courted
First, to all those who responded to my last post (most of you privately), you are champions. And to all those who didn't respond but still read about Leonard (and there were a lot of you!), you are great. Thanks for reading.
Because I am procrastinating working on big paper #2, applying for jobs (hello cover letters!), and decluttering everything (aside #1: I have officially decided that David is a better declutterer than I am. I tend to make big piles of stuff (usually projects that have to be put aside until I have time for them again (hello big paper #1 and my half dozen Nancy Drew books!)), while David is good at taking care of his stuff so that I forget that he has stuff at all), I thought I would write a blog post to answer one of the most common questions I have been asked this summer:
Q: What's the difference between the state and federal courthouses?
A: First, this is a really good question, and one that I didn't know the answer to before going to law school. I probably should have picked it up in high school U.S. History/U.S. Government, but I had other priorities (as in, David and I had those classes together).
In the United States, we have two court systems: state and federal. Each of these courts function under different authority. The U.S. Constitution and federal law give the federal courts power to act, while state constitutions and state laws give state courts to act. Certain lawsuits (both criminal and civil) can only be brought in certain courts. For example, if you have a patent dispute or a bankruptcy issue, that will land you in federal court since only federal court has the power to here those cases. We call that power jurisdiction. Similarly, state courts have jurisdiction over family law (divorces, adoptions, custody, etc), as well as most property problems. Both state and federal courts have jurisdiction over criminal matters. To land in federal court, you have to commit a federal crime. Same thing with state court. Of course, sometimes criminals commit crimes that violate both state and federal law, and so they can (and usually will) be charged in both state and federal court.
Civil lawsuits are an entirely different animal, and warrant an entire post to themselves. In a nutshell, the federal courts have jurisdiction over civil suits that meet specific requirements (i.e. a question arising from federal law or the U.S. Constitution, among other things).
In Utah, the state courthouse, or the Matheson Courthouse, is on State Street and 400 South, while the federal courthouse, or the Moss Courthouse, is on Main Street and 400 South. Unless you spend much time there, the easiest way to remember which one is which is state on State, and federal on Main.
They are actually building a new federal courthouse in Utah directly west of the current federal courthouse. Personally, I don't think it looks like a courthouse, but it will still be nice. Here's an artist's rendition of the finished product:
So there you have it, state and federal courthouses in a nutshell. Maybe someday when I am continuing to procrastinate I will write a brief rundown on why federal courts (should) have nicer bathrooms than state courthouses, as well as how appeals work (since those are two other questions I am asked a lot).
Because I am procrastinating working on big paper #2, applying for jobs (hello cover letters!), and decluttering everything (aside #1: I have officially decided that David is a better declutterer than I am. I tend to make big piles of stuff (usually projects that have to be put aside until I have time for them again (hello big paper #1 and my half dozen Nancy Drew books!)), while David is good at taking care of his stuff so that I forget that he has stuff at all), I thought I would write a blog post to answer one of the most common questions I have been asked this summer:
Q: What's the difference between the state and federal courthouses?
A: First, this is a really good question, and one that I didn't know the answer to before going to law school. I probably should have picked it up in high school U.S. History/U.S. Government, but I had other priorities (as in, David and I had those classes together).
In the United States, we have two court systems: state and federal. Each of these courts function under different authority. The U.S. Constitution and federal law give the federal courts power to act, while state constitutions and state laws give state courts to act. Certain lawsuits (both criminal and civil) can only be brought in certain courts. For example, if you have a patent dispute or a bankruptcy issue, that will land you in federal court since only federal court has the power to here those cases. We call that power jurisdiction. Similarly, state courts have jurisdiction over family law (divorces, adoptions, custody, etc), as well as most property problems. Both state and federal courts have jurisdiction over criminal matters. To land in federal court, you have to commit a federal crime. Same thing with state court. Of course, sometimes criminals commit crimes that violate both state and federal law, and so they can (and usually will) be charged in both state and federal court.
Civil lawsuits are an entirely different animal, and warrant an entire post to themselves. In a nutshell, the federal courts have jurisdiction over civil suits that meet specific requirements (i.e. a question arising from federal law or the U.S. Constitution, among other things).
In Utah, the state courthouse, or the Matheson Courthouse, is on State Street and 400 South, while the federal courthouse, or the Moss Courthouse, is on Main Street and 400 South. Unless you spend much time there, the easiest way to remember which one is which is state on State, and federal on Main.
Comments
Post a Comment