Two kinds of courts are in America namely the state courts and federal courts. There are fundamental differences and similarities identified between the state and federal judicial systems (Howard, 2014). The paper will focus on their distinction and similarity regarding , historical development and establishment, jurisdiction and their current structure.
Historical development
The state courts are established by the individual states while the U.S Constitution creates the federal courts . The state courts are set up to solve cases that are respective to the people’s states. While the federal governments have been established to resolve disputes that entail constitution and the Congress amends their laws ( Howard, 2014 ) .
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The similarities identified in both courts is that the American constitution serves as the foundation of both courts formation. Also whether in federal or state courts the accused has to be accorded all the stipulated constitutional rights and given a right to a trial and jury if necessary (McCloskey & Levinson, 2016).
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is noted as the significant primary distinction between the state and federal courts. The state courts have a broad range of competence, so individual cases like robbery, traffic offense, and broken contracts are tried in the state courts. However, the federal courts are limited to the types of cases based on the US Constitution and those provided for by the Congress ( Howard, 2014 ) . Therefore, federal courts act as the venue for international conspiracy charges while the state courts handle local charges like traffic offenses.
Both courts have the capability to cover murder, felony theft or even kidnapping depending on the circumstances and the jurisdiction of the offense. Therefore, the relevance of the case dictates the court to be tried, but it can be tried in any court. Also, the due process also dictates how both federal and state courts gather their evidence in respect to the different cases proceedings and jurisdictions.
Current structure
The state courts are noted to handle by far thirty times the volume of cases in comparison to the federal courts. Moreover, the state courts have more contracts with the public than the federal courts. The primary reason for the few cases handled by the federal courts other than the cases have to be based on the Constitution is that they tend only to address cases that are deemed to be of national importance. However, this is not to mean the state courts cases are low level, on the contrary, there are parties like O.J Simpsons case which was widely known due to the millions of viewers ( Howard, 2014 ) .
Notable similarities in both federal and state court structure are that both courts both the defendants in the criminal cases and prosecutors are given an opportunity to present their cases before the judge in an open court. Also, both the courts must adhere to the decision made by the appellate courts when the decision is handed down.
Based on the comparison both courts try same cases but have unique responsibilities. Despite the federal courts deciding the cases with international and national significance, it doesn’t mean the state causes are not significant rather they have been localized. Moreover, the fundamental argument is that both courts foundation is based on the Constitution of the American people (McCloskey & Levinson, 2016). Therefore, where the cases are in the federal or state courts, the accused have to be accorded their constitutional rights and given maximum protection.
The relevant identified diversity is that in the state courts, particular cases can be appealed to the supreme courts. However, in the federal court, the parties have an opportunity to request the Supreme Court for their input and also reveal. Therefore, with the federal courts given a bigger chance to consult with the supreme courts, it may be deemed unfair for the state courts which only have to present a selected number of cases to the supreme court for appeal rather than consultation.
References
Howard Jr, J. W. (2014). Courts of appeals in the federal judicial system: A study of the second, fifth, and District of Columbia Circuits . Princeton, New Jersey, US. Princeton University Press
McCloskey, R. G., & Levinson, S. (2016). The American Supreme court .UK. University of Chicago Press
