Federal & State Courts

You cannot appeal a ______ verdict, which safeguards double jeopardy.

"not guilty"

Each state has ____ federal district courts.

1-4

Florida is in the ___ Circuit and that is located in _______

11th; Atlanta Gerogia

Pensacola is in the ___ District Court of Appeals.

1st

The amount in dispute for the lawsuit must exceed ______.

75,000$

What is an appellant?

A person who lost at the Court of Appeals level.

What is an Appellee?

A person who won at the Court of Appeals level.

The District courts are ______ by those Court of Appeals decisions where the District court is located.

Bound

What order (top to bottom) is the State pyramid?

Florida Supreme Court -> District Court of Appeals -> Circuit Court

Federal Courts _____ rule on state law issues and vice versa, but neither are _____. Rather, they are persuasive only.

May; binding

Once a jury decides facts, can a judge at any level overturn that decision?

NO

Can new testimonies or evidence be submitted at the Court of Appeals level?

No, this level only looks at the trial court record and the arguments from the attorneys of the case.

Prosecutors in Florida are called _______, not district attorneys.

State attorneys

What is Removal?

Take out of state court and put into federal court.

What order (top to bottom) is the Federal pyramid?

U.S Supreme Court -> Circuit Courts of Appeal -> District Courts

Court of Appeals can ______, _______, or ______ the case.

affirm (approve previous decision), reverse (change verdict), or remand (send case back to trial courts).

Parties that lose at trial court level may _____ their case to the Court of Appeals.

appeal

Federal courts make _____ precedent on issues of _____ law; state courts make _____ precedent on issues of ____ law.

binding; federal, binding; state

Courts of Appeals generally look at ____ of the law.

errors

Trial judges & juries decide questions of _____, unless the Court of Appeals finds that the finding of the fact was "clearly erroneous".

fact

Subject Matter Jurisdiction *determines what case goes to which court *Federal courts can hear either _______ or ______ law claims (few exceptions).

federal or state

Diversity Citizenship means that every ______ resides in a different _____ from every defendant.

plaintiff; state

Judges decide all _____ motions, issues at trial are usually done by a _____, although the parties can request a judge trial.

pre-trial; jury

Judges render written opinions, but these have no __________ value (not binding).

precedential

What is a Writ of Certiorari?

request by losing side for Supreme Court to hear case.

What are federal questions?

those that hinge upon some interpretation or application of a federal law or the Constitution.

District Courts & Bankruptcy Courts are the ________ courts.

trial

U.S bankruptcy courts are ______ courts, but are distinct from District Courts & handle ______ matters only.

trial; bankruptcy

There are ____ different, parallel sets of courts

two

Corporations must have ____ places of residences- the state of incorporation and the _____ place of business.

two; principal