Subject: Social Studies Type of Lesson: Field trip, web search, discovery

Grade: 10 CSEC OBJ: Describe the structure of Government

(Section A, # 22)

Term: 2 Unit Number # 1 - Government

and Title:

Duration: 35 minutes Week Number: 6

Lesson Number # 22 - The Structure of the court

and Title: System

Objectives
As a result of this lesson, the student will be able to:
1) list the types of courts present in the Jamaican court system.
2) diagrammatically reproduce the hierarchical structure of the
Jamaican Court System.
3) appreciate the functions of each court in the court system of
Jamaica.

Prerequisite Student Knowledge

The student should be familiar with:
1) the importance of the Judiciary system in Jamaica.
2) the composition, structure and function of the Judiciary.
3) the different types of court in the Jamaican court system.

Important Points
1) The court system is a five tiered system; that is, the system has five
levels.
2) At the lowest tier is the Petty Sessions Court. Appeals from this
court are heard in the circuit court convened in the same parish or
in special cases, at the Appeal Court.
3) Above the petty sessions tier is the Magistrates Court This is an
inferior court of record governed by statute law (as opposed to
common law). The level of sanctions imposed here is lower than
those imposed at the Supreme Court level.
a. Magistrates Courts preside over a range of courts at the
same tier such as the Family Court, the Tax Court, the
Drug Court and the Coroners Court among others.

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 b. Appeals from this court are heard at the Court of
Appeal.
c. It tries minor offences and conducts preliminary
inquiries regarding more serious (indictable) offenses
such as rape.
4) At the third tier the Supreme Court (called High Court in other
countries) is the highest first instance court. It is a court of superior
record with both inherent and statutory jurisdiction.
a. It presides over other specialized courts on this tier such
as the High and Circuit Court Divisions of the Gun
court and the Revenue Court.
b. It has jurisdiction in civil, criminal, family, commercial,
succession and admiralty cases. It has therefore a civil
division and a criminal division.
c. Appeals from this court are heard in the Court of
Appeal.
5) The fourth tier is occupied by the Court of Appeal. It is the court to
which all appeals are referred. It is presided over by a panel of
three judges.
6) The fifth and highest level is the Privy Council, more specifically,
the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
a. It is an English based court referred to by all Caribbean
countries except Guyana.
b. Appeals to this court are restricted to cases of certain
monetary value and cases of exceptional public
importance.

Key Terms

Court of Law Court of Appeal Magistrate Court

Petty Sessions Court Privy Council Supreme Court

Challenge Areas
Many argue that commissioned enquiries into cases involving the
government are just for show and a waste of money. In an essay:
1. Give your views on this argument; and
2. Evaluate the usefulness of establishing a permanent but
independent court designed solely to try cases involving the
government and government officials.

Equipment/Materials Needed
Computers, internet access, multimedia projectors; speaker; adobe
flash reader

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Note to Teacher
Be cautious with your use of sources based on the court system in the
United States of America. There are significant differences between
their system and ours. Be equally cautious with sources based on the
system in the United Kingdom as ours is an adaptation of theirs and
not a replica.

Teachers Lesson Notes

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Introduction
1) Introductory Activity
a. Prior to teaching this lesson, arrange a field trip to the
nearest court in your area into which your students will be
allowed. A worksheet or instrument to guide the students
recording of what they observe should have been prepared.
Elements that would have been covered include issues in
the box below:
Notes
Box 22.1: Observations from field trip
Ideally, have the
students submit
their worksheets at 1. The type and number of judges present;
the end of the trip 2. The presence or absence of a jury;
and check the
worksheet before 3. The presence or absence of police;
the lesson begins. 4. Role of the police in the sessions observed
5. The nature of the cases tried;
6. The number of cases tried for the period;
7. The number of cases that were completed;
8. The types of sentences/punishments issued (if any
is observed)

b. Allow the students to speak generally about their

experience; let them highlight the things they found
noticeable and discuss the things that left them puzzled.

c. After speaking generally about the experience, review the

worksheet and the answers given collectively. Through this
discussion, help them to use the information to determine:
i. The type of the court visited;
ii. The purpose of the court visited;
iii. The importance of the court visited.

d. For the purpose of revision, ask the students to identify the

roles of the judiciary that were evidenced in the court
sessions observed.
i. Direct students to the following website and ask
them to try to find the sections in the constitution
that must have guided the activities of the court that
they observed. Allow them to work in threes or
groups of an appropriate size at this point. This
website might be a little difficult to manoeuvre.
http://supremecourt.gov.jm/laws_of_jamaica

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Body of Lesson
1) How can we describe the Structure of the Court System?

a. Let the students continue to work in threes. Instruct them to

read through the contents of the page addressed below.
(Encourage them to explore the entire website on their
own.) Instruct them to use the information to create a
diagram of the structure of the court system.

