United States courts of appeals

United States Court of Appeals ( German Federal Court of Appeals of the United States) in the United States the name given to the federal courts of appeal. Organizationally, they are in the U.S. federal court building between the federal courts of first instance and the Supreme Court. You decide on appeals that are filed against judgments of a (usually first instance ) Federal Court or decisions of various federal agencies.

There are currently twelve general courts of appeal, ie those whose competence to a geographical area and not to a specific kind of matter ( subject matter ) refers. Responsible are the twelve each for a judicial district (circuit, so also circuit court or simply circuit). Eleven of them bear numbers ( ie, the court then about United States Court of Appeal for the Tenth Circuit). For this purpose, the Court finds for the District of Columbia with the federal capital, Washington, whose outstanding importance derives from its responsibility for many federal agencies based there.

In addition to the federal appeals courts with geographically specific jurisdiction, there is a federal appeals court whose jurisdiction is spatially extends to the entire territory of the U.S. and is determined objectively. It is the Federal Court of Appeals for the Federal District ( Federal Circuit ), which decides on appeals against judgments of certain special federal courts of first instance, against judgments of the federal district courts in patent cases as well as in other subject areas.

There are also other dishes with the name United States Court of Appeals factually certain jurisdiction, which are not comparable according to their legal status with the above, however. These are dishes, the decor is based on the first section of the Constitution of the United States, ie the section on the Congress of the United States, and are therefore referred to as Section I Courts. For them, not the provisions of the third section of the Constitution ( on the judiciary ) so that, for example, their judges do not have to be appointed for life apply. The differentiation is justified by the fact that these courts hear cases for which a (further ) legal proceedings constitutional reasons would not be mandatory. An important example of such a Court of Appeal is the military criminal matters competent Federal Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ( United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces), negotiated the appeal against judgments of the courts of appeal of the armed services.

The judicial districts

  • Federal District (Headquarters: Washington, D.C. )
  • District D.C. (Headquarters: Washington, D.C. ) District of Columbia
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Puerto Rico
  • Rhode Iceland
  • Colorado
  • Kansas
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • Utah
  • Wyoming

Procedure

Knowledge processes in which a judge or jury witnesses and other evidence to establish the facts are presented, will take place only in the first instance. Such courts also determine the legal consequences as punishment ( in criminal proceedings ) or damages ( in civil proceedings ).

In the appellate courts, however, is only checked if the lower court has complied with the legal provisions in the verdict. Therefore, only rarely oral hearings take place, the judges hear the case based on the court record and the written arguments of both parties. The federal appellate courts do not decide guilt or innocence. If a defendant is found guilty in the first instance, this means a victory before the Court of Appeal does not necessarily mean that he is now considered to be innocent; Rather, only the appeal is dismissed. In criminal matters, it is then up to the prosecutor whether the procedure is repeated ( accusatorial ).

The appeal process is governed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure as a process order, a jointly created by Congress and the Supreme Court rules. In the process, three appeal judges are usually involved, in some cases, the transaction takes place before all the judges of the Court jointly held. In general, there is no appeal from the court of appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the parties have the opportunity to take action against the first instance judgment, by applying for the Supreme Court to be heard again ( cf. writ of certiorari ). In exceptional cases, the appellate court may refer the case directly and without a hearing at the Supreme Court.

Boston Rhode Island Philadelphia Chicago Washington (state) Denver Atlanta Georgia (U.S. state) United States federal judicial circuits
153110
de