Introduction to American Court System

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The federal statutes grant the criminal defendant the right to appeal a criminal conviction in the court of law. When the right to appeal has been granted by the state, the court appoints an attorney general to represent the indigent on appeal. After the criminal defendant has exhausted all the appeals without success he or she may file Habeas corpus petition which is a civil suit against the warden of the prison. The court can only grant the writ of a Habeas Corpus if the defendant can prove that the court which had sent a petitioner to prison was powerless to do so.

The criminal defendant has the right to an attorney from the first processes of a prosecution and continues if the defendant requests for an attorney during interrogation, preliminary court hearings and sentencing. However the right to trial by a jury is not guaranteed at all cases but it applies in more serious cases like the criminals whose conviction can result to incarceration for more than six months.

Court verdict and appeal of trial by the state

Illinois state has three levels, the circuit court level where complains are filled, the Appellate court which examines the recording of the lower court and finally the supreme court which provides the final verdict. Hence losing the trial at the circuit court, you can appeal to the Appellate court and finally the Supreme court gives its final verdict. The Federal statutes provide a criminal defendant with the right to appeal and this is granted to the United States court of appeal which has the last word in a case unless it is sent back to the trial court for additional proceedings.

Highest court and its jurisdiction

The court of Appeal has the final decision in a case and its decisions cannot be appealed to any other court. The court of Appeal has an Appellate jurisdiction coextensive with the limits of their respective districts in all criminal cases except the cases in which death sentences has been assessed.

References

Lax, J. (2012)."Constructing Legal Rules on Appellate Courts." American Political Science Review.

Ar kin, M. (1992). "Rethinking the Constitutional Right to a Criminal Appeal." University of California at Los Angeles Law Review 39.

Israel, J & Wayne R. L. (1993). Criminal Procedure and the Constitution: Leading Supreme Court Cases and Introductory Text. Multistate Legal Studies.