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The two main parts to the judicial branch are the courts and judges. There are three separate court levels in this branch, District Courts, Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was created by the Constitution and was allowed the power of establishing other courts to the Congress.

The Supreme Court is the highest court and is the "final law of the land." It’s allowed to make formal judgements on acts passed through the political system by Congress and President. The Supreme Court’s task is to declare whether an act is constitutional or unconstitutional. A case like Miranda v. Arizona is a perfect example of a precedent because it’s now considered as the famous “Miranda warning.” The Miranda rights include the right to remain silent and the right to have a counsel present. If the convicted person fails to follow his/her rights, any statements made in reply to post-arrest questions will be resulted in suppression. The arguments were that the police violated Miranda’s 5th Amendment right to remain silent and his 6th Amendment right to legal counsel. Therefore his confession was illegally achieved, his conviction was broken and he deserved a new trial. The argument for Arizona was that Ernesto Miranda wasn’t unfamiliar with police procedures. He took advantage of police officers and their intelligence and he signed his confession willingly. The prosecution was proper while his conviction was based on Arizona law. Miranda v. Arizona was a case that was, in the beginning denied and shut down, but later on looked over once more and soon became the “Miranda warning.”

The power that which is give to courts to explain the law is called jurisdiction. The jurisdiction allows the judicial branch limited federal and constitutional laws. The federal courts are usually involved with cases where a person or group disobeyed the constitution, violated a treaty, committed a crime on federal property, or broke a federal law. They’re also involved with cases when a citizen form one state sues a citizen of another state.

The lower courts are involved in these cases but they’re known as precedent. A precedent is originally the case you fall back on. It is the case that is over turned by the Supreme Court. The lower court judges are only allowed to give legal reasons for their decisions in order to back up their opinion. Precedent sets an example to follow for future cases with related subjects. The decisions that are made by these court judges can have a significant effect on the citizens of our country.

With one in each state, there are ninety-four U.S. District Courts. One in Washington, D.C., one in Puerto Rico, and one in each of the three territories - Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands. Each of these courts has jurisdiction over the cases in these areas.

 //Infoplease//. Infoplease. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .