48 USC 1424 – District Court of Guam; local courts; jurisdiction
(a) District Court of Guam; unified court system
(1) The judicial authority of Guam shall be vested in a court established by Congress designated as the “District Court of Guam”, and a judicial branch of Guam which branch shall constitute a unified judicial system and include an appellate court designated as the “Supreme Court of Guam”, a trial court designated as the “Superior Court of Guam”, and such other lower local courts as may have been or shall hereafter be established by the laws of Guam.
Terms Used In 48 USC 1424
- Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
- Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(2) The Supreme Court of Guam may, by rules of such court, create divisions of the Superior Court of Guam and other local courts of Guam.
(3) The courts of record for Guam shall be the District Court of Guam, the Supreme Court of Guam, the Superior Court of Guam (except the Traffic and Small Claims divisions of the Superior Court of Guam) and any other local courts or divisions of local courts that the Supreme Court of Guam shall designate.
(b) Jurisdiction
The District Court of Guam shall have the jurisdiction of a district court of the United States, including, but not limited to, the diversity jurisdiction provided for in section 1332 of title 28, and that of a bankruptcy court of the United States.
(c) Original jurisdiction
In addition to the jurisdiction described in subsection (b), the District Court of Guam shall have original jurisdiction in all other causes in Guam, jurisdiction over which is not then vested by the legislature in another court or other courts established by it. In causes brought in the district court solely on the basis of this subsection, the district court shall be considered a court established by the laws of Guam for the purpose of determining the requirements of indictment by grand jury or trial by jury.