Millions of court
cases are heard each year in the United States. Thousands of people walk out of the court
room doors happy, while the others get hauled off to jail, try to figure out
how to pay their fine, or begin to write an appeal. In the United States court system, the
party that loses can appeal to a higher court to see if they will overturn the
ruling. This does not guarantee that the
higher court will pick up the case.
There are three
levels of courts, District Court as the trial court, Circuit Court as the first
level of appeal, and Supreme Court as the final level of appeal. Each state has at least one district court
depending on population, for example California
has four district courts while Montana
has one. Each district court feeds into
a circuit court, there are thirteen circuit courts total. There are twelve geographical circuit courts
numbered one through eleven. The last
two are the District of Columbia
and the Federal Circuit Court. The
circuit courts only hear cases from their geographical area, except for Federal
Court. The Federal District Court system can hear a
case from any area in the United
States, but it must be on one of the
following topics: patents, international trade, trademark, veteran’s affairs,
and a few others. After the circuit
court you have the highest level, the Supreme Court. Whatever decision is made at the Supreme
Court level is the final verdict.
In the Sixth Circuit
Court, which contains Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, three judges
recently turned down the same-sex marriage movement. This is the first time a Federal Appeals Court
has ever ruled against same-sex marriage, and this came as a shock to the
nation. Judge Sutton, one of the judges
that voted against gay marriage said, “It would now seem, the question is not
whether American law
will allow gay couples to marry; it is when and how that will happen.” “More importantly, Judge Sutton made clear
that he believes that any straightforward reading of the Constitution in terms
of its original meaning would allow the states to regulate marriage and to
protect natural marriage as the central organizing principle of human society.”[1] Although Sutton believes one day gay marriage
will become legal, he still firmly stands against it. Seeing, the Sixth Circuit Court had the
courage to stand up to gay marriage, maybe other circuit courts will soon
follow suit; changing the dynamics of the same sex marriage movement.
Perfect, this is exactly what I was hoping for. A definite understanding of the system based on this particular case and a response to the judges arguments based on his ruling. EXCELLENT!!!
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