Mandatory Jurisdiction in the United States

Appellate authority that must be exercised in every case. Mandatory Jurisdiction at the appellate level is typically located in those courts that handle the first round of appeals. Intermediate appellate courts such as the United States court of appeals have Mandatory Jurisdiction. Litigants are entitled to one appeal as a matter of right; thus, an appeals court in a system with only a single level or tier of appellate courts must have Mandatory Jurisdiction. Mandatory Jurisdiction is the opposite of discretionary jurisdiction, where appellate courts may choose which cases to review. Courts with Mandatory Jurisdiction first receive an appeal and supporting brief from the losing party in a lower court. A response is then received from the opposing side, after which a date is set for oral argument. The court (or a smaller panel drawn from its membership) then meets in conference and arrives at a preliminary decision. A draft opinion is then prepared and circulated among the members of the court (or panel). If continued discussion does not alter either the outcome or the contents of the opinion, the decision and the accompanying opinion are announced. Individual opinions expressing agreement or disagreement, called concurring and dissenting opinions, respectively, may be issued by one or more of the judges. The conference and opinion drafting processes used by courts with Mandatory Jurisdiction closely resemble those of the discretionary jurisdiction appellate courts.

See Also

Abbreviated Procedures (Apellate Judicial Process) Appeal (Apellate Judicial Process) Discretionary Jurisdiction (Apellate Judicial Process).

Analysis and Relevance

Courts with Mandatory Jurisdiction must decide all cases that seek review. Because these courts cannot control their dockets, they are vulnerable to the pressure of case volume. One of the things courts with Mandatory Jurisdiction have done is develop processes to expedite disposition of cases. These alternative processing methods generally require substantial support staff. The staff can review each of the cases that has been filed and tentatively determine whether it requires full consideration or can be resolved with a more limited or abbreviated review. Limited treatment might include eliminating oral arguments, reaching a decision without conference discussion, or issuing only a very brief opinion. Courts with Mandatory Jurisdiction face the largest number of appealed cases, and the use of some or all of these abbreviated procedures is a technique that can relieve some of the pressure created by case volume.

Notes and References

1. Definition of Mandatory Jurisdiction from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California