In each of the _territories_ there are supreme and district courts established by Congress in pursuance of its power to provide for the government of the territories, but they are not considered as a part of the judicial system of the United States, although the judges are appointed by the President.[103] [103] In most of the countries of continental Europe there is a special class of tribunals called "administrative courts" to decide controversies between private individuals and the public authorities. There are no such courts in the United States, although the customs court, the court of claims, and the interstate commerce commission bear some resemblance to an administrative court. Many "administrative" questions are decided by such officials as the secretary of the treasury, the commissioner of immigration, and the commissioner of patents. =Constitutional Protections in the Federal Courts.=--The Constitution contains a number of provisions intended to protect accused persons against unauthorized prosecutions in the federal courts, as well as against arbitrary procedure in the course of the trial. As the Constitution originally stood, it contained few provisions of this kind; and this fact constituted one of the most serious objections urged against the ratification of that instrument. In consequence of this the first ten Amendments were adopted in 1790, and of these no less than five relate to the rights of accused persons on trial in the federal courts. Most important of all, perhaps, the _Sixth Amendment_ declares that in criminal prosecutions (in the federal courts) the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; that he shall be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; that he shall have the right to be confronted by the witnesses against him; that he shall have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and that he shall have the assistance of counsel for his defense.[104] [104] The purpose and meaning of these guarantees are discussed in chapter vi, pp. 118-119. The _Fifth Amendment_ protects the accused from prosecution in capital cases or cases involving infamous crime except upon indictment by a grand jury. Some of the states, as we have seen, have abolished the grand jury, and provided for prosecutions in their courts without the intervention of such an agency, but no person may be prosecuted in a federal court for a serious crime until he has been held for trial by a grand jury. The same amendment also forbids the trial of a person a second time for the same offense, if he was acquitted on the first trial; declares that he shall not be compelled to testify against himself; that he shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.