Which of the following statements about the U.S. judicial system is true?
Group of answer choices
a. Besides the Supreme Court, there are lower courts district and circuit courts. But of all the federal courts, only the U.S. Supreme Court is established by the Constitution.
b. If North Dakota sues South Dakota, the case will be heard by the 8th circuit court of appeals.
c. The United States has a triad system of justice, whereby the courts are divided into three separate systems, one federal, one state, and one superior or county with each of the 3,000 counties having its own courts.
d. A dissenting opinion is written by a justice who agrees with the decision of the majority, but disagrees with the rationale.
e. The 94 district courts are appellate courts intended to release caseloads of the 13 circuit courts.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is a. Besides the Supreme Court, there are lower courts—district and circuit courts. But of all the federal courts, only the U.S. Supreme Court is established by the Constitution.
Explanation:
The U.S. judicial system consists of both federal and state courts. The U.S. Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country, is established by the U.S. Constitution. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, meaning it can hear cases directly as well as appeals from lower courts. However, lower federal courts, such as the district courts (trial courts) and the circuit courts of appeals (appellate courts), are not explicitly created by the Constitution. Instead, Congress has the authority to establish these lower courts under its constitutional power to “constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court” (Article III, Section 1).
District courts handle federal cases at the trial level, while circuit courts hear appeals from district courts and other specialized courts. The circuit courts are divided into 13 appellate jurisdictions or circuits, with each covering different geographical areas. The 13 circuit courts of appeals are not the trial courts, so a case between two states, like North Dakota suing South Dakota, would likely be heard in a district court first, and then appealed to the relevant circuit court.
Option b is incorrect because it misrepresents where such cases are heard—district courts would be the starting point for interstate disputes.
Option c incorrectly refers to a “triad system of justice,” but the U.S. has only two primary court systems: federal and state, with county or municipal courts being part of state systems.
Option d is incorrect because a dissenting opinion is written by a justice who disagrees with the majority decision, not one who agrees but disagrees with the reasoning.
Option e is wrong because district courts are trial courts, not appellate courts. The appellate role is handled by the circuit courts.