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Overview of the American Legal System: Structure, Components, and Jurisdiction

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This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the American legal system, detailing its fundamental components, including the branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. It discusses the U.S. criminal justice system, highlighting the roles of police, courts, and corrections at local, state, and federal levels. The separation of powers, federalism, court jurisdiction, and the differences between law and equity are examined. Furthermore, the chapter outlines the adversarial nature of the U.S. justice system, emphasizing the adversarial roles in dispute resolution.

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Overview of the American Legal System: Structure, Components, and Jurisdiction

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  1. CHAPTER ONE AN OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM

  2. U.S. Justice System • Branches of Government • Legislative • Executive • Judicial • Levels of Government • Local • State • Federal

  3. U.S. Criminal Justice System • 3 Primary Components • Police • Courts • Corrections • 3 Levels of Each Component • Local • State • Federal

  4. Police Responsibility • Law Enforcement • Activity governed by a criminal code • Includes arrests, investigations, traffic tickets, etc. • Order Maintenance • Governed by Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles of Policing • Quality of life issues • Includes controlling crowds, gatherings, traffic • Public Service • Catchall category • Includes animals, neighborhood issues, abandoned vehicles, other public needs

  5. Local Police • Largest portion of police responsibility • Largest portion of police expenditures • 12,766 local departments • Municipal Police Departments • Sheriffs’ Departments • Tremendous variation in department size

  6. State Police • Smallest portion of police responsibility • 49 state police agencies • Responsibilities • Highway Patrol • State Law Violations • Special Jurisdiction

  7. Federal Police • Special Policing Issues • Federal Bureau of Investigation • Immigration and Customs Enforcement • Secret Service • Drug Enforcement Administration • Many others • Narrow Jurisdictions • Established by Congress or the President

  8. Police in the Court System • Crime Investigation • Arrest Law Violators • Gatekeeping • Court Transport • Court Security

  9. U.S. Court System • Tremendous variation among jurisdictions • Functions • Protect society from criminal offenders • Dispute resolution • Levels • Local • State • Federal

  10. U.S. Corrections System • Responsibilities • Probation and Parole • Community Corrections Programs • Institutional Corrections • Theories of Criminal Sentencing • Retribution • Rehabilitation • Deterrence • Incapacitation • Reintegration

  11. Levels of Corrections • Local • City and County Jails • Short-term housing • State • Largest portion of corrections system • 87.5% of prison population • Federal • U.S. Bureau of Prisons • Federal Probation

  12. Separation of Powers • Legislative Branch • Congress • Created by Article 1 • Authority includes taxation, court creation, war declaration • Executive Branch • The President • Created by Article 2 • Authority includes enforcement of laws, acting as commander-in-chief, executive office appointments • Judiciary Branch • The Supreme Court • Created by Article 3 • Power of judicial review

  13. Federalism • Separation of powers between the state and federal governments • 10th Amendment • Any power not given to the federal government • Reserved to the states or the people • Comity: when one government defers to the other’s authority

  14. Court Jurisdiction • A court’s legal authority to decide a case • Subject Matter Jurisdiction • Civil law jurisdiction • Criminal law jurisdiction • Other special jurisdiction • Juvenile law • Probate law • Family law

  15. General and Limited Jurisdiction • Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Lack the power to hear a full range of cases • Specialized jurisdiction • Inferior courts • Courts of General Jurisdiction • Have the power to hear a full range of cases • Adhere to formal court procedures • Judges must be licensed attorneys • Hear appeals from inferior courts

  16. Original and Appellate Jurisdiction • Courts of Original Jurisdiction • Court that first hears the case • May be of limited or general jurisdiction • Courts of first instance • Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction • Hear appeals from courts of original jurisdiction • Appeals are based upon errors of law • Courts of intermediate appellate jurisdiction • Courts of last resort • State Supreme Courts • U.S. Supreme Court

  17. Law and Equity • Law • Provides relief through damages • Civil and criminal law • Equity • Used when there is no remedy available through the law • Provides relief through injunctions

  18. Adversarial Justice • Form of justice used in the U.S. • Two parties to the dispute • Opposing one another • One will win and one will lose • Zero-sum game • Contrast with inquisitional justice • Government gathers evidence of defendant’s guilt • Fewer people charged with crimes • Assumption of defendant’s guilt

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