U. S. Judicial System

The Judicial System

“Rarely has any public institution been held in such open contempt by those who work for it and those who pass through it. Judges call it a sham and a fraud. Lawyers say that justice is unpredictable at best, and that the tawdry surroundings and atmosphere of deal-making deprive the court of even a semblance of justice.”

David Anderson

“The adversary process often achieves truth only as a convenience, a by-product, or an accidental approximation.”

Former U.S. District Court Judge Marvin E. Frankel

The Judicial System

“My work is filled with deceit, incompetence, aggression, and violence…Many of my clients are monsters who have done monstrous things. Although occasionally not guilty of the crime charged, nearly all my clients have been guilty of something…I see myself as part of a process which is arbitrary, racist, and often brutal. Many defendants are convicted for acts made inevitable by poverty…sometimes late at night I think back several hundred criminals ago when I entered law school filled with high expectations and principles, and I wonder about what I have done and whether this was how one should be spending his time.”

Seymour Wishman

The Judicial System: By the Numbers

17,000 courts

35,000 judges

250,000 total personnel

155 million cases/year (roughly a 1:2 ratio)

$20 billion annual budget nationwide (some cross-over costs though)

Basic Court Structure

- Minor Trial Courts

- Major Trial Courts

- Appellate Courts

- Supreme Courts

- Misc. Courts

Hierarchical

Judicial review (precedent/stare decisis)

Overlaid system (Federal and states)

Hierarchical Structure

Supreme Court

Appellate Court

District Court (Major Trial Court)

County Court (Minor Trial Court)

Minor Trial Courts

Usually called County Courts. Roughly 90% of the criminal