Good Essay On Courts

1. Distinguish between the jurisdiction of state of California and the federal court system.
The state of California has a court system comprised of two sets of courts. One of the systems is the California court system and the other system is the federal court system that operates in the state of California (Judicial Council of California 2015). The courts that are under the jurisdiction of California are the state courts. Within these state courts, there are two levels: superior court and appellate court. The courts that are part of California state court system and known as appellate courts are often referred to formally the California Supreme Court and the California Court of Appeals. These courts operate based on the California Constitution (Judicial Council of California 2015).
There federal courts are located in states and districts including California. However, even is the federal case is tried physically within the state of California. The court operates under the United States Constitution not the California Constitution. This is the important difference between the two systems. When a case is to be tried by the “highest court of the land” that case is tried by the United States Supreme Court (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts 2015). However, cases may be tried physically in the state of California. The types of federal court are the superior court and appellate court plus the United States district courts, which are trial courts. Federal criminal trials as well as the United States district courts are the trial courts of the federal court system as well as federal civil trials are conducted through these district courts. Besides states, there are also federal district courts in U.S. territories (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts 2015).
Examples of cases heard by U.S. federal courts regardless of location include bankruptcy cases as well as cases regarding civil rights, interstate commerce, national transportation regulations, and conflicts between states within the United States. Examples of cases tried in the California court system include traffic cases, divorces, probate, child custody, juvenile delinquency cases, and some criminal cases (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts 2015).

Foreign Policy

2. Explain what national security policy is and identify the key policy-making actors in U.S. foreign policy.
National security policy (NSP) is an outline for explaining how and why the United States intends to keep its citizens and the country safe. Included in this outline is an explanation from the executive branch of the government and provided to the United States Congress. NSP describes what the President and Congress has decided what are the most important security factors to the United States as a whole and to its citizens. Examples of these factors include homeland security and the U.S. military (DCAF Backgrounder 2005).
The President is the single most important actor in U.S. foreign policy. The President is the commander in chief of the United States armed forces and the President is the country’s most important foreign policy diplomat (Glennon 12). Other actors include the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), which consists of a large group of authorities who work for the President. This head of the NSC is responsible for advising the President about matters of national security. The head of the NSC is a foreign policy expert and because of the special relationship that exists between the head of the NSC and the President the NSC head is an extreme powerful person (Glennon 13-14).
Another group of key policy makers that influence U.S. foreign policy are the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Glennon 193). This group includes the head of each branch of the armed forces. They answer directly to the President as well because the President is the commander in chief of the armed forces. If there is a need for military intervention or a military operation to enforce the goals of NSP, then the action will be taken by the Joint Chiefs of Staff  (Glennon 193). Other actors who have direct contact with the President are those who run and are members of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency (Glennon 33). The power that underlies all of these foreign-policy makers is directly related to their intimate relationship with the President.
At this time, other actors who have influence on foreign policy include the cabinet members: the Department of State, Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security (Glennon 103). In this age of terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security has taken center strategy because their goal is to actively protect the country and its citizens against foreign threats (The White House 2015). The Department of State is the diplomatic branch of the cabinet and its members deal with international diplomacy. The Department of Defense is the cabinet branch that organizes U.S. military personnel who are located in foreign countries (Glennon 103).

References.

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. “Cases in Federal and State Courts.” 2015. <http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-informed/federal-court- basics/cases-federal-state-courts.aspx>
DCAF Backgrounder. “National Security Policy.” Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), 2005. Print.
Glennon, Michael J. National Security and Double Government, 2015. Print.
Judicial Council of California. “Court Basics: How Courts Work.” 2015. <http://www.courts.ca.gov>
The White House. “Fact Sheet: The 2015 National Security Strategy.” 2015. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/06/fact-sheet-2015- national-security-strategy>