This document provides a summary of the United States and state court systems, including: - The structure and selection of judges in the federal court system established by the Constitution compared to state court systems established by state laws and constitutions. - The process for appealing decisions within the federal and state court hierarchies. - The differences between civil and criminal cases and their jurisdiction in state and federal courts.

1. United States Judicial System
Comparison of State and Federal Courts
The Federal Court System The State Court System
STRUCTURE
Article III of the Constitution governs
the judicial power of the United States
in the federal court system. Article III,
Section 1 creates the U.S. Supreme
Court and gives Congress the authority
to create the lower federal courts.
The Constitution and laws of each state establish the
state courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court.
Some states also have an intermediate Court of
Appeals and below them, the state trial courts, also
referred to as Circuit or District Courts.
There are 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, 94
U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of
Claims, and the U.S. Court of
International Trade. The U.S.
Bankruptcy Courts handle bankruptcy
cases.
States also have courts that handle specific legal
matters, e.g., probate court (wills and estates); juvenile
court; family court; etc.
Parties dissatisfied with a decision of a
U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of
Claims, and/or the U.S. Court of
International Trade may appeal to a U.S.
Court of Appeals.
Parties dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court
may take their case to the intermediate Court of
Appeals.

2. A party may ask the U.S. Supreme Court
to review a decision of the U.S. Court of
Appeals, but the Supreme Court is
under no obligation. The U.S. Supreme
Court is the final authority on federal
constitutional questions.
Parties have the option to ask the highest state court to
hear the case.
SELECTION OF JUDGES
Federal judges are nominated by the
President and confirmed by the
Senate.
They hold office during good behavior
for life. Federal judges may be removed
from office for misbehavior through
impeachment proceedings.
State court judges are selected through:
 election,
 appointment for a given number of years,
 appointment for life, and
 combination of these methods, e.g.,
appointment followed by election.

3. The Difference between a Civil Case and a Criminal Case
Civil cases involve private conflictsbetween persons or businesses. Criminal cases involve actions
considered to be harmful to the whole society.
Civil Case Criminal Case
A civil case begins when a person or
organization determines that a problem cannot
be resolved without court intervention.
The government, on behalf of the people of
the United States, pressing charges against
individuals or organizations suspected of
committing crimes.
Civil suits are brought in both state and federal
courts. An example of a civil case in a state
court would be if a citizen or a corporation
sued another citizen for dishonoring a
contract.
In some criminal cases, there may not be a
specific victim. For example, state
governments arrest and prosecute people
accused of violating laws against driving while
intoxicated because society regards that as a
serious offense that can result in harm to
others.
Individuals, corporations, and the federal
government can bring civil suits in federal
court claiming violations of federal statutes or
constitutional rights. For example, an
individual could sue a local police department
for violation of his or her constitutional rights,
for instance, the right to assemble peacefully.
When a court determines that an individual
committed a crime, that person will receive a
sentence. The sentence may be a fine and/or
restitution to the victim, imprisonment, or
community service, or some combination of
all three.

4. Resolution of International Disputes
Subject matter jurisdiction concerns the area of law which a court has authority. There are two
types of subject matter jurisdiction: Federal Question Jurisdiction and Diversity Jurisdiction.
Federal Question Jurisdiction:
Federal courts can decide cases involving disputes under federal law, the U.S. government,
conflicts between states or between the U.S. and foreign governments. However, the case needs
to arise under “federal question” in order to be heard in a federal court.
Diversity Jurisdiction:
Diversity jurisdiction involves citizens of different states where the amount in controversy
exceeds $75,000. The case can be filed in either federal or state courts.
Personal Jurisdiction:
Personal jurisdiction addresses whether a court has authority over an individual or business entity.
For example, a court in Virginia cannot make a California resident come to Virginia to defend a
lawsuit if he has never had contact with that state. Under the Virginia’s long arm statute, one
needs to have had contact with someone in that state, go to that state, or sell something to a
Virginian resident. Similarly, foreigners cannot be forced to be sued in U.S. courts unless the
foreigner has had contacts with people in the U.S. relating to the case.
Service of Process on Foreign Defendants:
The attorney is responsible for submitting all necessary documents and/or mailing materials to
the Clerk’s Office in paper form.
Service upon an individual in a foreign state (U.S. Court)
Service upon an individual from whom a waiver has not been obtained and filed may be effected
in a place not within any judicial district or the U.S., by any form of mail requiring a signed
receipt, to be addressed and dispatched by the clerk of the court to the party to be served.
Answer deadline for an individual in a foreign state (U.S. Court)
Defendant shall serve an answer within twenty (20) days after being served with the summons
and complaint; or if service of the summons has been timely waived, within ninety (90) days

