The American Legal System

In the United States, the disputes before the law are settled by impartial judges and juries. Because opposing sides in legal cases are almost always represented by professional advocates or attorneys, the American system is referred to as “adversarial.” The responsibility of the attorneys on each side of a dispute is to present their side of the argument in the best possible light. It is then up to the judge and jury to decide which “adversary” has made the best case.

To prevent miscarriages of justice, the American legal system allows jury trial decisions to be appealed to a higher court. At the appeals level, there are no juries. Instead, a panel of judges reviews the jury trial record to decide whether the original verdict was appropriate. While the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over a small number of cases, its primary role is to be the “court of last appeal.” Once the Supreme Court has decided a case, the decision is final.