America’s Courts and the Criminal

Justice System, 13th Edition

Chapter 3
State Courts

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 Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

1. Outline the four layers of a typical state court system.

2. Describe the types of criminal cases handled by the
trial courts of limited jurisdiction.
3. Discuss the similarities and differences between
justice of the peace courts and municipal courts.
4. List the four primary problems confronting the lower
courts in the United States.
5. Identify the types of civil and criminal cases filed in
trial courts of general jurisdiction.

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 Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

6. Explain briefly the differences between a state

supreme court in states with and without intermediate
courts of appeals.
7. List the key components of court unification.
8. Identify how problem-solving courts using therapeutic
jurisprudence handle cases.
9. Discuss the consequences of court organization.

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 History of State Courts

• Colonial courts
• Early American courts
• Courts in a modernizing society

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 Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

• First Level – Lower Courts

– Also called inferior courts
– Limited jurisdiction to hear low-level offenses
 Nonfelony criminal cases
 Traffic offenses
 Small claims civil cases
– 11,880 trial courts of limited jurisdiction
– 27,179 judicial officers
– Make up 85% of all judicial bodies in the United States

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 Cases in the Lower Courts

• More than 62 million cases a year

– Majority of cases are traffic cases (39 million)
• Typically authorize search warrants
• Handle early states of felony cases
• Two types of nonfelony cases
– Misdemeanors
 Fine and/or less than 1 year in jail
– Ordinance violations
 Fines
 Noncriminal cases

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Courts, Controversy, and Reducing Crime

• Should DUI and Distracted Driving Prosecutions Be

Increased?
– Should there be tougher punishments for DUI, or are
current punishment levels about right?
– Should more efforts be made to arrest and prosecute
impaired drivers, or is the current level of effort about
right?
– What should be done about drivers who operate
vehicles while distracted by their cell phones?
– Overall, how do punishment and enforcement levels of
DUI and distracted-driver laws compare with other social
problems, such as domestic violence and drug abuse?

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 Lower Courts (1 of 2)

• Small claims courts

– Maximum amount ranges from $2,500 to $25,000
– Debt collection
– Nonpayment for goods/services
– Landlord–tenant disputes
• Justice of the peace courts
– Lower caseloads
– Lack of resources
– Familiarity
– Reforming JP courts

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 Lower Courts (2 of 2)

• Municipal courts
– Assembly-line justice and the courtroom work group
– Sentencing
• Problems with lower courts
– Inadequate financing
– Inadequate facilities
– Lax court proceedings
– Unbalanced caseloads

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 Community Justice

• Alternative dispute resolution

– Arbitration
– Mediation
• Community courts
– Midtown Community Court of New York City

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 Thinking Point: Lower Courts

• Of the different types of lower courts, which ones exist

where you live?
• Would you prefer a different type of court in your area?
Why or why not?
• What is your opinion on community justice?
• Research the Midtown Community Court of New York,
and give your overall opinion on its effectiveness.

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 Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction

• Second Level – Major Trial Courts

– General jurisdiction
– Geographical jurisdiction defined on existing political
boundaries
– 3,109 major trial courts in 50 states
– 10,740 judges
– 31.9 million cases each year

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 Cases in the Major Courts

• Criminal Cases
– State courts typically hear street crime cases
– Most criminal cases do not go to trial
– Decision is not guilty/not guilty, but rather what
penalty should be applied
• Civil Cases
– Dominate the dockets of most trial courts
– Most common
 Domestic Relations
 Estate
 Personal Injury

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 Major Trial Courts in Different States
(1 of 3)
• Circuit Court
– Alabama, Arkansas,a Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana,b
Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi,a Missouri,
Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,a
Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
• Court of Common pleas
– Ohio, Pennsylvania

a
These states have separate chancery courts with equity jurisdiction.
b
Indiana uses superior and circuit courts.

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 Major Trial Courts in Different States
(2 of 3)
• District Court
– Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
• Superior Court
– Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode
Island, Vermont,* Washington

*
Vermont also uses district courts.

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 Major Trial Courts in Different States
(3 of 3)
• Supreme Court
– New York*

New York also uses county courts.

*

Source: Based on data from Court Statistics Project. 2013. State

Court Structure Charts. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State
Courts. Available online at
http://www.courtstatistics.org/Other-Pages/State_Court_Structure_Chart
s.aspx.

