Name __________________________

Judicial Branch in a Flash

It’s All About the Robes
Actually, it’s not. The cool black robes judges wear are the first
things a lot of people think of when they hear the word “judicial.”
But the first thing you really need to know is how courts were
created. The only court the United States Constitution actually
creates is the Supreme Court—the highest court in the country.
The Constitution also allows Congress to create other courts. When
Congress created those courts, the federal court system was born.

Two Court Systems

Here’s the confusing part: There are two systems of courts in the
United States. The federal court system deals with disputes about
laws that apply to the entire United States. State court systems
mostly deal with disputes about state laws. Each state has its own
court system created by its own state constitution. Whether people
take their case to a federal or state court depends on the laws
The federal system is divided into 12 districts involved in the case. The good news is that state court systems
called circuits.
usually work just like the federal court system.

Which Court to Use

Each court system deals with certain kinds of cases. Federal courts
hear cases involving federal laws, the U.S. Constitution, or disputes
between citizens of different states. State courts hear cases
involving state laws or the state’s constitution. They also deal with
disagreements between citizens of the state. State courts normally
resolve the kinds of issues you hear about in everyday life, such as
family matters, accidents, crimes, and traffic violations. Most legal issues that people have get
resolved in the state court system.
Criminal v. Civil
Civil:
relating to the rights
 ost trials you see on TV involve a person who has been accused of a crime.
M
of citizens But criminal cases are not the only kind of cases that go to trial. Sometimes
people have a disagreement that they can’t resolve on their own. Often, one
Criminal:
side feels that the other side violated their rights in some way. This kind of case
relating to crime
is called a civil case. The goal of a civil case is not to find out whether someone
is innocent or guilty, but to decide which side’s version of the story is correct.
You’re On Trial!
The trial court is the first court to hear a case. Both the state and federal
systems have trial courts. In the Federal system, the trial court is called a
District Court. In the trial court, lawyers use evidence to try to prove that
their client’s side of the story is what really happened. Evidence can be
almost anything—witnesses, videos, photographs, a letter, a piece of fabric,
or even a murder weapon! In a jury trial, a group of twelve people listen
to the evidence and decides who wins the case. That decision is called the
verdict. In a bench trial there is no jury, so the judge gives the verdict. Which roles do you recognize?

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 Name __________________________

Judicial Branch in a Flash

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
Appellate courts can...
Losing in the trial court doesn’t mean the case is over. If the
losing side thinks there’s been an error, they can ask a higher Affirm the trial court’s
court to review the verdict and replace it with a different decision, letting it stand
decision. The courts above the trial court are called appellate Reverse the decision
courts. The federal system and most state systems have two
Remand the case back to
appellate-level courts: a Court of Appeals and a Supreme Court.
the trial court to start over
(Your state might have a different name for these courts!) Asking
an appellate court to review a case is called making an appeal.

Going Up! (And Sometimes Down)

Supreme Court
Want to sound like a legal eagle? Then you
• Reviews the appeals court decision for error can say that a case is “brought up on appeal.”
• Decisions must be followed by all lower courts Cases are thought of as going “up” through
the court system. A trial court decision is
Court of Appeals brought up to the appeals court; an appeals
• Reviews the trial court decision for error court decision is brought up to the highest
court. Once a case has been heard by the
• Decisions must be followed by all trial courts
highest court, there is nowhere left to go.
Appellate courts review lower courts’
Trial Court
decisions to see if a mistake was made. When
• Hears cases for the first time an appellate court makes a decision, all lower
• Reviews evidence to decide who is right courts must follow that decision in the future
when the same issue comes up again.
Judges and More Judges
While a trial court only has one judge, most Court of Appeals cases are heard by
three judges! When more than one judge listens to a case, the group of judges
is called a panel. Usually, the judges decide the case by majority vote. At the
appellate level, there is never a jury. That’s because a jury’s only job is to look
at evidence and decide what happened. In an appellate court, the judges are
deciding whether legal errors have been made. For the losing side in the Court of
Appeals, there is one more chance: the Supreme Court, which is the highest court.

And That’s Final!

