There are many differences that can be observed between federal and state courts. The one thing that will always bind them together is the Constitution. The Constitution is the law that trumps all other legal precedents. It is taken very seriously which is why the Supreme Court of the United States makes it a priority to review appellate cases that may have constitutional issues.
One of the main differences between federal and state courts in the United States is that state courts follow their own state laws in addition to the Constitution. Each state has the ability to create its own laws and under the state court system, the courts are able to use these laws as well. The federal court uses the Constitution and since it mostly deals with cases that infringed upon federal law.
When deciding who gets to hear a case the U.S Supreme Court has complete control over which cases they decide to take in. Just because a party requests their case to be reviewed by the U.S Supreme Court does not mean that it will get reviewed. State courts are responsible for hearing their states' cases and don’t have a lot of liberty in choosing which cases to take, but a party can request to have their case heard by the highest court in that state.
The system for the selection of judges at the state and federal levels also differs. As talked about in last week's blog post, judges are nominated by the current President of the U.S, and then they are voted on by the Senate. Justices are in office from the time they are selected until they give up their position or if they are impeached. There are no time restrictions or public elections for the Supreme Court justices.
The process to select judges at the state level can be quite different. There are many varying ways that judges are selected at the state level depending on the level of the court and the state they are working for. These judges can be selected through elections or they could be appointed to their position. Being appointed can be a lifetime commitment to the position or the judge could just be appointed for a predetermined amount of time.
There is a pretty distinguishable difference between the types of cases that these courts hear. The state-level courts mostly stick to cases with criminal offenses, family law, and contracts. Some examples of cases these courts would try would be homicides, divorces, personal injuries, wills, etc. These types of cases mostly will have rulings that are decided based upon that state's own laws and are too small for the Supreme Court to take on. The state court system works with the idea of general jurisdiction. General jurisdiction means that the state courts are able to hear any cases within their state that are not specifically set aside for the federal courts.
Meanwhile, the federal court system of the United States always makes it a point to take on cases that deal with constitutional issues. They will also take on cases of state courts that are disputing with one another. The federal courts have limited jurisdiction which essentially means that they are limited to the types of cases they can take in and hear to ensure that they don’t overpower the state courts.
Therefore, both the state and federal court system serve unique purposes in the United States justice system. The types of cases they hear, the way judges are selected, and the powers they have differ. This all helps create a more fair and effective system of hearing cases and distributing them effectively.
By Elidia Magana
Sources:
“Comparing Federal & State Courts.” United States Courts, https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure/comparing-federal-state-courts.
“What Is the Difference between State and Federal Courts?.” The Judicial Learning Center | An Online Companion to the Judicial Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri., 4 Jan. 2021, https://judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts/.
.png){kind=small}
Comments