Federal Court Concepts

http://www.catea.org/grade/legal/intro.html

Rating: 1, Awesome!

Description: After a brief overview of the federal court system, tis site has a description of how federal courts are organized, and a guide to the types of cases that federal courts routinely hear. Then there is information about Federal District Courts, the Federal Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court, and federal courts with special jurisdiction. Standards 12.4.5, 12.4.6 and 12.5.1

Comments: The site was developed by Curtis D. Edmonds, J.D. A Glossary makes this a useful site for English learners.

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 1194

This Nation: The Federal Judiciary

http://www.thisnation.com/judiciary.html

Rating: 1, Awesome!

Description: Find out about the Federal Judiciary in the U.S. from its description in the Constitution to its day-to-day practice. This textbook style resource links to primary source material, a glossary, and other resources. Standard 12.4.5

Comments: This site was developed and is managed by a government professor Jonathan Mottat the University of Oklahoma.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 3133

Anatomy of a Murder: A Trip Through Our Nation's Legal Justice System

http://library.thinkquest.org/2760/homep.htm

Rating: 2, High!

Description: The justice system in the United States is one of the most unique in the world. It consists of two separate levels of courts, state and federal, that can peacefully co-exist under the concept of federalism . The type of court that a case is tried in depends on the law, state or federal, that was allegedly violated. Most of the laws that govern our day-to-day living are state laws; violations of federal law include offenses involving federal government employees, crimes committed across state lines (for example, kidnapping or evading arrest), and fraud involving the national government (such as income tax or postal fraud). Standard 12.7.7

Comments: This is a well researched and developed ThinkQuest project.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 221

Federal Judiciary Act of 1789

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=12

Rating: 2, High!

Description: The First Congress decided that it could regulate the jurisdiction of all Federal courts, and in the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress established with great particularity a limited jurisdiction for the district and circuit courts, gave the Supreme Court the original jurisdiction provided for in the Constitution, and granted the Court appellate jurisdiction in cases from the Federal circuit courts and from the state courts where those courts rulings had rejected Federal claims. The decision to grant Federal courts a jurisdiction more restrictive than that allowed by the Constitution represented a recognition by the Congress that the people of the United States would not find a full-blown Federal court system palatable at that time. Standards 8.2.3 and 12.4.5 civics

Comments: This is part of the "Our Documents" site and has a facsimile of the act, a transciption and background information.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 1196

First Amendment

http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/first_amendment.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Here are links to Supreme Court, Appeals Court, and State Court rulings on First Amendment cases. Standard 12.5.1

Comments: This site by the Cornell Law School is very easy to search and has a wide variety of cases on First Amendment issues.

Resource Type: Other.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 1228

Law Forum: U.S. Federal Judiciary

http://www.lawforum.net/resources/courts.htm

Rating: 2, High!

Description: This page, maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts functions as a clearinghouse for information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government. Standards 12.4.5, 12.5.6, and 12.7.7

Resource Type: Compilation of Links.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 1936

Marbury v. Madison

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=19

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Read the Supreme Court decision that gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review. This decision established the right of the courts to determine the constitutionality of the actions of the other two branches of government and strongly reinforced the idea of separation of powers. Standards 8.3.0, and 12.5.3

Comments: This Our Documents site has a facsimile of the original document, a transcription and background information to help the reader put the document in context.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Resource ID: 2086

Senate Judiciary Committee

http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Here is information on the Senate Judiciary Hearings, committee and subcommittee membership, and court nominees. Standard 12.4.1, 12.4.5, 12.4.6 and 12.7.1

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 2743

Supreme Court of the United States

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Find out about the High Court's docket, calendar, opinions and orders. There is even advice on how to file a case! Standards 12.4.5, 12.5.6, and 12.7.7

Comments: The site would be friendlier had they not used PDF format for much of the information.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 2889

Tour of the U.S. Judicial Branch

http://www.dreamscape.com/frankvad/judicial.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: The Judicial Branch of government is the branch whose responsibility, through the United States' system of checks-and-balances, is to keep an eye on and to punish those who have committed federal crimes. Understanding the Federal Courts will give you an overview of how the federal courts system works. Standards 12.4.5, 12.5.6, and 12.7.7

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 3185