chapter 7 law.docx

1、chapter 7 lawchapter 7Law and Judicial SystemThe part played by law and by the court of justice is probably more important in American society than in any other. There is probably no other country where the decisions of the supreme court make the headlines of the front pages of newspapers and are di

2、scussed in editorials and letters to the editor) where the daily lives of millions of citizens are affected by these decisions; where the social struggles are often submitted to the courts and sometimes appear to be mainly legal battles; and where legal aid may be considered an important part of an

3、anti-poverty program and granted millions of dollars. It is in the United States that the expression government by judiciary has been coined and that the phenomenon to which it refers has been and remains the subject of scholarly works. From Alexis de Tocqueville to the present, no foreign observer

4、could help being struck by the place of law and the judiciary in the United States.While foreign observers are impressed by the central role played by the legal system in American political, social and economic life. Americans themselves look upon legal issues and court decisions as matters of wides

5、pread interest and daily concern. They make active use of their legal system and take great pride in being a litigious people. They are so accustomed to seeking redress from the court that over 650,000 lawyers and judges are employed to evaluate their cases.Such cultural behavior has historical and

6、political explanations. Historically speaking, American active participation in the legal process largely derives from their colonial and frontier experiences in which both settlers and frontiersmen were often thrown upon themselves to defend their interests and rights. The disaffection of colonists

7、 towards the British Crown in the late colonial period had some legal causes and always found expression in legal terms. Indeed, the Declaration of Independence itself was justified by its drafters by a long list of legal grievances. Politically speaking, since the founding of the republic, American

8、 peoples life, both public and private, has been shaped by the U. S. Constitution and the later Bill of Rights. These legal and political documents guarantee civil rights and freedoms for citizens and stipulate a separation of powers between an independent judiciary and the other branches of governm

9、ent. Americans expectations of social and political justice, therefore, depend, ideally as well as practically, on the safeguards in these documents.All these historical experiences and political culture have thereby laid grounds for Americans to view issues of justice and rights as a fundamental co

10、ncern in their lives. Always jealous of their individual rights, they are prepared to go to court for justice if they feel that their civil rights have been infringed by federal or state governments. They are equally ready to bring their cases to court against doctors, airlines, educational institut

11、ions, manufacturers, commercial companies, employers, or their neighbors when they are convinced that serious injustice has been done on them. Under the protection of the U. S. Constitution, Americans have a constitutional right to have their eases quickly determined in a public trial by an impartia

12、l (in theory at least) judge or jury. For these and many other reasons, a very large number of civil and criminal cases are handled annually by the courts, most of which are determined at state and local rather than federal levels. Thus, law and the decisions of the courts are a basic ingredient, no

13、t only in the political life of the nation) but also in the daily life of the ordinary citizen.The Judicial SystemU.S. courts operate at separate federal and state levels and have their own areas of authority or jurisdiction. State and local courts handle most of the legal cases and are the most imm

14、ediate for Americans. The federal courts only account for some 2 per cent of cases tried annually. Together, federal and state and local courts make up the structure of the judicial system in the United States.The Federal Judicial SystemFederal courts deal with cases which arise under the U. S. Cons

15、titution, treaties or federal law and any disputes involving the federal government. They also hear matters involving governments or citizens of different states and therefore play a part in state law as well. Besides, if a case in the highest state court appeal involves a federal question, it can b

16、e appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.The federal judicial system forms a hierarchy. The three main levels of courts are in ascending order of appeal;1. The United States District Courts ;2. The United States Courts of Appeal;3. The United States Supreme Court.A ease involving federal jurisdiction is heard first before a federal district court. If not solved, an appeal may be made to the United States Courts of Appeal. When still not solved, the case may be brou