Small-claims Courts in The United States
The movement to establish small-claims courts typically began in the early 1960s, when justice of the peace courts were increasingly being seen as obsolete and it was felt to be desirable to have such a court to allow people to represent themselves without legal counsel. In New York State, the establishment of small claims courts came in response to the 1958 findings of Governor Thomas E. Dewey's Tweed Commission on the reorganization of the state judiciary. Since then, the movement to establish small-claims courts has led to their establishment in most U.S. states.
There is no equivalent to a small-claims court in the federal court. (Note that Congress has set the jurisdictional minimum for Diversity jurisdiction cases at $75,000). Magistrate judges are authorized to handle certain preliminary matters.
Since the year 2010, the costs of filing fees have increased in almost every state court system. Filing fees typically range from US$15 to $150, depending on the claim amount.
Read more about this topic: Small Claims Court
Famous quotes containing the words united states, courts, united and/or states:
“Ethnic life in the United States has become a sort of contest like baseball in which the blacks are always the Chicago Cubs.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“The courts used to be, fair and square, the avengers of secular crimes; but nowadays they demand respect even for the criminal.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“The House of Lords, architecturally, is a magnificent room, and the dignity, quiet, and repose of the scene made me unwillingly acknowledge that the Senate of the United States might possibly improve its manners. Perhaps in our desire for simplicity, absence of title, or badge of office we may have thrown over too much.”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)
“Life is a series of sensations connected to different states of consciousness.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)