The Court System

    Justiciability is defined broadly by the Constitution pursuant to Article III, the judicial power of the United States extends only to "cases and controversies. " Construing this provision, the Supreme Court has set forth the following standards of justiciability: (1) plaintiffs must have standing to sue; and (2) the case must be an active controversy, not a moot or hypothetical situation, that is ripe for judicial review. The courts will not issue advisory opinions or nonfinal orders subject to executive review. Jurisdiction is also limited, as a practical matter, by the exercise of judicial restraint and the inability of courts to decide cases requiring extensive, general investigations of fact. The general purpose of adjudication is the resolution of disputes and the definition of rights and responsibilities.

     There are three sources of law in this country: constitutions, statutes, and case law. Case law, or common law, is based on the principle of stare decisis, which imbues each case decided by a court with precedential value to guide the court in deciding future cases. Stare decisis makes every court decision a form of law that may be revised or ignored only for good reason. It helps insure the predictability and fairness of the legal system.

     In civil cases, the role of courts is essentially remedial. The remedies are either legal or equitable in nature. Monetary damages are legal remedies. Injunctions and orders of specific performance are equitable remedies. Modern day equity is based on the practices of the medieval Court of Chancery, which provided relief that was not available in the courts of law.

     The American court system includes federal and state courts. The federal system and most state systems consist of trial courts, intermediate appeals courts, and a supreme court. Both federal and state courts may decide matters of federal or state law. State courts have concurrent jurisdiction with federal district courts of many civil cases involving federal questions and disputes between citizens of different states.

     The Constitution established the Supreme Court and defined the outer limits of federal jurisdiction. Congress has established a lower federal court system at its discretion, under Articles I and III of the Constitution. Article I courts function essentially as administrative arms of Congress. Article III courts are vested with the judicial power of the United States and constitute the independent federal judiciary, which consists of federal district courts, the U. S. Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court.

     State courts, which are established by state constitutions, function in the same general way as the federal courts in deciding state and sometimes federal disputes. State courts often have an additional lower level of specialized trial courts (e.g., juvenile, probate, and family courts). In addition, state small claims courts provide informal forums for the resolution of simple disputes, usually involving less than $ 1, 500.

     Our federal and state court systems are heavily congested. The Supreme Court is also burdened with too many cases, and some observers have suggested the establishment of a special appeals court to screen cases within the discretionary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and resolve conflicts between the federal circuits. Other scholars suggest removing, by statute, the power of the federal courts to hear cases based on diversity jurisdiction (involving citizens of different states). The need to manage the federal docket presents a serious, ongoing problem of public policy.