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Court History and Purpose

Jason Purdee
CJS 251
November 1, 2015
Sylvia S. Beaver, JD

The courts are responsible for deciding upon cases and determining what happens to
individuals who violate the law. They also help settle disputes among individuals and businesses.
The courts are designed to be fair and respectful to both sides in each case and to make a
decision based upon the truth. Often there is a jury that sits in on the criminal hearing and makes
the verdict of guilty or not guilty for the court. After that the judge passes his judgement and the
case is then settled. There are many different types of court systems and each court is separate
and distinct from one another.
We have what is known as a dual court system composed of the state and federal court
system. They are both separate but often overlap. In this type of system, the federal court system
makes the laws but it also allows for the states to make their own laws. At both on the federal
and state system, there is a hierarchy of court systems. The higher courts have the power to
control the actions and decisions of the courts lower than them. Since federal and state laws often
overlap the federal government is given the say over interstate commerce. Their say often
supersedes or trumps over state laws and their decisions.
The early legal codes have played a major role in the development of the legal codes that
we use to this day. The earliest known legal code was the code of Hammurabi. It was based on
the eye for an eye philosophy. The first written legal code was in 450 B.C. and it was written
on 12 ivory tablets. These codes were based on retributive justice. These two types of legal code
were what signaled the emergence of formalized law. Although legal codes have changed
significantly throughout the years they are basically the same and have the same function in the
criminal justice system. Modern legal codes not only enforce certain laws and prohibit criminal

conduct but they also provide individuals with important rights such as the right to a minimum
wage.
Common law came about after the start of writing down decisions by the judges that were
then passed on to the other judges and courts in the area. When King William and his Norman
Dukes took over new territories they would take over the courts and legal systems first thing.
This allowed for the judges to pass their judgments around to other courts so that the law was
considered uniform among the courts. After that the laws came to be known as common law. By
the judges passing their decisions around and those decisions coming to be known as common
law it ensured that all individuals were dealt with in a fair manner and given the same
punishment.
As more and more judges wrote down their decisions and they were passed around so
that law was uniform. Those decisions became precedent. That meant that all new judges would
base their decisions off of the decisions made by earlier judges. So all decisions that were still
morally and publically accepted held precedent over the decisions that were to be made in the
courtroom by current judges. Criminals could then know in advance what their punishment
would likely be. This helped to deter crime in some cases.
The court system is important to the criminal justice system today as they have two vital
roles. These two roles are oversight and adjudication. The court system oversees the operations
and conduct of all other criminal justice officials. They are also responsible for adjudication of
complaints and for dispute resolution.
They are responsible for making sure that each individuals rights that are given to them
through the bill of rights or through the constitutional rights are upheld and not violated.

The court system is designed to uphold the law while they also ensure due process for
individuals that are involved in cases in the criminal justice system.
The court system also has to be accountable. They do not serve their own purpose or give
out unequal punishment on the cases that they are held to make a judgement on. Instead they
pass judgement based on current law and ensure individual justice in each individual case.