THE AMERICAN LEGAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEM| 365appeals courts usually get the fi nal word. Appeals courts did not always have this
much power; in fact, through much of the nineteenth century they had very lim-
ited appellate jurisdiction and did not hear many signifi cant cases.
The number of appeals courts slowly expanded as the workload grew, to the
current 12 regional courts (the 11 numbered districts shown in Figure 12.1, plus
the appeals court for the District of Columbia) and the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit, which handles specialized cases from all over the country. Today
the only appeals of district court cases that go directly to the Supreme Court and
bypass the appeals court are cases that concern legislative reapportionment and
redistricting, voting rights, and some issues related to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court sits at the top of the federal court system. The rest of this
chapter outlines many important aspects of the Court, including how cases get to
the Court, nominations, and judicial decision making. The immediate discussion
concerns the Court’s place within the judicial system and its relationship to the
other courts.
The Supreme Court is the “court of last resort” for cases coming from both the
state and the federal courts. One important function of the Court is to resolve con-
fl icts between lower courts, or between a state law and federal law, or between the
states, to ensure that the application and interpretation of the Constitution is con-
sistent nationwide. For example, before the Court took up the issue of affi rmative
action in higher education, there were several confl icting lower court decisions,
Source: U.S. Courts, Circuit Map, http://www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks (accessed 10/5/12).
MAP OF THE FEDERAL APPEALS COURTS
FIGURE » 12.1
AKCAAZ
NMTXOKKSCOUTNVOR
ID
WY SDNDNEMN
WI MIINKYOH
WVNCVAPANYVT NHMEMA
2 1346789105 11RI
CT
NJ
DE
MD
DCSCILIAMOARLAMS ALTNGAFLMTWAHI