J.+Organization,+Hierarchy+&+Leadership

= The Judicial Branch =

__Hierarchy__ (pictured above is a chart depicting the different levels of courts)

The lowest level of court is the U.S. District courts. There are 94 districts each with a Bankruptcy Court, also there is a U.S. Court of International Trade and a U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The District Courts are the Trial Courts of the Federal system, they are where federal cases are tried, witnesses testify, and federal juries serve.

The next highest district is the U.S. Court Appeals. There are 12 regional circuit courts and one for the “Federal Circuit,” that were established by Congress to relieve some of the caseload of the Supreme Court, and to hear cases that are appealed from the 94 district courts.

The highest level is the Supreme Court. There is one supreme court. The Supreme Court receives about 10,000 petitions a year. The Justices what is known as the " [|Rule of Four] ” to decide if they are going take the case. If four of the nine Justices feel the case has value, they will issue a [|writ of certiorari] . A writ of certiorari is an order from a high court to a lower court for them to send the records of the case to them for review.

__Leadership__ At the head of the highest branch, the Supreme Court, is the [|__Chief Justice__]. Like the other justices of the American Supreme Court, the Chief Justice is appointed by the [|__President of the United States__]. The Chief Justice has the same responsibilities as his/her colleagues in addition to the many responsibilities of his/her own, including being the first to vote in cases brought to the Supreme Court(though his/her vote does not carry any more weight than any other vote), being the judge for impeachment cases, and a variety of other things.



(Current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, ) [|__http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/was-supreme-court-justice-john-roberts-blackmailed/__]

The second highest branch, is the [|__United States court of appeals__]. Like it’s name it decides appeals from other district courts within its federal judicial circuit, and in some instances from other designated federal courts and administrative industries. Each designated circuit is split into nine separate district’s that spread around the country. Unlike the Supreme court, judges are assigned by simply applying for the position, when certain standards in their careers are met. An example is say how long they’ve been a judge.

__Organization__ Judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Federal judges can only be removed through impeachment by the [|__House of Representatives__] and found guilty in the Senate.

The [|__Supreme Court__] has more power and authority than other [|__Federal Level Courts__]. Lower Courts are required to follow the example set by the Supreme Court when making their decision in a case. Federal Court cases often begin with an arrest made by law officials where the defendant either pleads not guilty and all charges are dropped or they get proven guilty in which the judge decides the punishment with either a fine, jail time or execution. After the case is tried in federal court, it may be allow to be appealed in a higher court of law.

[|__http://www.flcourts.org/florida-courts/__]

[|__Appellate Courts__] are in place to examine lower federal level court cases to determine whether the legal decision was suitably made without bias, regarding the facts and evidence given within the case. If the Appellate Court determines that the case can be tried again without bias although very few court decisions result in an appeal.

__CITATION__ "Appeals." United States Courts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. "Branches of Government." Branches of Government. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. "Florida Courts." Florida Courts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. "The Judicial Branch." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. "Levels of the Federal Courts." The Judicial Learning Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. "Was Supreme Court Justice John Roberts Blackmailed?" The Blaze. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. ="What Does the Chief Justice of the U.S. Actually Do?" About.com News & Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. =