Assignment:
State and Federal Court Systems
The court system in the United States is large and complex. While there are two primary court systems—state and federal—there are a myriad of specialty courts at both levels. The court procedures range from pretrial services to adjudication to sentencing when a defendant is found guilty. While those tasks sound straightforward, they often are not. To begin understanding the two court systems, it is useful to know the historical development of each, their jurisdictions, and, finally, the structure of the systems as they are today.
Pay close attention to the current organization of the state court system as well as the federal court system.
Consider the structure of the court system, types of personnel, and the proceedings held in each court level.
Think about the similarities and differences between the state and federal court systems in terms of their historical development, jurisdiction, and current structure; that is, reflect on the similarities and differences between the two systems in these three areas.
The assignment (2 pages):
- Compare (similarities and differences) of the state and federal court systems. Provide at least two similarities and two differences in the historical development, jurisdiction, and current structure of the state and federal court systems. Be specific.
- Explain any insights you had or conclusions you drew as a result of the comparison.
- Explain one ethical or one diversity issue related to the courts that might impact the courts functioning. Be specific and use examples to illustrate your points.
Support your work with specific citations from the Learning Resources. You are allowed to draw from additional sources to support your explanation, but you must cite using APA standards. All quoted material must be identified, cited, and referenced per APA standards.