Cjs_220_Week_Two

Court System Structure II When comparing the Oklahoma state courts with Maine’s’ state courts I notice a difference in the way they are set up. Maine State courts consist of four different types of courts which includes; “Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Maine Superior Court, Maine District Courts Maine, County Probate Court” nd NCSC (2011). As to where Oklahoma has seven different types of courts that include; “Oklahoma Supreme Court, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, Oklahoma District Courts, Court of tax review, Municipal Court Not of Record and Municipal Court of Record, Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court” nd OSCN (2011). The first three of Oklahoma courts, Oklahoma Supreme Court, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals are appellate level and the other four, Oklahoma District Courts, Court of tax review, Municipal Court Not of Record and Municipal Court of Record, Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court are trial level. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court Sitting as Law Court is appellate level and the other three courts, Maine Superior Court, Maine District Courts Maine, County Probate Court are trail level but do not have jury trials. “Maine Superior Court is the only court in Maine that has jury trials” nd NCSC (2011). The last resort courts for Oklahoma are the Supreme Court and the Court of criminal appeals. For Maine the last resort court is Supreme Judicial Court Sitting as Law Court. Oklahoma district court or county courts are in every county. They handle crimes that are committed in the county all the way to felonies. The district court also handles court appeals from the Municipal courts. The municipal court handles Traffic or other violations within the city limits. “The Oklahoma workers’ compensation court handles workers’ compensation cases throughout the state of Oklahoma” nd OSCN (2011). This court has limited jurisdiction and any appeals are referred to the Supreme Court. As to where Maine district court handles Tort, contract, real property rights, Exclusive small claims (up to $4,500), mental health.• exclusive domestic relations (except for adoption),•felony, preliminary hearings, misdemeanor, exclusive juvenile, traffic infractions, ordinance violations, exclusive parking. There are one or more District Courts in each county, The County Probate Court handles exclusive probate/estate jurisdiction and exclusive adoption. The structural set up of Maine’s court system is less complex than that of Oklahoma’s court system. Oklahoma has a court system that is larger than that of Maine. I believe that the layout of Oklahoma’s court system is better because you can have a trial even in the lowest courts. To me that represents a fair and speedy trial. Maine you have to wait for the “Superior Court justices to travel to the different counties to hold court” nd Maine.gov (2011). References: Maine.gov. Maine Judicial Branch January 2011 Retrieved from www.courts.state.me.us National Center for State Courts (NCSC) January 2011 Retrieved from www.ncsconline.org The Oklahoma state courts network (OSCN) January 2011, Retrieved from www.oscn.net