What do common state courts include
- Courts of limited jurisdiction - municipal court
- Specialized courts-
- Courts of general jurisdiction - superior court
Appellate courts
Appellate courts
○ Appeal to see if constitutional rights have been violated
○ Usually blame on lawyer- ineffective assistance of counsel
NJ court ranking (increasing in ranking(
○ Municipal court
○ Superior court
○ Appellate court
○ NJ own Supreme Court
○ US Supreme Court
Drug court in NJ
5 year court that keeps you from going to state prison for someone in state prison sentence
How does drug court work
§ Drug tested 3x a week and random drug testing- can be more
§ Go to court- nontraditional roles as in collaborative
Prosecutor and defender work together
What happenes fter you complete drug court?
everything gets wiped clean
Veteran Court
keeps veterans from getting a criminal record
US Supreme Court type
appellate
US Supreme nominated and approved by
○ Judge and Supreme justices are nomiated by President
○ Approved by Congress
Writ of certioari
grants this when the Supreme Court decides to hear a case, requesting a transcript of the proceedings of the case for review
how is writ of certiorari granted
ordinarily four justices must agree to hear the case- rule of four
After the writ of certioari what is next
- Written and oral arguments are then heard
○ Supreme Court reevaluates and reinterprets state statues, the US Constitution and previous case decisions
§ The Court affirms or reverse’s the decision of the lower court
what does affirm mean
decline to hear a case, last sentence stays
court congestion reasons
§ Increasing populations
§ Aggressive prosecutions
□ Won’t see rn in NJ
§ Complex law
§ Reform efforts
§ Civil litigation
□ Fighting for something in between like fines
Backlogged- arrested 3 years ago
Duties of the judge
§ Rule on the appropriateness of conduct
§ Settle questions of evidence and procedure
§ Guide the questioning of witnesses
§ Instruct jurors
§ Decide cases
§ Sentencings
To be a judge- MONEY in NJ = money= power
Why is congestion undesrable
Makes people wait too long for a resolution.
Costs money.
Delay can violate the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
assembly line justice
wherein most defendants are induced to plead guilty, jury trials are rare, and a speedy trial is usually unattainable.
How courts run in states
Each state maintains its own state court organization, with each state permitted to create as many courts as they wish, name courts as they see fit, and establish specialized courts.
three levels of courts in the federal system
U.S. district courts
U.S. courts of appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Court of last resort
Federal District Court
Trial courts of the federal system
Civil rights
Interstate transportation of stolen vehicles
Kidnappings
Citizenship
Rights of aliens
Federal Appeals Court
Sometime referred to as U.S. circuit courts
Review federal and state appellate court cases on substantive and procedural issues involving rights guaranteed by the Constitution
What type fo cases go to the Supreme Cout
significant federal questions, of a constitutional nature
Judicial alternatives
Retired judges
Neutral parties
Referees
Magistrates
Part-time judges
What is the Nj Courts called?
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction ( NJ MUNICIPAL COURT)
Courts of General Jurisdiction ( NJ SUPERIOR COURT)
