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Abstract

The United States has a dual court system, meaning that there are courts on the federal, state, and local levels, each with a different jurisdiction or type of case it can hear. Each of these courts, regardless of their jurisdiction, faces problems such as overcrowding, backlogs, and sentencing disparities. The solutions to the problems are not always popular, and there are debates about how to deal with the issues. Over the years, presidents and Congress alike have proposed, debated, and even passed new policies to help the courts be more efficient and provide justice more fairly.

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© 2011 Nancy E. Marion

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Marion, N.E. (2011). Courts. In: Federal Government and Criminal Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230337619_3

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