LEGAL ADVOCATES LISTSERV- MAY 11, 2020
A common issue we discuss with advocates and victims is the difference between federal and state court systems. With the many recent orders from the various courts detailing changes to court rules and access in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we felt a quick overview of the issue might be useful for you
Generally, federal courts deal with issues over federal laws and constitutional issues, and consist of the United States Supreme Court, circuit courts of appeals, and federal district courts. Federal laws are laws that apply to the United States as a whole, for example: immigration laws; Title IX; Social Security Income laws.
State courts deal with issues over state law. In Minnesota those consist of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Minnesota Court of Appeals and district courts (also referred to as trial courts). In contrast to federal laws, state laws do not apply to the United States as a whole. Rather, state laws vary from state to state. A few examples of state law issues are divorce and child custody, orders for protection and harassment restraining orders, landlord/tenant, most criminal laws, and juvenile laws.
The federal court system and the state court system are separate entities with different processes and court rules. So, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, each court system has its own unique set of temporary rule changes. Look at the heading on the order to determine whether the order is from the federal court system or the state court system. Here examples of court orders from each court system:
For more detailed information, check out our webinar on this issue, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmBQSg5Hfm8.
Additional Resources:
https://www.lawhelp.org/resource/the-differences-between-federal-state-and-loc
