CHAPTER 6

The Court System

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Introduction
• Paralegals need to understand the different
types of courts in the American system
• The first part of this chapter examines the
structure of the American courts
• In addition to the public courts, there is also
a system of private dispute resolution
mechanisms
• Alternative methods of dispute resolution
need attorneys and paralegals to facilitate
them
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Judicial Requirements
• Standing to Sue
– Sufficient “stake” in a matter
– Legally protected, genuine interest
– Must have suffered a harm
– Can sometimes sue on behalf of another
person
– Controversy at issue must be justiciable
• Real and substantial, not hypothetical or
academic

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Judicial Requirements
• Types of Jurisdiction
– In Latin, juris means “law,” and diction
means “to speak”
– Court must have jurisdiction in order to hear
a case
– Jurisdiction over persons
• Long arm statute
– Jurisdiction over property
– Jurisdiction over subject matter
– Original and appellate jurisdiction

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Judicial Requirements
• Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts
– Federal questions
– Diversity jurisdiction
• Diversity of citizenship
– Exclusive versus
– concurrent jurisdiction
– Concurrent jurisdiction
• Party has choice of
• federal or state court

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Judicial Requirements
• Jurisdiction in Cyberspace
– The “sliding-scale” standard
• Substantial business conducted over the Internet
• Some interactivity through a website
• Passive advertising
– International jurisdictional issues

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Judicial Requirements
• Venue
– Most appropriate location for a trial
– Should be in the geographic area of the
lawsuit
• Usually the county
– Pretrial publicity may require change of
venue in order to obtain a fair and impartial
jury

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Judicial Requirements
• Judicial Procedures
– Specifically designated procedural rules
– Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
• Federal civil court procedural rules
– Each federal court also has its own local
rules
– State rules vary
– Rules of procedure differ in criminal and civil
cases

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State Court Systems
• Trial Courts
– Courts in which trials are held, testimony
taken
– General jurisdiction courts
• County, district, superior, or circuit courts
• Jurisdiction over civil disputes and criminal
prosecutions
– Limited jurisdiction courts
• “Inferior” trial courts or minor courts
• These include small claims, domestic relations,
municipal, and probate courts

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State Court Systems
• Appellate, or Reviewing, Courts
– Parties unlikely to file an appeal unless a
reversible error was committed by the trial
court
– Appellate courts only look at questions
of law
• Do not consider questions of fact
• Only a judge can rule, not a jury
– Intermediate appellate courts (IACs)
– Highest state courts

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The Federal Court System
• Three-tiered model
– U.S. district courts
– U.S. courts of appeals
– U.S. Supreme Court
• Federal court judges appointed by the
President
• Federal judges receive lifetime appointments

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The Federal Court System

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The Federal Court System
• U.S. District Courts
– Equivalent of a state trial court
– At least one federal district court in every
state
– Number of judicial districts varies over time
• Population changes
• Caseloads
– Have original jurisdiction in matters of
federal law

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The Federal Court System
• U.S. Court of Appeals
– Thirteen federal U.S. courts of appeals
– Also referred to as U.S. circuit courts of
appeals
– Decisions of the circuit courts of appeals are
final in most cases
– Review by the U.S. Supreme Court is
possible

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The Federal Court System

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The Federal Court System
• The United States Supreme Court
– Highest level of the federal court system
– Consists of nine justices
– Most of its work is as an appeals court
– How cases reach the Supreme Court
• No absolute right of appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court
• Writ of certiorari

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The Federal Court System
• The United States Supreme Court
(continued)
– Types of cases reviewed by the Supreme
Court
• Petitions that raise important constitutional
questions

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Litigation is expensive, adversarial, and time
consuming
• Advantage of ADR is its flexibility
• About 95 percent of cases are settled before
trial
• Several federal courts have instituted ADR
programs
• Services are now being offered via the Internet
• Paralegals can help attorneys to clarify the
issues
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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Checklist for deciding whether to sue
• Negotiation
– One alternative means of resolving disputes
– Frequently advised by attorneys
– Clients may be able to negotiate disputes
voluntarily
– Attempt to find a mutually satisfactory
agreement
– Settlement agreement

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Mediation
– A nonadversarial forum
– Paralegals as mediators
– Mediator’s skills
• Good listener
• Discipline
• Comprehends facts
• Diligent
• Possesses writing skills

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Arbitration
– More formal method in which third party
makes the decision for the parties, acts as a
private judge
– Arbitration clauses and statutes
• Contractual obligation
• Statutory backing
– The arbitration process
• The hearing
• The award

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–
Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Arbitration
– The role of the courts in prearbitration
• Compel arbitration
• Fairness issue
– The postarbitration role of the courts

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Other ADR Forms
– Binding mediation
– Mediation arbitration (med-arb)
– Early neutral case evaluation (“assisted
negotiation”)
– Mini-trial
• Neutral third party acts as an adviser

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Collaborative Law
– Increasingly used in marital separation
procedures
– Parties agree to resolve all issues without
litigation
– Discovery is cooperative and informal
– Parties work together to craft an agreement
– Attorneys focus only on settlement

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Court-Referred ADR
– Types of court-related ADR vary widely
• Voluntary in some states, required in others
– Summary jury trials (SJTs)
• Parties present their arguments
• Jury’s verdict is not binding
• Verdict acts as a guide
• Parties have right to a full trial later

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Providers of ADR Services
– Government agencies
– Private organizations
– American Arbitration Association (AAA)
• Cases heard by an expert or a panel of experts
• Cases usually settled quickly
– Some firms hire retired judges to conduct
arbitration hearings
– Some courts provide these services

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Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Online Dispute Resolution
– ODR is conducted on the Internet
– Disputes concerning use of website
addresses or sales over the Internet
– Online negotiation
• SmartSettle
– Online arbitration
• American Arbitration Association
• Resolution Forum, Inc. (RFI)

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Summary
• Courts have jurisdiction over persons and
businesses residing in geographic area of
the court
• Limited jurisdiction exists when a court is
limited to a specific subject matter
• Courts of appeals, or reviewing courts, have
appellate jurisdiction
• Jurisdiction exists in federal court when a
federal question is involved

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Summary
• The focus on appeal is for reversible errors
in law made at trial
• The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction
in a few cases, but it functions primarily as
an appellate court
• The costs and time-consuming character of
litigation, as well as the public nature of court
proceedings, have caused many to turn to
various forms of alternative dispute
resolution (ADR) for settling disagreements

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