Judicial Branch – Key Terms Original Jurisdiction- Means that they can hear a case (conduct a trial) before any other court. May have a jury Hear a case for the first time Appellate Jurisdiction – They can only hear a case after a lower court has reached a decision An appellate court may: Uphold the lower courts decision. Overturn (or Reverse) a lower courts decision Remand a case back to the lower court for re-trial They DO NOT Re-try the case Have (or call) a jury What might a US District Court have that a US Court of Appeals will never have? A _____ Criminal Case – The government has arrested you for breaking the law. You could serve jail time, be charged a fine, or be executed. Defendant – Person on trial. Civil Case - One person against another person. Usually, some body suing for money. NO ONE serves jail time or gets executed in a civil case. Plaintiff - Person who files the law suit (sues another person) Defendant – Person who is being sued If you do not like a courts decision, you may APPEAL it. It is then sent to an appellate court for review. The appellate court gets to decide whether or not they review the case. See “Appellate Jurisdiction” above Judicial Review – The process of determining if a law is Unconstitutional. Can only be done during a case The Supreme Court – Has appellate jurisdiction in most cases (original in the case of treason) The highest court in the Federal court system. There is no higher court to appeal your case to.