Our Federal System of Government
Session 27: Judicial Branch Overview

Materials

• Transparency: “Federal Court Structure” (Attachment N)
• Textbook

Instructional Activities

1. Review the tests on the executive branch, and allow students to correct answers for future study.
   
   
2. Explain that they are going to study the third branch of the national government.
   
   
3. The United States has a dual court system. There are federal courts, which handle (have jurisdiction over) cases involving federal laws, and state courts, which handle (have jurisdiction over) state matters. Define and briefly discuss the term jurisdiction.
   
   
4. Using the transparency (Attachment N), preview the structure of the federal court system.
   
   
5. Ask students to read the section in their textbooks dealing with the organization of federal courts for the next session.