5. after the date when the request for waiver was sent if the defendant was addressed outside any
judicial district of the United States.
Service is deemed to have been made as of the date of receipt indicated in the certification,
signed and returned postal receipt, or other proof of service applicableto the method of service
employed.
Default Judgment
A default can be entered against foreign defendants, if the summons and complaint were
properly executed and the answer deadline has passed. The judge may request that the judgment
be served upon the defendant(s) and should state specifically which rule to follow.
Acceptance of Service
An affidavit must be filed to indicate that it was mailed to the defendant by providing notice ten
(10) days in advance of the date of judgment. It must accept by signing proof of service and
indicating jurisdiction in which it was accepted.
Foreign Enforcement Judgments (Korea)
Jurisdiction:
According to Article 218 of Civil Procedure Act of South Korea, a final and conclusive
judgment by a foreign court shall be recognized and enforced in Korea if all of the following
requirements are met:
The foreign court which issued the judgment had jurisdiction over the case consistent with
Korean law and relevant international treaty; the defeated party received timely service of
complaint and summons and by lawful method excluding service by public notice, or responded
to the lawsuit without being served; the foreign judgment does not violate good, moral and social
order of South Korea; and there exists a mutual guarantee between South Korea and the foreign
jurisdiction where the judgment was issued.
A Korean court will enforce a foreign judgment if the above requirements are satisfied. Most
foreign commercial judgments are enforced with little difficulty.
Service of Process:
A Korean court requires proper service of process under the Hague Convention. Even though
South Korea is a party to the Convention, Korea objected to service by mail, which was
recognized by the U.S. court. A Korean court is also wary of enforcing a default judgment, since
the Korean party has not had the opportunity to appear and state his case. This leads to the
foreign party being required to sue in a Korean court, a process that is often less time-consuming
and costly than in the U.S. court. It is advisable to obtain a pre-judgment writ of attachment to

6. tie up its assets and file it to enforce the U.S. judgment if the company is not well-established,
since a financially troubled company spends down assets in order to avoid outstanding debts.
International Commercial ArbitrationProcedures and Rules
The international business community uses arbitration to resolve commercial disputes arising in
the global business community. International commercial arbitration awards are recognized by
most national courts even more than foreign judgments. The International Centre for Dispute
Resolution (ICDR) is the international division of the American Arbitration Association (AAA)
charged with the administration of all AAA’s international matters. The New York Convention
of 1958 was ratified by 147 states (192 UN), where it recognizes every foreign award regardless
of the country where it was rendered.
Mediation and Arbitration
Mediation provides the parties the opportunity to resolve issues and arbitration lets them predict
and control their liability risks. The parties might wish to submit their dispute to an international
mediation prior to arbitration. An impartial and independent mediator assists the parties in
reaching a settlement but does not have the authority to make a binding decision or award. If the
parties want to adopt mediation as a part of their contractual dispute settlement procedure, they
can include a mediation clause into their contract along with a standard arbitration procedure.
In drafting a contract, the parties may want to include a dispute resolution process in their
contract language that starts with an agreement to negotiate in good faith, followed by a
mediation session, followed by binding arbitration if the parties cannot resolve their legal dispute.
The goal is to ensure that the dispute ends as quickly, fairly, and amicably as possible.
Parties are encouraged, when writing their contracts or when a dispute arises, to discuss an
appropriate method for selection of arbitrators or any other matter that might facilitate efficient
arbitration. The parties are free to adopt any mutually agreeable procedure for appointing
arbitrators, or designate arbitrators upon whom they agree either in their written contracts or
after a dispute has arisen. If the parties are unable to agree on a procedure for appointing
arbitrators or on the designation of arbitrators, the ICDR will appoint the arbitrators after
consultation with the parties. These Rules are intended to provide prompt, effective, and
economical arbitration services.
Subject to any applicable law, any party may be represented by persons of the party’s choice. The
names and addresses of such persons shall be communicated in writing to all parties and to the
ICDR.