(Ensure that the students do not click on the link at the

bottom of the page which shows a diagram of the court
structure.)
http://supremecourt.gov.jm/court_structure

b. Now use the multimedia projector to display Figure 22.1

below onto the board. Instruct the students to examine it
carefully (See PowerPoint slide 4) or direct the students to
click on the link below the page addressed above.

c. Use a full group discussion to assess the accuracy of the

charts developed by the students. Then follow up with the
questions below.

Figure 22.1: The Court System in Jamaica

http://supremecourt.gov.jm/sites/default/files/publications/J
amaican_Court_Structure.pdf

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 i. How many levels are there in the Jamaican court
system?
Expected answer: There are five levels in the court
system.
ii. Which is the court on the highest level of the
hierarchy?
Expected answer: The highest level of the system is
the Privy Council.
iii. Why is this court at the highest level of the system?
Expected answer: This is the final court of appeal.
It is above the others as it has the power to adjust or
even reject decisions made by the other courts.
iv. Give two differences between the Petty Sessions
court and the Magistrates Court.
Expected answer: The petty sessions court is
administered typically by a Justice of the Peace
while the Magistrates court is administered by
judges (magistrate judges); Only summary civil
cases are handled by the petty sessions court while
the magistrates court might handle preliminary
hearings for criminal cases.
v. Give two differences between the Privy Council and
the Court of Appeal.
Expected answer: The Court of Appeal is a local
body which serves Jamaica only while the Privy
Council is not Foreign based and serves most of the
members of the British Commonwealth; the former
addresses all sentences with which the complainant
is not satisfied as dealt with by lower courts while
the Privy Council is reserved for cases with
significant public implications.

d. Next, direct the students to the following websites where in

their groups of three, they will try to identify similarities
and differences in the structures of Jamaicas and the
United Kingdoms court systems. Have them record their
findings in a table similar to the one below.

http://www.justis.com/support/faq-courts.aspx (End
Notes reading at the first diagram.)
Expected answers are in colour.
Help students
learn to use tables
as analytical tools.

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 Table 22.1: Comparing Court Systems
The Court Systems of the United Kingdom and Jamaica
Similarities

i. Both systems have five tiers.

ii. They both use the Privy Council as the final appellate
court.
iii. Both systems have different mechanisms for dealing
with civil matters and criminal matters. This is for
example demonstrated at the fourth level of both
systems.
iv. Magistrates courts try similar cases under similar
conditions.
Differences
Aspect of court Jamaica United Kingdom
system
Names (example) Supreme Court High Court
Petty Sessions District Courts
courts
Levels Magistrate at 2nd Magistrate along
level with tribunals at 1st
level
Family court at the Family Division at
magistrate level the fourth level.
rd
Supreme court 3 Supreme court 5th
level level
The lists are not exhaustive.

2) What is the purpose of each court in our Court system?

a. If necessary, reshuffle the distribution of the class for the

completion of the following activity. The students will
create one PowerPoint presentation about the functions of
the courts in our court system. Each group will be assigned
one type of court for which they will create no more than
two slides showing:
i. The level of the court hierarchy at which the court
functions;
ii. The composition of the court;
iii. The main purpose of the court;
iv. Two examples of cases that are tried in that court.
Use pictures and video clips where possible to reinforce the
content presented.

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 The websites below can be used to by the students to access
information about each court assigned.

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring06/watson/index.html
http://www.nlj.gov.jm/?q=jamaican-civics
http://supremecourt.gov.jm/court_structure

b. Periodically check on the students progress to ensure the

accuracy of their understanding.

c. At the end of the allotted time, allow the students to collate

the slides into one presentation on the main computer.
Project the presentation onto the board and allow the
representative of each group to present accordingly.

d. Ensure that evaluations are done and that corrections are

made to presentation if necessary before sending it to the
students.

