Court History and Purpose

A court and its purpose

The United States Department has defined a court concisely as “an agency or unit of the judicial branch of the government, authorized or established by statue or constitution, and consisting of one or more judicial officers, which has the authority to decide upon cases, controversies in law, and disputed matters of fact brought before it.”

The government has two types of courts. Civil Court in which cases are tried and determined a civil case is a matter in which a crime was committed and was not consider a criminal matter. Some cases are more a dispute between two or more people which they cannot come to a conclusion out of court and need the court to find a solution in their matter. This could be something such as a landlord rents to someone and they move out and cause damages to the property and he wants them to be held reliable and pay him or her for the damages. This is not a matter for a criminal court so this would be taken up in civil court. Criminal Court is a court of law in which criminal cases are tried and determined cases such as burglary, assault, domestic violence, sex crimes and even traffic violations. These types of cases are tried and people are punished by one or more of the following probation, fines, and jail or prison time.

The purpose of the court system was founded by the forefathers who wanted everyone to get a fair and equal trial in the eyes of the law without prejudice. You are innocent until proven guilty and to be judged by a jury of your peers. The courts will help keep criminals off the streets as they are sentenced to jail or prison for committing crimes making a safer community for people to live in.

The dual court system

The dual court system is in place to separate the state and federal courts. The state handles cases that the state laws are involved, such as those with divorce contracts, custody cases, real estate, ect. The federal courts only handle cases that involve federal law, such as...