LEC备考学习 | 联邦法院体系简介（双语）1

发表时间：2020-10-31 00:43

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 system—similarities abound. The state court systems are established according to the constitution of each state. The federal courts are not superior to the state courts; they are simply independent systems of courts。

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个州各一个，哥伦比亚特区一个，再加上一个联邦法院系统——相似之处比比皆是。美国的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，它和州法院是相对独立的法院系统。

The Federal Court System

联邦法院体系

The federal court system is basically a three-tiered model consisting of (1) U.S. district courts (trial courts of general jurisdiction) and various courts of limited jurisdiction, (2) U.S. courts of appeals (intermediate courts of appeals), and (3) the United States Supreme Court.

联邦法院体系大致由三级法院组成：（１）美国联邦地区法院（拥有普遍管辖权的初审法院）和各种有限管辖权的法院，（２）美国联邦上诉法院（中级上诉法院）和（３）美国联邦最高法院。

Unlike state court judges, who are usually elected, federal court judges—including the justices of the Supreme Court—are appointed by the president of the U.S. and confirmed by Senate. All federal judges receive lifetime appointments (because under Article 3 they “hold their offices during Good Behavior”).

与州法院法官通常由选举产生不同，联邦法院的法官——包括最高法院的大法官们——是由美国总统提名，由参议院批准。所有的联邦法官都是终身制（这是由美国联邦宪法第三条“他们品行端正因而受任终身”所规定的）。

U.S. District Court 美国联邦地区法院

There is at least one federal district court in every state. The number of judicial districts can vary over time, primarily owing to population changes and corresponding caseloads. Currently, there are ninety-four federal judicial districts.

每个州至少有一个联邦的地区法院。地区法院的数目在不同的时期不尽相同，首要因素是人口数量的变化，还有待处理案件的数量。迄今为止，联邦地区法院共有94个。

U.S. District Courts conduct trials concerning federal matters, such as federal crimes and enforcement of federal statutes. Most federal crimes involve crimes against the government or crimes occurring on federal property. For example, one crime, kidnapping, is a federal crime even though it does not occur on federal land. Federal jurisdiction for the crime of kidnapping is based on taking of the victim across state or country lines and the statute provides that the failure to release the victim within twenty-four hours after seizure creates “a rebuttable presumption that such person has been transported to interstate or foreign commerce.”

美国联邦地区法院审理涉及联邦事务的案件，例如联邦刑事犯罪和执行联邦法律的事项。大部分的联邦刑事犯罪是反政府刑事犯罪和侵犯联邦财产的刑事犯罪。例如，绑架儿童的刑事犯罪，就是联邦刑事犯罪，即便这类犯罪并不发生在联邦法院区域。联邦对绑架罪的司法管辖权是建立在绑架受害人跨越州或跨国界的基础上的，且依法律规定，在绑架后的24小时内没有释放受害人会产生“一个可反驳的假设，即此人已经被运送到他州或国外的商业场所。”

Moreover, it is possible to sue a federal court even though the claim is based on state law when the plaintiff and defendant are from different states and countries. Diversity of citizenship jurisdiction exists when a plaintiff is a citizen of one state and the defendant is a citizen of another state, or when one party is a foreign country or a citizen of a foreign country and the other is a citizen of the United States. The amount of claimed damages in a diversity of citizenship case must be at least $75,000.

另外，如果原告和被告是来自于不同的州或国家，那么即使这个案件可以根据州的法律来主张权利，它仍有可以诉诸联邦法院来予以解决。当原告来自于一个州，而被告是另一州的公民；或者当事人一方是外国国家；再或者一方是外国公民而另一方是美国公民，就存在公民身份多元管辖的问题。在公民身份多元化的案件中，当事人所主张的损害赔偿不得低于7.5万美元。

Also, there are other courts with original, but special (or limited) jurisdiction, such as the federal bankruptcy courts.

另外，还有一些法院拥有初审或有限的司法管辖权，例如破产法院。

下期预告

联邦上诉法院和联邦最高法院简介