N O T E S. 1. Family Courts. Where they exist, family courts are part of a state court system

1. Family Courts. Where they exist, family courts are part of a state court system. There are no family courts in the federal system. The best known branches of family law are domestic relations—divorce, marital separation, child custody—and in some states problems of juveniles. (In some states, juvenile problems are handled by juvenile courts.)

Proceedings in family courts will usually emphasize negotiations, rec­onciliation, and conciliation in order to try to avert more serious difficulty. However, family courts will also have available trial-type procedures for use if disputes cannot be resolved. The rules of civil trial procedure usually will be followed. Family courts do not generally use juries; their proceedings are most often before judges alone.

In addressing issues of domestic relations, family courts are empowered not only to arrange or supervise separation agreements, but also to grant divorces. In granting decrees of divorce, the courts will customarily divide assets and liabilities, make awards of alimony and child support, and award child custody.

In confronting problems of juveniles, family and juvenile courts may seek to rely upon highly informal advisory or counseling sessions, or may use more formal procedures that will have some of the aspects of a criminal trial. In some jurisdictions, these courts are empowered to issue orders requiring that older juveniles be tried as adults in regular criminal courts.

Judgments of family or juvenile courts in juvenile cases may actually lead to forms of confinement in specialized institutions, but their stated purpose is to provide treatment rather than punishment.

Proceedings regarding juveniles customarily are not open to the public, in order to protect juvenile reputations. Divorce proceedings and other family court proceedings are often open to the public.

2. Probate Courts. Special courts to administer estates exist in a few states. They are known by such names as probate courts or orphans' courts or surrogate courts. In other states these matters are handled by general or limited jurisdiction courts. It is their task to interpret last wills in the event of uncertainty or conflict over the will's meaning, or to determine rights to an estate (where the deceased person has died "intestate," or without a will). Probate courts supervise the distribution of estates. Probate courts demonstrate one of the most important purposes of courts in our society— they make a formal record of legal status of property. Procedures in probate courts may be very brief or summary in form (as when wills are self-executing, and the probate court need only review them briefly to deter­mine their legal sufficiency and authenticity) or the procedures may develop into full-scale adversary proceedings. Probate courts are usually judge-only tribunals, though jury trials may be available for adversary proceedings.

3. Claims Courts. In a few states, and at the federal level, special tribunals are authorized to hear and determine claims for money damages against government agencies. (In most states, these claims are heard by general or limited jurisdiction courts.)

They are a form of civil court that, by use of conventional procedures, will determine whether a person or company doing business with the gov­ernment, or a person employed by government, or a person whose property is damaged by the government (e.g., as in an accident with a government vehicle), has been wronged in that relationship, and is entitled to recover damages.

4. Small Claims Courts. Separate small claims courts exist in a few states. Generally, small claims are handled by general or limited jurisdiction courts applying special procedures. A handful of states have no small claims pro­cedures.

Generally, a small claims court is a miniature, or simplified, civil court, with jurisdiction limited to amounts under a figure set by law. Usually the amount in dispute is not enough to require the full panoply of formal court procedures. Small claims courts save people the expense of a regular civil lawsuit. The claim may involve a dispute over money or over property, provided that the amount in dispute is below a specified figure.

These courts usually are conducted without attorneys for either side. (For this reason, they are sometimes known as "pro se," courts, from the Latin phrase meaning "for oneself.") The judge, acting alone, will seek to determine whether there is a just claim, and if so, how much it is to be. The process is usually highly informal. Usually decisions cannot be appealed in a higher court.

5. Justice of the Peace. A judicial officer empowered to try minor civil and criminal cases, such as traffic violations or breaches of peace. In some areas, he conducts preliminary hear­ings to determine whether a person should be held for trial in a higher court. The justice of the peace is usually elected in rural areas and small towns for a two-year term. In some states this office is by executive appointment. He isgenerally paid through fees. Not many justices are learned in the law, although a few states require a law degree. The fee system, it is charged, leads to corruption and biased judgment. In many urban areas, the office of justice of the peace is being replaced by municipal courts.

6. Magistrate. A minor judicial officer, usually elected in urban areas, with jurisdiction over traffic violations, minor criminal offences, and civil suits involving small amounts of money. Magistrates may also conduct preliminary hearings in serious criminal cases and commit the offender to trial in a higher court. In some areas the magistrate court is called a police court, and its authority is similar to that of a justice of the peace serving in a rural area. Juries, though rarely, used in magistrate courts, may consist of only six jurors.

Magistrate courts have been established to handle the large number of cases which arise in urban communities. Un­like the justice of the peace, a magistrate is usually paid a salary rather than a fee per case. The magistrate can dispose of large numbers of petty offences, thereby relieving the bur­den on higher courts and facilitating matters for offenders. Increasingly, cities are turning to specialized courts, such as traffic courts and domestic relations courts, to handle the large volume of work.