Constitutional Law: Overview of the US Judicial System and Precedent

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the US judicial system, emphasizing its federal nature and the roles of both federal and state courts. It explains the structure of the court system, from trial courts to the Supreme Court, and highlights the significance of original jurisdiction and appellate courts. The essay details the adversarial system of justice and the importance of precedent (stare decisis) in legal decision-making, illustrating how decisions in the federal courts can shape legal principles. It also touches on the Supreme Court's discretionary power in hearing cases and the process of granting certiorari, underscoring the impact of the court's rulings on the legal landscape. The document concludes by referencing the key roles and responsibilities of the US judicial system and the importance of precedent in maintaining continuity in legal interpretations.

Running head: Constitutional Law
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
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1Constitutional Law
The US Judicial system is federal in nature with federal central government with each of
the 50 states has individual government. Like every other branch of government, every state has
its own judicial system called the state courts, in the similar way the United States also have
courts known as the federal courts (Gluck & Posner 2017).
Every justice system has many original jurisdiction courts where the cases are filed
originally and tried. The trial courts’ jurisdiction can be either based on subject matter or on
location. Every judicial system also possesses few intermediate courts of appeals. Such courts
are entrusted with hearing the appeals coming from trial courts. The appeal coming from a court
decision refers to a claim made by a defeated party that is made by the lower court by mistake of
law. Every court system possesses a Supreme Court that has the responsibility to hear appeals
made in appellate courts (Pacelle, 2018).
The US judicial system is partly inherited from the English common law and is
dependent on an adversarial system of justice (Neef & Nagel, 2017)). In such system, the
litigants present their matters before a party who is neutral to the case. The arguments given by
litigant are used by the judge or jury for determining the truth regarding the conflict.
Apart from presenting oral or written arguments, testimony and evidence are also
collected by litigants and their lawyers and presented to the court. Federal courts can hear
disputes between different states (Scalia, 2018). Prior to the Constitution adoption, when there
were controversies among the states mainly regarding the borders and the need was there for
Supreme Court to hear such cases with disputes. Federal courts can also hear cases where United
States is also a party for protecting the interest of United States from the effect of biasness of the
state courts.

2Constitutional Law
All the appeals to the Supreme Court whether from a Federal Courts of Appeals or from a
state Supreme Court are discretionary (Scalia, 2018). The petitioner may file a petition for
certiorari writ with the Supreme Court. It is the discretion of the court to hear a particular case or
not. It requires 4 votes at least from 9 justices for granting the certiorari writ and hearing the
litigation. The Court in general gives decisions on the basis of the significance of the legal issue
of the country.
Mostly, the legal disputes are decided in the state courts in US; however federal courts
possesses more power. Many of their decisions turn into precedent or a law, principle or even
used for interpreting the law established by ruling of court.
Precedent, in general, is respected and followed by other courts while dealing with a
situation or a case which is similar to past precedent. This is called as stare decisis which means
‘let the decision stand’ (Nard, 2018). It sometimes overruled or disregarded by a court but the
doctrine of stare decisis allows continuity in interpretations of law by courts. The Supreme Court
has the authority also to reverse the existing precedent. But such reversals are very rare.

3Constitutional Law
References:
Gluck, A. R., & Posner, R. A. (2017). Statutory Interpretation on the Bench: A Survey of Forty-
Two Judges on the Federal Courts of Appeals. Harv. L. Rev., 131, 1298.
Nard, C. A. (2018). Europe’s bold experiment: lessons learned from America’s patent law
experience. In Intellectual Property and the Judiciary. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Neef, M., & Nagel, S. (2017). The Adversary Nature of the American Legal System: A
Historical Perspective 1. In Lawyers' Ethics (pp. 73-98). Routledge.
Pacelle, R. (2018). The role of the Supreme Court in American politics: The least dangerous
branch. Routledge.
Scalia, A. (2018). A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law-New Edition.
Princeton University Press.