We Did Not Know What Was Coming Series: The Federal Court System — Who Knew? I Didn’t

PREFACE: To say the last seven years have been a journey of growth for me and this country is an understatement. To help me process and cope with the roller-coaster of emotions I have felt these years, I started writing on Medium right after the 2016 election. My last series ended December 31, 2020, after Biden won the presidential election.

Recently I realized I missed writing “in my journal” and decided to go back to the very beginning and re-read my essays. I wanted to see where I started out on November 9, 2016, and where I am now. I decided to repost my favorite blogs with a short present-day commentary and continue onto current times.

I hope a few of you will join me on this journey of recollection, reflection, and learning. Little did we know what we were headed into.

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The Federal Court System — Who Knew? I Didn’t: Feb 1, 2017

Saturday all eyes were on the ACLU as their lawyers began filing multiple suits in federal court protesting the legality of Trump’s Executive Order banning Muslim entry into the United States. Five federal district court judges across the country issued partial stays to that order. Those judges were: Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn, Leonie Brinkema in Virginia, Thomas Zilly in Washington state and Allison Burroughs and Judith Dein in Massachusetts.

Sunday, I whispered heartfelt thanks to them all, and yet my thanks mattered not. These folks did not issue the stays because of their personal values or spirituality, humanity, politics, or philosophy. They issued the stays because Donald Trump broke the law. He broke the law and the judges all said, “STOP! This is against the law.” For the moment, he stopped. Now that kind of power interests me.

I suspect the drama of the Trump administration may well be played out in the courts and not the legislative branch which is dominated by personal values, political allegiance, individual philosophy, and faux spirituality. Our founders knew a thing or two about human nature and crafted a constitution of checks and balances that included the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch and the Judicial Branch. Suddenly seeing the power of the Judicial Branch, I thought it wise to understand one third of our government I had not paid much attention to — the federal court system.

I am embarrassed to say this but I really do not know much about the federal court system. I have heard the words district and circuit — usually on television court room dramas — but have not paid attention to the kinds of cases they hear. I did not know how many districts or circuits there were or how judges were appointed. I was not clear how the federal court system interacted with our state court system.

Since November 8th I have come to realize over and over again how little I understand the democracy that is the United States. As painful as this process with Trump is, I am becoming a more knowledgeable citizen which I hope it will guide me to better and smarter action. All this is to say I started doing a bit of research on our federal courts.

Here goes my cliff notes on the Federal Court System:

· The Federal court system has three main levels: District Courts (the trial court), Circuit Courts which are the first level of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States, the final level of appeal in the federal system. There are 94 District Courts, 13 Circuit Courts, and one Supreme Court throughout the country.

· Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, meaning they can only hear cases authorized by the United States Constitution or federal statutes. This is what is going to make all the difference with the executive orders Trump is signing. This is what the judges fell back on when issuing the stays. He violated the Constitution and federal statutes.

· The Federal District Court is the starting point for any case arising under federal statutes, the Constitution, or treaties. They are the general trial courts of the federal court system. This type of jurisdiction is called “original jurisdiction.”

· Federal judges (and Supreme Court justices) are selected by the President and confirmed “with the advice and consent” of the Senate and “shall hold their Offices during good Behavior.”

· Judges may hold their position for the rest of their lives, but many resign or retire earlier. They may also be removed by impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. Throughout history, fourteen federal judges have been impeached due to alleged wrongdoing.

· Each district court has at least one United States District Judge and sometimes many more. District Courts handle trials within the federal court system — both civil and criminal. The districts are the same as those for the U.S. Attorneys, and the U.S. Attorney is the primary prosecutor for the federal government in his or her respective area.

· There are over 670 District Court judges nationwide.

· Once the Federal District Court has decided a case, the case can be appealed to a United States Court of Appeals aka Circuit Courts. There are twelve federal circuits that divide the country into different regions. The Fifth Circuit, for example, includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Cases from the district courts of those states are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

· Each circuit court has multiple judges, ranging from six on the First Circuit to twenty-nine on the Ninth Circuit. Circuit court judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

· Any case may be appealed to the circuit court once the district court has finalized a decision. Appeals to circuit courts are first heard by a panel, consisting of three circuit court judges. Parties file “briefs” to the court, arguing why the trial court’s decision should be “affirmed” or “reversed.” After the briefs are filed, the court will schedule “oral argument” in which the lawyers come before the court to make their arguments and answer the judges’ questions.

· Beyond the federal circuit, a few courts have been established to deal with appeals on specific subjects such as veterans claims (United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims) and military matters (United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces).

· There is one more level of appeal. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the American judicial system and has the power to decide appeals on all cases brought in federal court or those brought in state court but dealing with federal law.

· For example, if a First Amendment freedom of speech case was decided by the highest court of a state (usually the state supreme court), the case could be appealed to the federal Supreme Court. However, if that same case were decided entirely on a state law like the First Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States would not be able to consider the case.

