Published: November 07, 2009 10:34 pm      

THOMAS YOUNG | Origins of federal courts

I don’t know what the Founding Fathers were thinking when they wrote the Constitution. They stressed that the federal government would be limited in what it can do, and that the powers not granted to it were reserved to the states.

I suppose they realized they were creating two different governing bodies to which we would all be subject, including two sets of courts as well as two legislatures.

But since there are a few more people now and many more than the 13 original colonies, I doubt that they could have guessed at the enormity of the court systems.

Interestingly, the Constitution mandates there be a Supreme Court, “and such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

So, what has Congress ordained and established?

The first group of courts, the trial courts, are called “district courts.” If you are familiar with the state courts in several local courthouses, then you already know pretty much how the federal district court operates.

The one that serves Johnstown and environs is located in what used to be the Penn Traffic store building on Washington Street. Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania is most often in attendance.

The Western District of Pennsylvania is headquartered in Pittsburgh.

There are three districts in Pennsylvania, the western (Pittsburgh), middle (Harrisburg), and eastern (Philadelphia). There also are a number of satellite courts, such as the one in Johnstown.

Federal district judges are not elected, they are appointed for life. They conduct jury trials, just as the county judges do. All citizens can be asked to serve on a federal jury, just as on a county jury. About the only excuse accepted by the federal court for not serving is death.

If you violate a federal law, you will be prosecuted in federal district court.

A violation of the federal income tax laws, for instance, could put you in federal court.

Violations of your constitutional rights can go to federal court.

Civil cases between citizens of different states, called diversity of citizenship, can be filed in federal court (Ohio driver runs into your car in Johnstown), but only if the lawsuit would reasonably involve at least $75,000.

Appeals are to an intermediate court much like the Superior Court in Pennsylvania, except that on the federal level they’re called Circuit Courts of Appeal. We are in the 3rd Circuit of Appeals, which sits in Philadelphia. It is composed of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

There also are specialty courts, including Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Court of Claims.

The court of last resort is the U.S. Supreme Court.



Thomas Young, a graduate of Pitt and Harvard Law School, has been a lawyer in Johnstown since 1958. He is a former professor of business law at Pitt-Johnstown. Readers may send questions to Young in care of The Tribune-Democrat. The opinions expressed in this column are general in nature and may not apply to your situation. Consult your attorney for advice on specific legal matters.