Organization and structure of California's court system

¶ … Courts of California

Organization and Structure

California courts system is the biggest in the country, serving a total population of 38 million people, which represents 12% of the total population of the U.S. Many cases here begin at one of the 58 superior courts or a trial court which is found n every of the 58 counties in this state. There are over 500 court buildings in this state. The functions of these courts are to hear criminal and civil cases together with the family cases, mental health cases, probate cases, traffic cases and juvenile cases, among others. The next level of the judicial authority is found at the Courts of Appeal (McGovern & Greenberg 2014). The cases that come to this court are a review of the superior court decisions. Here, the legislature subdivided the geography of the state into six appellate districts. The third and the highest of the courts is the Supreme Court. The work of this court is to serve and review the decisions that are made at the Court of Appeal to settle questions and resolve conflicts arising from the decisions of the court of appeal. Moreover, the Supreme Court works to review the appeal in the case that the trial has imposed judgment on death. The structure of the courts is as shown below:

Qualifications of a Judge

The requirements to become a judge for the appellate and the trial courts are the same in California courts. The candidates must have ten years of experience while practicing law or have become judges of a court of record. For the superior courts, the qualifications are the same as those of the judges of the appellate courts and the trial courts (McGovern & Greenberg 2014).

Other Relevant Information

The California court system is the largest in the U.S. (Maerowitz & Mauet, 2008). It serves over 38 million of the population, a population that is 12% of that of the entire U.S.. The total court filings system is approximately 7.5 million cases as indicated in the 2013-2014 fiscal year. A total authorized judicial officer was above 2,024 in the trial courts. There are two court levels, which are the appellate court and the trial court, all of which are always busy with cases. There are 58 trial courts, each within the county, and serving its clients with no empty day. The highest court is the Supreme Court of California. There is also the judicial branches budget of close to 1.4% of the State General Fund, which is the highest allocation as compared to other courts in the U.S. The number of Californians summoned to the jury service during the 2012-2013 fiscal years approximated 7,883,670. The number of Californians who completed the service in this fiscal year was 2,885,038. This is an indication of how busy the California courts are busy (Maerowitz & Mauet, 2008).