· After the federal circuit court or state supreme court has ruled on a case, either party may choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. Unlike circuit court appeals, however, the Supreme Court is usually not required to hear the appeal. Parties may file a “writ of certiorari” to the court, asking it to hear the case. If the writ is granted, the Supreme Court will take briefs and conduct oral argument. If the writ is not granted, the lower court’s opinion stands.

· Certiorari is not often granted; less than 1% of appeals to the high court are actually heard by it. The Supreme Court typically hears cases when there are conflicting decisions across the country on a particular issue or when there is an egregious error in a case.

· The members of the Supreme Court are referred to as “justices” and, like other federal judges, they are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a life term. There are nine justices on the court — eight associate justices and one chief justice. The Constitution sets no requirements for Supreme Court justices, though all current members of the court are lawyers and most have served as circuit court judges. Justices are also often former law professors. The chief justice acts as the administrator of the court and is chosen by the President and approved by the Congress when the position is vacant.

· The Court’s position as the court of last appeal and as the highest court in the land means that its decisions are binding and largely unchangeable. Once the Court has ruled, its decisions have all the effect and permanency of law.

· The Supreme Court meets in Washington, D.C. The court conducts its annual term from the first Monday of October until each summer, usually ending in late June.

One of the first action steps I took the day after the election was to join the ACLU. I think that is interesting in hindsight. I wonder if my inner God Spark gave me the nudge. I believe the ACLU will be a key player in the days and months to come so I want to understand their playing field. Thus I have much more to learn about the federal courts — especially the workings of the Supreme Court with the announcement of a justice nomination imminent. I will keep reading, learning and writing about this branch of the government.

I wonder if Trump is doing the same — especially with the setback he received over the weekend. Before the inauguration, Paul Ryan stated in a 60 Minutes interview he was tutoring Donald Trump on the Constitution. Clearly he has not gotten as far as the Judicial Branch or if he has, Trump is a very poor student. Were the stakes not so high, this would be funny, but the stakes are very high and I see no humor in this terrible situation we find ourselves in.

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Commentary: November 20, 2024

In this moment, trump faces 91 felony counts across two state courts and two different federal districts, any of which could potentially produce a prison sentence.

He’s also dealing with a civil suit in New York that could force drastic changes to his business empire, including closure of its operations in his home state. He lost a libel suit to E. Jean Carroll and settled several suits with New York Attorney General Leticia James. After the 2020 presidential election, he filed 64 election challenges citing voter fraud. 61 failed or were thrown out.

For the first time in his life, trump is being held accountable for his actions — not by politicians or individual citizens but by the United States Judicial system which on its best days protects and maintains “the rule of law” in this country.

That is the “good news” in the Zen Buddhist fable I posted yesterday. Just like the fable though, I see the “bad news” side of the equation today.

I am frustrated because:

· Trump has money. He has spent tens and tens of millions of dollars on lawyers funding frivolous and fraudulent cases and appeals after appeals after appeals and and and…. The unfairness of his funding makes me want to vomit especially because that money has been raised on his grift.

· Our court system moves at the pace of a glacier. Such deliberation is meant to allow all parties time to prepare and think and do discovery and due diligence and all sorts of normal preparation. In trump’s hands, that good will is used to delay and lie and delay and manipulate and intimidate and bombast, threaten and incite violence upon witnesses, court personnel, opposing counsel and their families. “Delay and intimidate” is his primary strategy.

· Our courts and judges take the Constitution and federal statues very seriously. Trump challenges every word, every detail, every comma, and every period. Most judges have not had to search that deeply for the intention of our founding fathers and to make rulings on such fine detail. There is ambiguity. Heinous trump exploits that ambiguity to his cruel advantage. That is so apparent with the current struggle of judges issuing partial gag orders to protect staff and witnesses versus trump screaming his First Amendment rights are being violated. The judges are in a tight place for if they issue even a partial gag order, they understand trump will appeal the case if it is found against him. Still the judges have a duty to protect staff and the witnesses which move the case forward. What a legal conundrum.

This morning I am grateful for all the judges, prosecuting attorneys, their staff, witnesses and the men and women who have given time to be part of grand juries and sit on criminal and civil juries to render judgement on the egregious illegal activity of trump. The “good news” is that we have a judicial system in this country to further and maintain the rule of law.

I just pray that my “bad news villager parts” are wrong that the cruelty, money and constant barrage of evil coming against the courts could work in trump’s favor. I do not doubt for a second, he seeks to destroy the United States Judicial System as he sought to subvert the Congressional Branch and overthrow the Executive Branch. He is a malignant narcissist and thus a very dangerous human being. He deserves to be in a psychiatric ward of a prison.

I am not doing so well with equanimity this morning.