General Litigation
| The Jurisdiction of a Federal Court |
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| Jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear and decide a case. A federal court's authority to hear a specific case comes from the United States Constitution and federal laws. It is necessary for a federal court to have both subject matter jurisdiction (power over the legal matter involved in the case) and personal jurisdiction (power over the parties to the lawsuit) for the court to make a legally valid decision in a case. More... |
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| Standards of Review for Appeals of Federal Administrative Hearing Decisions |
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| Federal agencies make administrative decisions in regulatory, entitlement, and enforcement cases. The agency can make an informal decision or hold a formal administrative hearing in a case. If the person or company affected by the decision is dissatisfied with the agency's decision, the decision is subject to review by a higher level within the agency or by a court. This article discusses the standards of review applied by a court in evaluating federal administrative agency decisions. More... |
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| Impeachment of Federal Judges |
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| Under the United States Constitution, the President of the United States, with the approval of the United States Senate, appoints federal judges. Federal judges are appointed for life but can be removed from office by impeachment. More... |
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| Grand Juries |
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| A grand jury's primary function is to listen to the evidence presented by the prosecutor and decide if someone should be indicted for a crime. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that all federal criminal charges must be brought by a grand jury indictment. About half the states use grand juries. The grand jury also has broad power to investigate crimes. Some states permit grand juries to investigate corruption, organized crime, and the alleged misconduct of public officials. An investigative grand jury has the power to subpoena witnesses. More... |
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| Settlement Conferences in State Appellate Courts |
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| The increased volume of appeals in cases has led to significant delays in finalizing an appeal. This has prompted state appellate courts to re-evaluate their case management procedures and adopt methods that promote speedier resolution of appellate cases. This article focuses on the use of settlement conferences prior to oral argument to reduce the backlog of cases and accelerate the appeal process. The stated goals of settlement conference programs are to encourage the settlement of appeals, simplify the issues, expedite appeals, and reduce costs. More... |
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