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  • Hello class! And now we begin our discussion about federal district courts. As I just

  • mentioned. Federal district courts are the bottom tier of the federal court system.

  • District courts are trial courts, and they have you -- ready for this term, one

  • that you've probably never heard before? They have what is called "original

  • jurisdiction." Original jurisdiction means that cases originate at this level, or

  • they begin at this level. In other words, cases are never appealed at this level.

  • They're heard for the first time in courts with original jurisdiction. Ok? Now, as I

  • mentioned, federal district courts are trial court's. This means that they

  • function like other trial courts in which there is evidence introduced and

  • examined; they may use a jury to come to a decision;

  • witnesses are called to the stand and are questioned and cross-examined.

  • Basically anything you've ever seen in a courtroom drama -- you know things like

  • attorneys trying to appeal to the emotions of jurors or somebody rushing

  • in with a bloody knife, and saying "Your honor, I'd like to introduce this to the

  • evidence!" All of those things take place at trial courts. Now the reason that I'm

  • saying this is because when we talk about federal courts of appeals, and we

  • talk about the Supreme Court. Those things do not take place and those courts.

  • They only take place in the federal court system at federal district courts.

  • Federal district courts hear both civil and criminal cases. Civil cases are cases

  • in which no one has been accused of a crime, so you can think of a civil case

  • in pretty simple terms as when somebody is suing somebody else, or if a business

  • is suing another business. In federal courts, it can be the federal government

  • is suing a corporation or a corporation suing the federal government.

  • Those things happen all the time in federal district court, so the different types of

  • civil cases that are heard at federal district courts are: contract cases, a

  • contract case is quite simply when someone or some business or individual

  • has signed a contract with someone else and has broken that contract or is being

  • sued for breaking that contract. So today, for example, the federal government does

  • a lot of business with private companies, and they sign contracts, and perhaps

  • that company is suing the federal government because according to that company,

  • the federal government was supposed to pay this much money, but the federal

  • government only paid them this much money, so now that company is suing the

  • federal government. That would be an example of a civil case that would be

  • heard at a federal district court.

  • Makes sense? I hope so.

  • You can always email me with your questions! the other type of civil cases that are

  • heard at federal district courts are called torts: T-O-R-T-S. A tort is a civil case in

  • which there was no contract involved. So for example, a couple of years ago there

  • was that giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in which they were BP -- British

  • Petroleum oil rig that exploded, and thousands and thousands or actually

  • millions of gallons of oil bubbled up out of the sea floor and spilled into

  • the Gulf Coast and the federal government sued British Petroleum for

  • damages basically for the cost of cleaning up all of that oil. That was a

  • tort case because British Petroleum didn't have a contract with the federal

  • government, but they created damage. They caused damage, so the federal government was

  • suing British Petroleum for damage. Now when British Petroleum lost that case, no

  • one went to prison; it wasn't a criminal trial it was a civil trial. Federal

  • district courts hear

  • criminal cases when someone has been accused of violating a federal criminal

  • statute or a federal crime. Someone's been accused of committing a federal

  • crime like mail fraud or kidnapping or terrorism or bank robbery. These are all

  • federal crimes, so if one is accused of violating a federal criminal statute or

  • a federal criminal law and you're arrested,

  • you would stand trial at a federal district court.

  • Ok, so I hope this makes sense. Oh, let me just say one thing going back to civil

  • cases. Civil cases are heard at federal district courts if the federal

  • government is involved, so if someone's suing the federal government or the

  • federal government is suing someone else. Our next video is going to deal with

  • federal courts of appeals. Talk to you soon. Bye!

Hello class! And now we begin our discussion about federal district courts. As I just

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