California Law
California Court System
California Court System
It may be useful for a person thinking about initiating a legal action to understand the legal and judicial systems that exist in California. One of the most confusing aspects of the judicial system is that there are two separate systems: state and federal. The majority of cases are filed in state courts. This chapter discusses the state and federal systems and summarizes the jurisdictions of both. The Process of a Lawsuit Chapter outlines how a case goes through the state civil and criminal process. Claims that arise on Native American land may be subject to tribal courts and not the state or federal courts.
As one may remember from Civics class, there are three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch creates the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Laws also are called statutes or codes. The executive branch can create rules or regulations to govern its administrative procedures and the judicial branch also may interpret these regulations.
When a case is brought before a court, the court applies the law to the facts of the case and a decision is made. There are many sources of law the court uses in making its decision: the constitutions of both the United States and California, statutes, regulations, and prior decisions of its own or of other higher courts (case law). The way in which a higher state court answers a legal question is binding on all other lower courts within that jurisdiction when faced with the same legal question. For example, if the California Supreme Court decides a legal question, all state courts in California must follow that decision. However, state courts in Oregon would not have to follow the California decision because they are in a different jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction
When a person decides to file a legal action, he or she must decide where to file the case. Where a person files a case depends on which court has jurisdiction in such cases. Jurisdiction determines whether a particular court has the power and authority to decide a case. This is subject matter jurisdiction. If a court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, it may not decide a case. A court also must have personal jurisdiction over the defendant in a case. There are different ways to have personal jurisdiction, including if a defendant resides or has a business within the court's geographical region. For example, a California plaintiff cannot bring an action in California superior court against a defendant who lives and works in another state, if that defendant has no contact with the state of California. Jurisdiction is set in law, constitutions, or case law. It is possible to have courts with overlapping jurisdiction and a person has a choice of in which court to file an action. There are three types of subject matter jurisdiction: exclusive, general, and limited.
Exclusive Jurisdiction
Exclusive jurisdiction means that only a particular court can decide a case. An example of exclusive subject matter jurisdiction is bankruptcy court. Only in a federal bankruptcy court can a person file a bankruptcy action. State courts have no jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases.
General Jurisdiction
General jurisdiction means that a court has the ability to hear and decide a wide range of cases. Unless a law or constitutional provision denies them jurisdiction, courts of general jurisdiction can handle any kind of case. The California superior courts are general jurisdiction courts.
Limited Jurisdiction
Limited jurisdiction means that a court has restrictions on the cases it can decide. Small claims court is a court of limited jurisdiction. It can only hear and decide cases that claim damages of $5000 or less. No person may file more than two claims in small claims court over $2500 in one calendar year.
Venue
Venue deals with the location of a legal action and designates the particular county in which a court with jurisdiction may hear and decide a case. In California, a case is brought in the county in which the claim originates or where one or more defendants reside. For example, if a person is hit by a car in San Jose, and the car was driven by a person from Pasadena, an action against the driver could be filed in either Los Angeles County (Pasadena) or in Santa Clara County (San Jose).
State and Federal Courts
As previously mentioned, there are two separate court systems: state and federal. Which court system a person enters depends on a number of factors: whether a court has exclusive jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case, the amount of damages involved, and the locations of the parties in the case.
California State Courts
California has three levels to its court system: superior courts, courts of appeal, and the supreme court. There are three special courts that are not in the judicial system and were created by the executive branch to address specific areas--juvenile court, municipal court and workers' compensation court.
California Superior Courts
California has divided its 57 counties into six superior court districts. Each superior court district is composed of from four to 23 counties. The superior courts sit at the county seats and elsewhere as allowed by statute. Each superior court hears cases in each county within its district at some time. As previously mentioned, the superior court has general subject matter jurisdiction and handles a wide variety of cases, both civil and criminal. The superior courts are courts of original jurisdiction, that is, cases start there. That is where trials are held, witnesses testify, evidence is presented, and judgments are rendered. Depending on the size of the district, some have created specific divisions to handle certain matters such as probate and family. Small claims court is a justice or municipal court and appeals from small claims court are heard in superior court. A person who loses a case in superior court may appeal it. Appeals from superior court are typically brought to the California court of appeal.
California Court of Appeal
Unlike the superior courts, which hear trials with witnesses, jurors, and evidence, the court of appeal's primary function is to determine whether there has been an error at the superior court level, and if so, to remedy it. The court of appeal reviews the transcript from the superior court and may also consider written and oral arguments. The court of appeal can reverse or affirm a superior court ruling or send it back to the superior court for additional action. The court of appeal hears most appeals from the superior courts unless the law specifically states that a particular appeal goes directly to the California Supreme Court. The court of appeals is made up of 88 judges who are divided into panels. These panels travel throughout the state hearing appeals. Appeals from this court are sent to the California Supreme Court.
California Supreme Court
The California Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Like the court of appeal, it does not hold trials but reviews transcripts, takes written and oral arguments, and determines whether there has been an error at the superior court level. It also may reverse, affirm, or remand a case. The supreme court is the rule-making body for the state courts and has administrative responsibility for the operation of the state court system. The California Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who hear appeals in San Francisco. A California Supreme Court decision is a final decision in California and may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court only if there is a federal issue involved.
Federal Courts
The federal court system hears both civil and criminal cases and also is broken down into three levels. There are generally three ways a case can be filed in federal court: the case involves federal law, the case raises a question of U.S. Constitution interpretation, or the case involves parties from more than one state and the amount in question is more that $50,000.
Federal District Court
The federal government has divided the United States into federal judicial districts. The state of California makes up one federal judicial district. The federal district courts for California are located in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego. Like the state superior courts, the federal district court holds trials on issues over which it has jurisdiction. Appeals from the federal district court go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Also in the federal system is the bankruptcy court. This court has exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters. There are 11 bankruptcy court offices in four districts in California (Northern District: San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Oakland, and San Jose; Eastern District: Sacramento, Modesta, and Fresno; Central District: Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino; Southern District: San Diego).
Federal Court of Appeals
The federal government groups the United States' federal judicial districts into circuits, and each circuit has a court of appeals. California is in the Ninth Circuit along with Alaska, Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hears the appeals from federal district courts within its circuit. As with the California court of appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals does not try cases, but only reviews cases from the federal district courts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has its main office in San Francisco. Appeals from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are heard at the U. S. Supreme Court.
United States Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is the only court created by the U.S. Constitution. It hears appeals from the circuit courts of appeal and states' supreme courts, and other cases in which it has jurisdiction--cases between states, for example. The court is made up of nine justices and is based in Washington, D.C. Only a small percentage of the cases appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court are actually heard. As with other appellate courts, the refusal to hear an appeal lets stand the lower court's ruling.