COURTS AND LEGAL REMEDIES
364. Courts. Courts may be defined to be the institutions established by the government to settle disputes and to administer justice. They may consist of a judge sitting alone, of several judges sitting together, or of a judge and a jury. Courts are assisted in their work by bailiffs and clerks. Attorneys who conduct the trials for the opposing parties are officers of the court. They can be fined and imprisoned for refusing to obey the lawful order of the court. In general, courts may be divided into state courts and federal or United States courts.
365. Federal Courts. The Constitution of the United States provides that:
"The judicial powers of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges both of the supreme and inferior courts shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their term of office."
The United States Constitution further provides that:
"The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity arising under the constitution, the laws of the United States, the treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more states, between a state and citizens of another state, between citizens of different states, between citizens of the same state claiming land under grants of different states, and between a state and the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects."
Congress has provided for District Courts, Circuit Courts, and Circuit Courts of Appeal, which, in addition to the Supreme Court, constitute the Federal or United States Courts.
366. United States District Courts. The United States as a whole is divided into districts. Each district is presided over by one United States judge, called a district judge. Each state constitutes at least one district and some states are divided into several districts. For example, Ohio has two districts, called the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. New York has four districts, called the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts. The judges are appointed for life, or during good behavior. The appointments are made by the President of the United States, by, and with the advice and consent of the senate. Each district judge is required to reside in the district for which he is appointed.
367. United States Circuit Courts. The entire territory of the United States is divided into nine sections, and each section comprises the jurisdiction of a separate United States Court. That is, there are nine Circuit Courts in the United States. Each circuit is composed of several districts. For example, the sixth circuit is composed of the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee. Each circuit has at least two circuit judges, and is presided over by one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Circuit Court holds court in each district of the circuit, and the Circuit Court of each district is composed of the United States Supreme Court judge presiding over the circuit, the two circuit judges, and the district judge of the district. The Circuit Court holds court at different times in each district of the circuit. Any one judge may hold court alone. Usually, trials in Circuit Courts are presided over by one judge.
The United States Circuit Court and the United States District Courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction of practically all the cases which may be brought in the United States Courts. The United States Supreme Court has original jurisdiction of a few important classes of cases. By original jurisdiction is meant the right to commence cases in the particular court. By appellate jurisdiction is meant the right to take a case from one court to a higher court upon appeal or writ of error, for the purpose of having the case retried or examined for errors of law.