Unit 3 Project: The U.S. Court System
Tonya Laubs
Kaplan University

PA 101: Intro to Paralegal Profession
Professor Hamilton
February 21, 2012

The organization of the Federal Court consist of questions of law arising from the
Constitution, questions concerning federal laws, statutes, codes, acts, and courts such as: bankruptcy, patent and trade. Federal courts have limited jurisdiction to hear federal questions, and diversity of citizenship. The diversity that Federal Courts can address are only if parties are from two different states and the controversial amount is $75,000.00 or above. It can be heard in Federal Court; however the case will still be held to applicable state laws. If it does not fall under federal jurisdictions then the issue is heard by the corresponding State. Federal Courts have jurisdiction over all citizens and resident’s at all times. There are tiered levels of the Federal Court System which include: * Trial Court - Beginning * Court of Appeals - Middle * U.S. Supreme Court - Highest
Trial Court is where all cases begin. This is where they hear evidence, testimony, and make a ruling. The Court of appeals gives you the right to appeal this decision and the Supreme Court is the last opportunity to have an issue resolved. My State is Pennsylvania and I have discovered interesting information regarding my State system compared to the Federal System. Pennsylvania has the following Courts established:

* Minor Courts or Magisterial District Courts * Court of Common Please * Appellate Courts * Superior Court
I will begin describing Magisterial District Courts or Minor Courts for which they have authority to conduct criminal, civil claims, (unless it is against the commonwealth) and does not exceed $12,000.00 exclusively in landlord/tenant actions, title to real estate, trespass actions, fines or penalties by any government agency, preside over preliminary arraignments and hearings, fix and accept bail, with the exception of cases involving murder or voluntary manslaughter. Issue arrest warrants, accept guilty pleas to a DUI as long as it is the first offense, no personal injury or third party involved, other than defendant’s immediate family, property damage to any third party is less than $500.00 and the defendant is not a juvenile, preside over non-jury trials involving all offenses under Title 34 (Game). (Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, 2012)
The Court of Common Pleas are Pennsylvania’s courts of general trial jurisdiction. They have jurisdiction over all cases and they hear appeals from certain state and most local government agencies.
The Appellate Courts form a two-tiered appeals system: Superior Court and Commonwealth Court. The Second level is the Seven-Justice Supreme Court, which is the highest in Pennsylvania.

The Commonwealth’s jurisdiction consists of civil actions against the commonwealth government or an officer of the government, civil actions against the commonwealth, and matters under the election code. It’s appellate court includes; appeals relating to decisions made by most state administrative agencies and appeals from the Courts of common pleas; some appeals from the liquor control board, department of transportation, most local government matters, and internal affairs of non-profit corporations. (Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, 2012) The Superior Court’s main function is an appeals court and its original jurisdiction is limited. As an appeals court it hears a wide variety of cases unlike the Commonwealth. It can hear cases such as criminal, civil, custody, robbery, breach of contracts from the Court of Common Pleas. (Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, 2012) The Highest Court is the U.S. Supreme Court and it can hear cases at its own discretion. Appeals from final orders consist of reviewing death sentences, supersession of district attorney, statutes and rules held unconstitutional by law it also has exclusive jurisdiction from boards and commissions. Not only do we have those three tiers. We then have exclusions to these. These all apply unless you live in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Harrisburg. The cases then are heard by those specific cities. Philadelphia has a Municipal Court and Traffic Court. Judges who serve in these courts must be attorneys. These have the same jurisdiction as a Magisterial District judges except: jurisdiction includes all criminal offenses, except summary traffic offenses, that are punishable by prison, and they may enter judgment’s in civil claims where the amount does not exceed $10,000.00. (Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, 2012) Philadelphia Traffic Court covers all under the Motor Vehicle Code as well as any related city ordinances. Pittsburgh Municipal Court has a criminal division and non-traffic division. The judges preside over the city of Pittsburgh. (Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, 2012) These are very different from the Federal court as you can see there are many divisions with many exceptions. And each one handles different areas of interest. I do not feel they have much similarity to the Federal Court, as the Federal Court only handles the diversity in cases; and in excess of $75,000.00 and if from different states. And you have the opportunity to utilize the Long-Arm Statute or REM; whichever suites your case as you are doing your research.

REFERENCES

Works Cited
(2012, Feburary 21). Retrieved from Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System: http://www.courts.state.pa.us/Links/Public/AboutTheCourts.htm