Structure of The Courts in The State of Texas With a Federal Look
by There are indeed some comparisons between the courts here in Texas and the Federal Court system, but the Federal Court System is not obligated to certain cases as appose to the state courts.
Read on to learn why.
The state of Texas has their own state constitution, but the United States Constitution is the “Rule of Law” for the U.S. as a whole, which could also be called the “Law of the Land”, but Texas has their own “State Rule of Law” or “Law of the Land”. In Article V of this Texas Constitution it shows the judicial powers of the state in the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Courts of Appeals, District Courts, County Courts, Commissioners Courts, Courts of Justices of the Peace, and other such courts that may be provided by law. Article V of the Texas constitution also gives the Legislature the authority to establish such other courts as it may deem necessary and prescribe the jurisdiction and organization thereof, and may conform the jurisdiction of the district and other inferior courts. (Office of Court Administration • Tom C. Clark Building).
In the U.S. Constitution article III invests the judicial power of the United States in the federal court system. Article III, Section 1 specifically creates the U.S. Supreme Court and gives Congress the authority to create the lower federal courts. (Office of Court Administration • Tom C. Clark Building).
Congress has used the power given to them to establish the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, the 94 U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. U.S. Bankruptcy Courts handle bankruptcy cases. The Magistrate Judges handle some District Court matters. (Office of Court Administration • Tom C. Clark Building).
When it comes to the State of Texas in this matter the Supreme Court is the court of last resort for most civil and juvenile cases, and the Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for criminal cases. The Legislature has also created 14 Courts of Appeals and hundreds of district, statutory county, and statutory probate courts, and all this can be read and researched at the following link: http://www.courts.state.tx.us/fedvstatecourt.asp
The link above shows the structure of the Federal Courts and the structure of the Texas Court System. The link divides the structure into three sections. The first being the structure of the systems, the second being the Selection of Judges, and lastly the types of cases heard on both sides.
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