Court if Appeals may review orders from certain administrative agencies. The function of this court is to examine the record of a case on appeal and to determine whether the trial court committed prejudicial error. The court can either reverse or modify the judgment. The court may also send it back to the lower court or if there is no prejudicial error, uphold the lower court’s judgment.The Supreme Courts the nation’s highest court whose principal function is to review decisions of the Federal Courts of Appeals and the highest state courts. This court consists of nine justices. Cases reach the Supreme Court by two ways. One way is the court must hear a case if one of the parties requests the review, but very few come by way of appeal by right. The second way is by the Writ of certiorari, which requires a lower court to produce the record of a case it has tried. This happens when there is a federal question of substantial importance or conflict in the decision.
The special courts have jurisdiction over particular areas. The U.S. Courts of Federal Claims hears claims against the United States. The U.S, Bankruptcy Courts hear and decide certain matters under the Federal Bankruptcy Code. The U.S. Tax Court has jurisdiction over certain cases involving federal taxes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit reviews decisions of the Court of Federal Claims, the Patent and Trademark Office, patent cases decided by U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals.
The State Courts system consists inferior trial courts, trial courts, and appellate courts. Each of the fifty states has there own system and voters elect judges for a certain term. The inferior trial courts hear minor criminal cases such as traffic offenses and civil cases involving small amounts of money. They also conduct preliminary hearings in more serious criminal cases. Usually there is no jury and the procedure is informal. An appeal is taken to the trial court of general jurisdiction where a new trial is begun. The decision of the previous court has no weight in this decision.
