Distinguish between original and appellate jurisdiction
Answers
Answer:
Original Jurisdiction
The federal courts can have either original jurisdiction or appellate jurisdiction over a case. Let's first examine original jurisdiction. This means the court has the right to hear the case first. The federal court system did not have original jurisdiction over Gideon's case because his case concerned a state law.
The federal district courts have original jurisdiction over all cases that involve federal law. Note that these courts can also exercise original jurisdiction over cases that involve diversity jurisdiction. Diversity jurisdiction occurs when the parties are citizens of two different states, or one party is a U.S. citizen and the other is a citizen of a foreign country. A diversity plaintiff may choose to bring the case in federal district court, though state law may be used to decide the case.
Besides federal district courts, other courts with original jurisdiction include:
State trial courts
Traffic courts
Family courts
Juvenile courts
Bankruptcy courts
Tax courts
And the United States Supreme Court
These are examples of various courts where cases can originate, or first be presented. But wait a minute! We don't typically think of the U.S. Supreme Court as having original jurisdiction. However, the U.S. Constitution grants original jurisdiction for the Supreme Court to hear cases involving ambassadors, cases between two states, or cases where a citizen sues his or her state.
Appellate Jurisdiction
Now let's take a look at appellate jurisdiction. This means the court hears an appeal from a court of original jurisdiction. The appeals court uses appellate jurisdiction to review a lower court's decision. Just keep in mind that the appellate court will not hear the entire case. It is not a new trial.
Instead, the appellate court simply reviews and rules on a particular disputed issue. These issues will involve whether or not the lower court made an error when applying the appropriate law to the facts of the case. On appeal, the appellate court has the power to modify or reverse the lower court's decision.
Besides the federal circuit courts, there are many different courts that exercise appellate jurisdiction. These include:
State courts of appeal
State superior courts
State supreme courts
Federal district courts
And the United States Supreme Court