urts (a.k.a. traffic courts), justice of the peace courts, constitutional county courts, statutory county courts, and district courts(http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/AboutCourt.htm). In order for a case to be heard in federal court, several conditions must be met. First, the court must be authorized to hear the case. The court can exercise only judicial powers. This means that they can only rule on the case before them and not on any hypothetical situations. The plaintiff must have standing. This refers to the fact that the plaintiff must have received some type of injury from the plaintiff and that the court must be able to in some way grant the plaintiff some relief, if it decides in the plaintiffs favor. The case also can not be moot, meaning that the problem that the case involves must be ongoing. Lastly, the case must pose a federal question, that is, that the defendant must either be charged with a federal crime or potential damages must be at least $75,000. All cases involving lesser crimes or damages must be sent through the state courts. The two main types of cases before federal courts are those involving either federal questions or diversity of jurisdiction. (uscourts.gov, 7)Appellate courts do not decide an appeal by taking new evidence or reassessing the credibility of the witnesses who testified in the trial court. Appeals courts review the written record to determine if the trial court properly interpreted the law and used the correct procedures when considering the case. If new evidence is found, the appeals court takes it under advisement and decides whether or not a new trial is necessary by the trial court. The knowledge that a fact can be overturned by an appeals court leads trial judges to act very carefully, as having one of their decisions overturned is very humiliating for a judge. The parties involved in the case submit written documents, called briefs, to assert their position. The parties also...
