This book describes the structure and functions of state and federal judicial systems within the United States. The primary mission of the book is to introduce beginning law students and lawyers from other countries to the basics of the federal and state court systems of the United States, but sufficient detail is provided to make the book a handy reference source for anyone doing research on American courts. The appendices present detailed information about the judicial personnel and different structures of the federal and state courts. This new edition reflects the changes in case management procedures, court personnel, and, in some instances, state court structure that have been made over the past decade to deal with changes in the types and numbers of cases being filed with the courts.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: Coursebook
Publication Date: 10/22/2020

Daniel John Meador, University of Virginia School of Law

Gregory Mitchell, University of Virginia School of Law

CasebookPlus™

This title is available in our CasebookPlus format. CasebookPlus provides support beyond your classroom lectures and materials by offering additional digital resources to you and your students. Anchored by faculty-authored formative self-assessments keyed to our most popular casebooks, CasebookPlus allows students to test their understanding of core concepts as they are learning them in class – on their own, outside of the classroom, with no extra work on your part. CasebookPlus combines three important elements:

  • A new print or digital casebook
  • Access to a downloadable eBook with the ability to highlight and add notes
  • 12-month access to a digital Learning Library complete with:
Multiple-choice self-assessment questions, including:
  • Chapter questions keyed to the casebook
  • Black Letter Law questions (available in select subjects)
  • Subject area review questions for end of semester use
Essay and short answer questions with sample answers and expert commentary, in 1L and select upper-level subjects

Leading digital study aids, an outline starter, and audio lectures in select subjects

Students can still utilize CasebookPlus digital resources if they’ve purchased a used book or are renting their text by purchasing the Learning Library at westacademic.com.

With CasebookPlus, you can customize your students’ learning experience and monitor their performance. The quiz editor allows you to create your own custom quiz set, suppress specific quiz questions or quiz sets, and time-release quiz questions. Additionally, the flexible, customized reporting capability helps you evaluate your students’ understanding of the material and can also help your school demonstrate compliance with the new ABA Assessment and Learning Outcomes standards.

Every chapter in the book has been revised to present information more clearly and to reflect changes in the law, structure, and business of the courts over the past decade. All court diagrams and statistics presented in the appendices have been revised to provide accurate, up-to-date information, and the appendix containing suggestions for further reading and research has been overhauled to direct readers to other valuable, up-to-date resources.

Learn more about this series.