Before counsel for the plaintiff leaves the gallery after the first presentation, he or she may set aside some time for rebuttal after counsel for the defendant has appeared. It is the plaintiff – not the court – who is responsible for tracking the remaining time for rebuttal. In typical program simulations, more than one student lawyer argues on each side. In this case, they must inform the student member before the hearing begins of how they wish to divide their time. Typically, the first student lawyer who speaks also handles the rebuttal. Examples of such cases include the United States case of 1892 v. Texas,[7] a case to determine whether land belonged to the United States or Texas, and Virginia v. Tennessee,[8] a case of whether an improperly drawn border between two states can be changed by state court and whether determining the correct boundary requires congressional approval. Two other initial jurisdictional cases concerned colonial-era boundaries and rights in navigable waters in New Jersey v. Delaware[9] and water rights between states bordering upstream navigable waters in Kansas v.
Colorado. [10] In all cases involving ambassadors, other ministers and consuls and in which a state must be a party, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in the first instance. In all the other cases mentioned above, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to appeal, both in law and in fact, with these exceptions and according to the rules that Congress will adopt. District Court judges are responsible for the administration of the court and the supervision of court staff. They can continue to serve as long as they maintain “good behavior,” and they can be impeached and removed by Congress. There are more than 670 district judges throughout the country. The Constitution provides that the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in the first instance and on appeal. Jurisdiction at first instance means that the Supreme Court is the first and only court to hear a case. The Constitution limits initial jurisdiction to cases involving disputes between states or disputes between ambassadors and other high-ranking ministers. Appellate jurisdiction means that the court has the power to review decisions of lower courts.
Most cases heard by the Supreme Court are appeals by lower courts. In cases involving interstate controversies, federal law gives both initial and exclusive jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, meaning that such cases can only be heard by the Supreme Court. In February 1801, newly elected President Thomas Jefferson – an anti-Federalist – ordered his acting Secretary of State, James Madison, not to issue orders for the appointment of 16 new federal judges by his predecessor in the Federalist Party, President John Adams. One of the snubbed nominees, William Marbury, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus directly with the Supreme Court, arguing that the Judiciary Act of 1789 stipulated that the Supreme Court “shall have the power to . Writs of mandamus. to any court appointed under the authority of the United States or to persons exercising functions. The Supreme Court of the United States has original jurisdiction over a small group of cases described in Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution and specified by law. Since the nine-member Supreme Court is not well suited to the conduct of pre-trial or judicial proceedings, cases accepted by the trial court are usually referred to a lawyer or qualified judge of the lower court to serve as a special master, conduct the proceedings and make recommendations to the court. The court then considers whether to accept the specific main report or to maintain exceptions to the report.
[1] Criminal cases should not be placed under the jurisdiction of diversity. States can only sue in state courts, and the federal government can only sue in federal court. It is important to note that the principle of double prosecution – which does not allow an accused to be charged twice on the same count – does not apply between the federal and state governments. For example, if the state lays a murder charge and does not receive a conviction, in some cases the federal government can lay charges against the defendant if the act is also illegal under federal law. The Supreme Court treats cases that fall within its original jurisdiction differently from those that come to it through a more traditional appellate court. How cases of initial jurisdiction are heard – and whether they require a “special prothonotary” – depends on the nature of the dispute. The right of the court to trial jurisdiction is set forth by statute at 28 U.S.C.