At the U.S. Supreme Court, a panel of nine justices hears the cases.
(State supreme courts often have fewer justices.) The Supreme
Court gets to choose which cases to take — and it doesn’t take
very many! Often, cases that make it to the Supreme Court are
disputes about whether a law goes against the Constitution.
Once the Supreme Court has said something is unconstitutional,
that’s it! Only the Court itself can reverse that decision. This
power of deciding what is constitutional is called judicial review.
2023 Supreme Court Justices.
The U.S. Supreme Court has this power over federal laws. State
supreme courts have this power over state laws.
© 2023 iCivics, Inc. 2

 Name __________________________

Judicial Branch in a Flash

A. Complete the Sentence. Use the terms and B. Making Comparisons. Decide whether
ideas that you learned in this lesson to finish each description fits trial courts only, appellate
each statement. courts only, or both, and write the letter of the
description in the correct part of the diagram.
1. The only court the Constitution creates is __
Trial Appellate
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

2. The two court systems in the United States

are __________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
A. Hears civil cases
3. Two kinds of legal cases are ________________
B. Might have a jury trial
______________________________________________
C. Does not hear cases for the first time
______________________________________________
D. Hears criminal cases
4. The job of the Court of Appeals is __________
E. Reviews a verdict to look for mistakes
______________________________________________
F. Usually has three-judge panels
______________________________________________
G. Hears cases for the first time
5. It’s difficult to take a case to the Supreme H. Works with laws
Court because _______________________________
______________________________________________ C. Order in the Court! Number each set of events
to put the three events in the correct order.
______________________________________________
____ The Court of Appeals remands the case
6. If you lose a case in the trial court, you can _
____ A new trial begins
______________________________________________
____ The first verdict is appealed
______________________________________________

7. If an appellate court affirms a case, it means ____ Trial is held in the District Court
______________________________________________ ____ T
 he Supreme Court agrees to hear
______________________________________________ the case
____ An appeal is made to the Court of Appeals
8. If a law is unconstitutional, the Supreme
Court can ___________________________________
____ Evidence is presented to the jury
______________________________________________
____ The members of the jury are chosen
9. Evidence is used for _________________________ ____ The jury returns a verdict
______________________________________________
______________________________________________ ____ T
 he Supreme Court strikes down the law
10. A trial with no jury is called a _______________ ____ S
 upreme Court hears a case about
______________________________________________ the law
____ Congress passes a law
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 Name __________________________

Judicial Branch in a Flash

D. Crossword. Use information from 1

2 the reading to complete the puzzle. 3 4

7 6

10 11

12 17

13

15 16

14

18

22

19 20 21

23 24

Across
Down 25 1. Number of court systems in the U.S.
1. The first court to hear a case 3. Group of people who decide a case after
2. People or things that can prove one side’s version hearing the evidence
of what happened 6. When an appellate court upholds a verdict
4. When an appellate court sends a case back to the 7. What appellate judges look for when they review
trial court a case
5. One kind of evidence 8. Something that goes against the Constitution
11. What an appellate court does with a case 9. Number of justices on the Supreme Court
12. The document that created the judicial branch 10. Taking a case through the court system is like an
13. Type of case relating to peoples’ rights 11. When an appellate court rejects a verdict
14. Court system that deals with state laws 14. This court gets to choose which cases to hear
15. Court system that deals with United States laws 18. Type of court that reviews the trial court’s decision
16. What a judge wears 19. The Supreme Court’s power to decide what is
17. One kind of evidence constitutional
20. Type of case about someone accused of 23. When there is more than one judge, the group of
committing a crime judges is called
21. Asking an appellate court to review a case 24. The lowest court in the federal system
22. Type of trial that has no jury 25. Choosing between the federal or state court system
depends on the ____ involved in the case
© 2023 iCivics, Inc. 4

 Extension Activity Name __________________________

Judicial Branch in a Flash

Judicial Branch Bingo. Choose 16 of the terms below and write one term in each square in
random order. Mark the square when your teacher defines the term!

Supreme Court Federal Courts State Courts Trial court

Evidence Criminal Case Civil Case Jury Trial
Bench Trial Verdict Appellate Courts Appeal
Affirm Reverse Remand Judicial Review
District Court

© 2023 iCivics, Inc. 5