USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Courtney Scobie, Jack Edwards and Andrea Whitley, Ajamie LLP
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System The federal legal system in the USA is based on the common law tradition. This means that legal principles and rules are developed and interpreted through court decisions. Precedent is important. Courts are generally bound to fol- low precedents set by higher courts within the same jurisdiction. The US legal system follows an adversarial mod- el, whereby disputes are resolved by opposing parties who advocate before a judge or jury. The parties present witnesses, evidence and argu- ments to support their case, and the judge or jury decides the case based on this information. Proceedings may also involve written submis- sions and oral arguments. Written documents include pleadings, motions and briefs. Oral argu- ments allow attorneys to advocate in person, respond to questions, and clarify or emphasise key points. 1.2 Court System The court system in the USA contains both fed- eral (national) and state courts. For the sake of simplicity, and because there is substantial over- lap, this chapter focuses on the federal (national) courts rather than on the separate courts of the 50 states. The following is an overview. Federal Courts The US federal court system is composed of the following. • US Supreme Court – the highest federal court in the land, responsible for interpreting the US Constitution and federal laws. • US Courts of Appeals – these are intermedi- ate appellate courts, divided into 13 circuits,
each covering specific geographic regions or subject matters. They handle appeals from federal district courts, federal administrative agencies, and certain specialised courts. • US District Courts – these are the federal trial courts. They have original jurisdiction over most federal cases, including civil, criminal, and bankruptcy matters. • Specialised federal courts – the federal system includes specialised courts, such as bankruptcy courts, tax courts, military courts, and federal administrative courts, which have jurisdiction over specific types of cases. State Courts The state court system in the USA is structured as follows. • State Supreme Courts – each state has its own supreme court, which interprets the state’s constitution and laws. State Supreme Courts hear appeals from lower state courts. • Intermediate appellate courts – many states have intermediate appellate courts, which hear appeals from state trial courts. • State trial courts – these are the primary trial courts in each state and are sometimes divided into divisions based on subject mat- ter. They handle civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate, small claims, and other types of cases. Case Length and Subject Matter Jurisdiction How long a case lasts from inception to trial is a fact-specific question that depends on the com- plexity of the dispute and on a particular judge’s or court’s rules and procedures. The US federal court system is also heavily backlogged owing to judicial vacancies and budget cuts, which has slowed the resolution of cases even further.
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