UnderstandingtheUSFederalCourts.docVIP

Understanding the U.S. Federal Courts The Federal Judicial Process in Brief: This section describes three key features of the federal judicial system and gives an overview of the process in criminal cases, civil cases, and bankruptcy proceedings. Also included are brief descriptions of jury service and selection procedures and the appeals process. An Adversarial System: The litigation process in United States courts is referred to as an adversarial system because it relies on the litigants to present their dispute before a neutral fact-finder. According to American legal tradition, inherited from the English common law, the clash of adversaries before the court is most likely to allow the jury or judge to determine the truth and resolve the dispute at hand. In some other legal systems, judges or other court officials investigate and assist the parties to find relevant evidence or obtain testimony from witness es. In the United States, the litigants and their attorneys accomplish the work of collecting evidence and preparing to present it to the court, normally without assistance from the court. Fees and Costs of Litigation: Another characteristic of the American judicial system is that litigants typically pay their own court costs and attorneys fees whether they win or lose. The federal courts charge fees that are mostly set by Congress . For example, it costs $150 to file a civil case. Other costs of litigation, such as attorneys and experts fees, are more substantial . In criminal cases the government pays the costs of investigation and prosecution . The government also provides a lawyer without cost for any criminal defendant who is unable to afford one. In civil cases, plaintiffs who cannot afford to pay court fees may seek permission from the court to proceed without paying those fees. Procedural Rules for Conducting Litigation: There are federal rules of evidence, and rules of civil, criminal, bankruptcy and appellate procedure that must be followed in the fe