The American Court System 美国法院系统

The American Court System 美国法院系统

（Three-level Court Systems）

Unlike most countries in the world, actually, there are fifty-two court systems in America—one for each of the fifty states, one for the District of Columbia, plus a federal[ˈfedərəl]system—similarities abound. The state court systems are established according to the constitution of each state. The federal courts are not superior [su:ˈpiəriə, sju:-] to the state courts; they are simply independent systems of courts, which derives its authority from Article 3, Section2, of the U.S. Constitution. Although state court systems differ, Exhibit3-1 illustrates the basic organizational structure characteristic of the court system in many states. The exhibit also shows how federal court system is structured.

与世界上大多数的国家不同，事实上，美国拥有52个法院系统——50个州每州一个，还有一个是哥伦比亚特区，再加上一个联邦法院系统——它们都是相似的。美国州的法院系统是依据各州的宪法而确立的。联邦法院不是各州的最高法院；他们是相对独立的法院系统，联邦法院起源的依据是美国联邦宪法第三条第二款的授权。虽然各州的法院系统各有不同，如图表3-1所阐释的各州法院的基本组织结构特征。这个图标同样显示出了联邦法院系统是怎样构成的。

1. State court System 州法院体系

Typically, a state court system will include several levels, or tiers, of courts. State courts may include (1) trial courts of limited jurisdiction [ˌdʒuərisˈdikʃən], (2) trial [ˈtraiəl]courts of general jurisdiction, (3) appellate courts, and (4) the state’s highest court (often called the state supreme court). Generally, any person who is a party to a lawsuit has the opportunities to plead the case before a trial court and then, if he or she loses, before at least one level of appellate court. Finally, if a federal statute or federal constitutional issue is involved in the decision of the state Supreme[su:ˈpri:m, sju:-]Court, that decision can be further pleaded before the Federal Supreme Court.

就典型的来说，美国州的法院体系有若干个层级或审级。州法院体系可能包括(1)拥有有限司法管辖权的初审法院,(2)具有普遍管辖权的初审法院,(3)上诉法院,(4)各州的最高法院。一般来说，案件的任何一方当事人都有申请初审法院予以审理案件的权利，而后，如果他或她败诉，还可以将案件上诉至上诉法院。最后，如果州最高法院的判决涉及到联邦制定法和联邦宪法性的事项，那么，这个判决还可以被上诉至联邦最高法院。

a. Trial Courts 初审法院

Trial courts are exactly what their name implies, courts in which trials are held and testimony [ˈtestiməni] taken. State trial courts have either general or limited jurisdiction. Trial courts that have general jurisdiction as to subject matter may be called county, district, superior[su:ˈpiəriə, sju:-], or circuit[ˈsə:kit]courts. The jurisdiction of these courts is often determined by the size of the county in which the courts sit. State trial courts of general jurisdiction have jurisdiction over a wide variety of subjects, including both civil disputes and criminal prosecutions. In some cases, trial courts of general jurisdiction may hear appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction.

初审法院正如其名称所述，是进行审判和采集证据的法院。州初审法院有普遍和有限司法管辖权之分。拥有普遍管辖权的初审法院就受理的诉讼标的的不同分别叫做郡县法院，地