You have successfully held your first training session on the common law tradition and sources of law! Now that everyone has an understanding of the origins of law, your next primer in this training series will explain the specifics of your state’s court system. You must first perform the necessary research to locate your state court’s website on the Internet. Once you have located your state court’s website, you will prepare a 2- page, double-spaced paper outlining the basic structure of your state’s court system in each county (or city). Include in your discussion an explanation of the jurisdiction (authority to hear cases) of these various trial courts. Specifically, explain in what trial court(s) in the state you would file specific types of claims. Additionally, explain the structure of the appellate courts in your state, naming each level of appeals court, if there is more than one level.
Be sure to identify your sources (website, etc.). Note: Please be sure you refer to the numbers that appear on the actual printed pages in your electronic readings, not the numbers that appear with the navigation icons.
(Note: Different states have different names for the primary trial court of each county, such as Superior Court, Municipal Court, Court of Common Pleas, etc., and some states have multiple courts in every county, such as Municipal Court, Family Court, Probate Court, and Small Claims Court. If you are having trouble locating your local court’s site, you may choose a neighboring state.)
