Which answer best defines the power given to the Supreme Court in regard to original and appellate jurisdiction?
A) The Supreme Court has complete jurisdiction in all cases at a state and federal level.
B) The Supreme Court is only provided appellate jurisdiction if the case has previously been heard in a lower court.
C) The Supreme Court is only provided original jurisdiction and is not able to hear appeals on a case.
D) The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over any case involving constitutional law or federal statutes and has appellate jurisdiction from lower courts.
D) The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over any case involving constitutional law or federal statutes and has appellate jurisdiction from lower courts.
The answer is D) The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over any case involving constitutional law or federal statutes and has appellate jurisdiction from lower courts.
To determine the correct answer, let's break down the options and understand the meaning of original and appellate jurisdiction.
Original jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to be the first to hear and decide a case. In the context of the Supreme Court, this means that the Court can hear certain cases directly without them going through lower courts first.
Appellate jurisdiction, on the other hand, refers to the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts. In this case, the Supreme Court has the power to hear appeals from lower courts and review their decisions.
Now let's look at the options:
A) The Supreme Court has complete jurisdiction in all cases at a state and federal level.
This option is not accurate because it suggests that the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over all cases, both original and appellate, which is not the case.
B) The Supreme Court is only provided appellate jurisdiction if the case has previously been heard in a lower court.
This option is also not correct because it implies that the Supreme Court can only have appellate jurisdiction and cannot exercise original jurisdiction.
C) The Supreme Court is only provided original jurisdiction and is not able to hear appeals on a case.
This option is incorrect as it states that the Supreme Court only has original jurisdiction and cannot hear appeals. However, the Supreme Court does have the power to hear appeals.
D) The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over any case involving constitutional law or federal statutes and has appellate jurisdiction from lower courts.
This option accurately describes the power given to the Supreme Court. It states that the Court has original jurisdiction over cases involving constitutional law or federal statutes, and it also has appellate jurisdiction to review decisions made by lower courts.
Therefore, the correct answer is D) The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over any case involving constitutional law or federal statutes and has appellate jurisdiction from lower courts.