Closure
In Class Assignment
1) Tell students to work individually on this next task.
Below is a list of cases brought before courts in Jamaica.
For each of the cases listed:
a. Identify the court that related charges are most likely to
be heard in;
b. Identify this courts level in the hierarchy of Jamaican
courts
1. Petty theft
2. Murder
3. Wounding
4. Rape
5. Having and using an illegal/unlicensed
firearm
6. Constant trespassing (Using someones
home as a shortcut)
7. Child neglect
8. Having unpaid traffic tickets
9. Divorce
10. Child custody
Expected answers:
Type of case Court type and level Jury (yes/no)
Petty theft Resident Magistrates 2nd tier
Court

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 Murder Supreme court (only 3rd tier
preliminary hearing
may be held in the
resident magistrates
court)
Coroners Inquest Coroner's court or 2nd tier
Resident magistrates
court
Rape Supreme court (only 3rd tier
preliminary hearing
may be held in the
resident magistrates
court)
Illegal firearm The Gun Court 2nd tier
Trespassing Petty Sessions Court 1st Tier
Child Neglect Family court 2nd tier
Unpaid traffic tickets Traffic court in the 2nd tier
KMA
RMAs in other areas
Divorce Supreme court (civil 3rd tier
division)
Child custody Supreme court (civil 3rd tier
division)

Supplemental
Out-of-Class Assignment
1) Make a list identifying the names of the persons currently holding
the following offices in your country:
a. Chief Justice
b. Members of the Judicial Committee
c. Director of Public Prosecutions
d. A Senior Puisne judge
e. Two other Puisne Judges
2) Identify the locations of the following courts:
a. Family court
b. Gun court
c. At least two circuit courts
d. The supreme court;
e. The Privy Council

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Glossary of Terms

Court of Law This is a body constituting judges and or

magistrates, judges and law officers before
whom legal cases are heard or which administers
justice based on fair interpretation of the law.

Court of Appeal This is an appellate court; that is, a court which

reviews and is able to amend, return or otherwise
enhance decisions made by lower courts.

Magistrates A court presided over Resident Magistrates

Court (reside in the parish) which deals summary
offences or less serious crimes than those dealt
with by the court of Appeal. Examples include
traffic offences, granting of bar and dancehall
licences, and petty offences.

Petty Sessions A court presided over by Justices of the Peace

Court and which deal with cases which are less serious
than those handled by the Magistrates Court
such as interpersonal conflicts.

Privy Council This is an English based court which is used as

the final appellate court for countries in the
British Commonwealth including all Caribbean
countries (except for Guyana).

Supreme Court This is a court of high authority constituted by a

Chief Justice, a senior Puisne Judge and other
Puisne Judges. It has a criminal division (series
of circuit courts) and a civil division.

CSEC (type) Questions

1) The following is a list of courts:
Court of Appeal, Privy Council, Magistrates Court, High Court,
Coroners Court
a. Arrange and number the above listed courts in order of
the hierarchy of courts in the Jamaican court system
with number one representing the lowest level of the
court system. 3 marks
b. Explain the purpose of any TWO of the above courts
(except for the magistrates court). 4 marks

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 c. Name one other court that is found on the same level as
the Magistrates Court. 1 mark
d. Suggest THREE strategies that the government can use
to accelerate the rate at which cases are dealt with at the
Supreme Court level. 6 marks
e. Explain why each strategy you have suggested will
work. 6 marks
Total 20 marks

Recommended Materials
http://www.moj.gov.jm/court-locations
http://www.supremecourt.gov.jm/legal_system
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring06/watson/index.html
Bibliography
Brathwaite, S., Reynolds, P. (2004). Social Studies CSEC self study
and Distance Learning. Caribbean Examinations Council

Ruddock, L. C. and Robinson-Glanville, S. (1977). New Civics for

Young Jamaicans. Jamaica, Carlong Publishers.

Sandy, M. C., Grayson, S. C. (2004). Social Studies Essentials with

SBA, Study Guide and Exercises. Kingston: Carlong Publishers

Source:

Figure 22.1
http://supremecourt.gov.jm/sites/default/files/publications/Jamaican_C
ourt_Structure.pdf

Web sites used in this Lesson

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