The framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted the federal government to have only limited power. Therefore, they limited the kinds of cases federal courts can decide. Most laws that affect us are passed by state governments, and thus state courts handle most disputes that govern our daily lives.
Federal courts also serve an important role. They defend many of our most basic rights, such as freedom of speech and equal protection under the law.
This is the fundamental idea behind Federalism, which means a government in which power is divided between one national government and other, smaller state or regional governments.
LEARN MOREThe new video unit - Comparing State and Federal Courts - will help you learn even more on this topic.
State courts are courts of "general jurisdiction". They hear all the cases not specifically selected for federal courts. Just as the federal courts interpret federal laws, state courts interpret state laws. Each state gets to make and interpret its own laws. This helps the states retain power, and makes sure that the national government does not become too strong.
As the framers wrote the Constitution, some feared that the federal courts might threaten the independence of the states and the people. To combat this fear the framers set up a federal court system that can only hear cases in special circumstances. We call this having“limited jurisdiction.” Since the federal courts can only hear certain kinds of cases, most of the day-to-day cases that courts deal with happen in state courts.
Basically, federal courts hear only 2 types of cases; those that raise a "federal question" and those involving “diversity of citizenship".
State court systems vary from state to state, and each is a little different. As you can see from the chart above, the state court system of Missouri is very similar to that of the federal courts. Both have trial courts at the lowest level to hear both civil and criminal cases. The Missouri circuit courts hear cases that arise under Missouri law or the Missouri Constitution. The federal district courts hear cases that arise under federal law or the U.S. Constitution. The second levels are the appellate courts, which hear appeals from the trial courts. Both the state and federal systems have a Supreme Court, to serve as the “court of last resort.”
Generally the state and federal systems do not overlap, but there are rare cases when a case might be appealed from the Missouri Supreme court to the United States Supreme Court. These cases usually involve the U.S. Constitution, and often deal with issue of civil liberties or civil rights.
States are allowed to make their own laws, so long as they do not violate the Constitution of the United States. This allows the states to make the laws that are important to their region and populace. Because all the states have their own state constitutions and legal codes, the states must have courts to interpret their laws, just as the national government must have courts to interpret federal law and the U.S. Constitution.
Directions: Click START to begin the Student Challenge. For each case, decide whether it would be heard in the state or federal courts. Use the ARROW to move through the questions. Check your RESULTS at the end.
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Case #1: Jan just lost her job. One day, while she is out looking for work, she takes a blouse and skirt from a store so that she will have something to wear to job interviews. Jan gets caught, is arrested and charged with shoplifting. Jan would be tried in the:
STATE COURTS FEDERAL COURTS Question 1 Explanation:STATE COURTS: Jan would be charged with violating a state law – most laws about stealing, theft, or robbery are state laws, and most of these types of crimes occur within the boundaries of one state or one municipality. Thus when you break the law, you are arrested and charged with a crime in that location, and would be tried there as well.
Question 2Case #2: Jim and his friends decide that they need money. They rob a bank in the town that neighbors theirs. Jim’s friend Bob drives the getaway car, while Jim, Ted, and Frank rob the bank. Jim and his friends get caught. They will be tried in the:
STATE COURTS FEDERAL COURTS Question 2 Explanation:FEDERAL COURTS: Bank robbery is usually a federal crime because most banks are federally insured by the FDIC. Though the state where this crime occurred might have laws that would apply, if these crimes occurred while Jim and his friends were robbing a federally insured bank, it would put this under the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
Question 3Case #3: Sarah buys a new bicycle over the internet. One week after receiving her bike, she is riding it, and the front wheel comes off, causing her to have an accident in which she is severely injured. Sarah lives in Indiana, but the company she bought the bike from is in Texas. Sarah wants to sue them, to recover the cost of the bike ($500.00), and to have them pay for her hospital bills ($2,000.00).
STATE COURTS FEDERAL COURTS Question 3 Explanation:STATE COURTS: Disputes between people of different states can be settled in the federal courts, so that both parties get a fair trial. Since Sarah’s case involves such a small amount of money, she would file her suit in the state courts. If her suit had been for $75,000.00 or more she could have sued in the federal court system.
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