7. Mediation conferences and related mediation communications are entirely confidential and can
be made a part of the arbitration agreement. The parties and their representatives may attend
mediation conferences but other persons may attend only with the permission of the parties and
with the consent of the mediator.
Mediation and commercial arbitration save businesses time and money in resolving commercial
disputes, with greater control over outcomes and confidentiality. It is imperative to carefully draft
a commercial arbitration agreement for successful arbitration of all parties. Attorneys should
consider all angles of a commercial arbitration agreement to provide the best possible outcome
for their business clients.
The following provides possible contractual disputes that may arise between the United States
and South Korea.
The United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) which was approved by
Congress and entered into force on March 15, 2012, follows current U.S. FTA practice in two
types of formal dispute settlement: (1) State-State, applicable to disputes between the KORUS
FTA Parties, and (2) investor-State, applicable to claims against one party by an investor of the
other party for breach of an investment obligation.
An unsuccessful defendant in a State-State dispute would be expected to remove the challenged
measure; remedies for non-compliance include compensation and the suspension of KORUS
FTA obligations (e.g., impose a tariff surcharge on the defending Party’s products) and,
alternatively, payment of a fine to the prevailing Party in the dispute or into a fund that may be
used to assist the defending Party in complying with its obligations in the case. If the United
States or South Korea were found to have violated an investment obligation in an investor-State
dispute, the tribunal would be authorized only to make a monetary award to the investor and
thus could not direct the State defendant to withdraw the challenged measure. If the State
defendant did not comply with the award, the investor might seek to enforce it under one of the
international arbitral conventions to which the United States and South Korea are a party.
The United States imports capital from South Korea to a greater degree than it does from parties
to other United States investment agreements, and South Korean investment in the United States
may continue to grow. While this situation may create a greater potential for investor-State
disputes than it exists under most other United States investment agreements, the extent to
which disputes involving South Korean investors that might arise depend upon a variety of
factors and interests unique to an investor’s individualsituation and thus remains speculative. As
of March 2012, the United States has prevailed in all investor-Statecases brought against it.

8. Decisions
Publication of Court Opinions
Judicial opinions are accessible to the public through easily availabletechnology. The federal
courts’ electronic docketing allows the public to access court records through the Judiciary’s
Internet based system, Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER, www.pacer.gov/), an
on-line service that allows users to obtain access to orders and opinions from the federal
appellate, districtand bankruptcy courts, or to search a national index of case and party names.
Many courts also make their opinions available on the local court’s public website.
Moreover, Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis make court opinions, statutes, and other legal materials
available to the bar and public commercially. Examples of Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals
opinions include: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court; www.law.cornell.edu/;
and http://law.justia.com/.
Accessing PACER
To use PACER, you must register which is free but access to the web-based PACER systems is
$0.10 per page. Users will be owed no fees until a user accrued more than $15 per quarter. Users
can also learn how to use PACER with the free PACER training site available at
https://dcecf.psc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/ShowIndex.pl/.
Accessing CourtWeb
http://courtweb.pamd.uscourts.gov/courtweb/
Information on selected recent opinions of Federal Court judges who elect to make information
available to the public for free.
Please use the “Full Text Search” tab to search the entire text of all documents on file or the
“Quick Search” tab for a specific judge, case number, terms in the caption, or keywords in the
document’s summary.