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 Intermediate Courts of Appeals

• A century ago there was one court of appeals

– The court of last resort
• Most states now have a series of intermediate
appellate courts

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 Number of Judges in Intermediate
Courts of Appeals (1 of 4)
• Appeals Court: Massachusetts (28)
• Courts of Appeals: Texas (80)
• Appellate Court: Connecticut (9), Illinois (51)
• Appellate Division of Superior Court: New Jersey (35)
• Appellate Divisions of Supreme Court: New York (49)
• Appellate Terms of Supreme Court: New York (13)
• Commonwealth Court: Pennsylvania (9)

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 Number of Judges in Intermediate
Courts of Appeals (2 of 4)
• Court of Appeals: Alaska (3), Arizona (22),
Arkansas (12), Colorado (22), Georgia (12), Idaho (4),
Indiana (15), Iowa (9), Kansas (14), Kentucky (14),
Michigan (28), Minnesota (19), Mississippi (10),
Missouri (32), Nebraska (6), New Mexico (10), North
Carolina (15), Oregon (13), South Carolina (10),
Tennessee* (12), Utah (7), Virginia (11),
Washington (22), Wisconsin (16)
• Courts of Appeal: California (105), Louisiana (53),
Ohio (69)

Civil only
*

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 Number of Judges in Intermediate
Courts of Appeals (3 of 4)
• Courts of Appeal: Texas (80)
• Court of Civil Appeals: Alabama (5), Oklahoma (12)
• Court of Criminal Appeals: Alabama (5),
Tennessee (12)
• Court of Special Appeals: Maryland (12)
• District Court of Appeals: Florida (61)
• Intermediate Court of Appeals: Hawaii (6)
• Superior Court: Pennsylvania (3)

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 Number of Judges in Intermediate
Courts of Appeals (4 of 4)
• Temporary Court of Appeals: North Dakota* (3)
• None: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine,
Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming

This temporary court was created in 1987 to hear cases specifically

*

assigned to it by the North Dakota Supreme Court. It continues to

operate as of the writing of this edition.

Source: Malega, Ron, and Thomas H. Cohen. 2013. State Court

Organization, 2011. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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 Thinking Point: Intermediate Courts
of Appeals
• Research the states that have an intermediate court
of appeals.
– Do you think every state should or should not have
this type of court? Discuss your answer.

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 State High Courts of Last Resort (1 of 2)

• TX and OK have two courts of last resort

– One for civil cases and one for criminal
• All others have one
– They are the final arbiter of state law
• Most states
– Have purely discretionary docket
– Don’t employ panels as the intermediate courts do
 Impact on death penalty?

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 State High Courts of Last Resort (2 of 2)

• States with an intermediate appellate court

– Discretionary docket
• States without an intermediate appellate court
– Not a discretionary docket

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 Courts of Last Resort in Different States
(1 of 2)
Supreme Court: Alabama (9), Alaska (5), Arizona (5), Arkansas
(7), California (7), Colorado (7), Connecticut (7), Delaware (5),
Florida (7), Georgia (7), Guam (3), Hawaii (5), Idaho (5), Illinois
(7), Indiana (5), Iowa (7), Kansas (7), Kentucky (7), Louisiana
(7), Michigan (7), Minnesota (7), Mississippi (9), Missouri (7),
Montana (7), Nebraska (7), Nevada (7), New Hampshire (5),
New Jersey (7), New Mexico (5), North Carolina (7), North
Dakota (5), Northern Mariana Islands (3), Ohio (7), Oklahoma*
(9), Oregon (7), Pennsylvania (7), Puerto Rico (9), Rhode Island
(5), South Carolina (5), South Dakota (5), Tennessee (5), Texas*
(9), Utah (5), Vermont (5), Virgin Islands (3), Virginia (7),
Washington (9), Wisconsin (7), Wyoming (5)
*Two courts of last resort
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 Courts of Last Resort in Different States
(2 of 2)
Court of Appeals: District of Columbia (9), Maryland (7),
New York (7)
Court of Criminal Appeals: Oklahoma* (5), Texas* (9)
Supreme Court of Appeals: West Virginia (5)

*Two courts of last resort

Source: Malega, Ron, and Thomas H. Cohen. 2013. State Court

Organization, 2011. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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 Court Unification

• Key Components
– Unified court system
– Simplified court structure
– Centralized
 Administration
 Rule making
 Judicial budgeting
– Statewide financing

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 Case Close-Up: Ewing v. California

• What is your opinion on the three strikes law?

• What other states have three strikes?
• Do you consider this harsh sentencing for criminals
convicted of their third felony offense? Why or why
not?
• Do the nature of the three offenses affect your opinion?
Why or why not?
• If you could change this law, what would you change
about it, and why?

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 Problem-Solving Courts (1 of 2)

• Therapeutic Jurisprudence
– Immediate intervention
– Nonadversarial adjudication
– Hands-on judicial involvement
– Treatment programs with clear and structured goals
– Team approach

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 Problem-Solving Courts (2 of 2)

• Drug Courts
– The effectiveness of drug courts
– Juvenile drug courts
• Domestic Violence Courts
• Mental Health Courts

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 Technology Shapes the Courtrooms
of the Future
• Courtroom 23 in Orange County, Florida
– Courtroom of the future
– Outgrowth of Courtroom 21
 Most technologically advanced courtroom in the world
• Cyber-courts or virtual courts

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 Consequences of Court Organization

• Decentralization and choice of courts

• Local control and local corruption
• Uneven court financing

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