Court

A legal forum for resolving disputes, reviewing matters of law, or adjudicating criminal matters. Both federal and state courts are based on a hierarchical system. The only court established by the U.S. Constitution (Article 3, Section 1) is the Supreme Court; all other courts are established by statute. Typically, federal courts are courts of general jurisdiction; they can handle both civil and criminal cases. The first level of the federal court system is the trial court, known as the U.S. District Court; all federal cases are tried in this court. Every state has at least one district court. The intermediate courts, known as the U.S. Court of Appeals or U.S. Circuit Courts, do not hear evidence; they serve as a medium for review and appeal of both state and federal cases. There are 13 federal circuit courts in the United States, and each has jurisdiction over a particular geographical area.

The highest appellate federal court is the U.S. Supreme Court. Their holdings constitute the supreme law of the land, and all other courts are bound by their decisions. Most cases come to the Supreme Court through writ of certiorari; four or more justices must agree to review to the case. Out of 6,000 petitions that are brought to the Supreme Court annually, approximately 200 cases are reviewed.

In the state system, the lower court is also the trial court. Depending on the state, they are known as circuit, district, superior, or municipal courts. These courts can be courts of general jurisdiction or courts of specialized jurisdiction. Specialized courts hear cases pertaining only to a particular area, such as family court, traffic court, or drug court. Most states have two appellate divisions, an intermediary appeals court and the highest [Page 118]state appellate division, known in most areas as the state supreme court.