate court; however, this changed frequently, as to new states entering the union require assessments on the effectiveness of the federal judicial system was performed. Also, as the nation evolved or grew, legal disputes started to involve more frequently the federal courts. After the constitution had been established, the United States government and states debated in federal judiciary the issues associated with federalism. Usually, they involved extending the federal judicial system to new states, federal procedure, and balancing state and federal …show more content…

Currently, there are 678 sitting district court judges who hear civil and criminal federal cases. The next level of federal court is the U.S. Court of Appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals has 13 Appellate circuits, 12 regional circuits and one federal circuit which has national jurisdiction (History of the Federal Judiciary, n.d.). The Appellate Courts consist of 179 appellate court judges who are spread over the United States and are assigned to review cases arising from particular states and federal district courts. The last level of the federal judicial is the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has 9 Supreme Court judges, and they hear cases on appeal from State Supreme Courts and the 13 Appellate courts. The federal courts deal with constitutional issues and violations of federal law; whereas, state courts have jurisdiction within their state and anything involving state laws. A good example the distinction between of state and federal courts is state law can be more stringent than federal law, but state law cannot be less lenient per se than federal law. In the U.S. Bill of Rights, the 4th Amendment guarantees “the right of all people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,

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