The courts of the United States are closely linked hierarchical systems of courts at the federal and state levels. The federal courts form the judicial branch of the U.S. government and operate under the authority of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

and

federal law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a country has a central government as well as regional governments, such as subnational states or provinces, each with constituti ...

. The state and territorial courts of the individual U.S. states and territories operate under the authority of the state and territorial constitutions and state and territorial law. Federal statutes that refer to the "courts of the United States" are referring only to the courts of the federal government, and not the courts of the individual states and counties. Because of the federalist underpinnings of the division between sovereign federal and state governments, the various state court systems are free to operate in ways that vary widely from those of the federal government, and from one another. In practice, however, every state has adopted a division of its judiciary into at least two levels, and almost every state has three levels, with

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

s hearing cases which may be reviewed by

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

s, and finally by a state supreme court. A few states have two separate supreme courts, with one having authority over civil matters and the other reviewing criminal cases. 47 states and the federal government allow at least one appeal of right from a final judgment on the merits, meaning that the court receiving the appeal ''must'' decide the appeal after it is briefed and argued properly. Three states do not provide a right to a first appeal. Rather, they give litigants only a right to ''petition'' for the right to have an appeal heard. State courts often have diverse names and structures, as illustrated below. State courts hear about 98% of litigation; most states have courts of special jurisdiction, which typically handle minor disputes such as traffic citations, and courts of general jurisdiction responsible for more serious disputes.American Bar Association (2004)
How the Legal System Works: The Structure of the Court System, State and Federal Courts
In ''ABA Family Legal Guide''. The U.S. federal court system hears cases involving litigants from two or more states, violations of federal laws, treaties, and the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, admiralty,

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, and related issues. In practice, about 80% of the cases are civil and 20% criminal. The civil cases often involve civil rights, patents, and Social Security while the criminal cases involve tax fraud, robbery, counterfeiting, and drug crimes. The trial courts are U.S. district courts, followed by United States courts of appeals and then the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. The judicial system, whether state or federal, begins with a court of first instance, whose work may be reviewed by an appellate court, and then ends at the court of last resort, which may review the work of the lower courts. Institutions which may be considered courts of the United States are listed below.

United States Federal Courts

US Court of Appeals and District Court map

Geographic based jurisdiction

* Trial Courts:

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

s (see federal court sections by state below for specific district courts) ** List of United States district and territorial courts (94 courts, also listed by state below) * Appellate Courts: United States courts of appeals **

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

** United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ** United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit **

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western ...

** United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ** United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ** United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit **

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

* Court of last resort: **

Specific subject-matter jurisdiction

* United States federal courts with Original Jurisdiction over specific subject matter: ** United States Tax Court ** Patent Trial and Appeal Board ** International Trade Commission ** United States Court of International Trade **

United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal courts, United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government. It ...

** United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court **

United States bankruptcy court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...

s ** Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ** United States Merit Systems Protection Board ** United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court * Courts with Appellate Jurisdiction over specific subject matter: **

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has special appellate jurisdiction over certain categories of cases in the U.S. federa ...

** United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces *** United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals *** Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals *** Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals *** Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals ** United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ** United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review ** United States Court of Military Commission Review ** Civilian Board of Contract Appeals ** Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ** Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals ** Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition ** Board of Immigration Appeals **

Board of Veterans' Appeals The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) is an administrative tribunal within the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), located in Washington, D.C. Established by Executive Order on July 28, 1933, the Board reviews and makes decisions on ...

Former United States Courts

* Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (before 2012) *

Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

(1780–1789) * Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals (1971–1992) * United States circuit courts (1789–1911) * United States Commerce Court (1910–1913) * United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (1909–1982) * United States Court of Private Land Claims (1891–1904) * United States Court for Berlin (1955–1990) * United States District Court for the Canal Zone (1914–1982) * United States Court for China (1906–1943)

Courts by state of the United States

* State supreme courts **

State court (United States) In the United States, a state court is a court of law with jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. State courts handle the vast majority of Civil law (common law), civil and Criminal law of the United States, criminal ...

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Alabama

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Alaska

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Arizona

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Arkansas

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California

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Colorado

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Connecticut

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Delaware

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Florida

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Georgia

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Hawaii

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Idaho

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Illinois

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Indiana

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Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

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Maine

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Maryland

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Massachusetts

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Michigan

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

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Missouri

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Montana

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Nebraska

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

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New Jersey

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New Mexico

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New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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Ohio

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Oklahoma

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Oregon

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Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

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South Carolina

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South Dakota

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Tennessee

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Texas

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Utah

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Vermont

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Virginia

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Washington

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West Virginia

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Wisconsin

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Wyoming

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Courts in the District of Columbia

District of Columbia Court of Appeals The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United States. The court was established in 1942 as the Municipal Court of Appeals, and it has been the court of last resort ...

Superior Court of the District of Columbia The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving Criminal justice, criminal, Civil law (common law), civi ...

Federal courts located in the District of Columbia *

***

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

*** United States Tax Court **

*** United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ***

** United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ** United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review *** United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Former federal courts in the District of Columbia * United States District Court for the District of Potomac (1801–1802; also contained pieces of Maryland and Virginia; extinct, reorganized) ----

Courts of the Territories of the United States

American Samoa

* High Court of American Samoa

Guam

* Supreme Court of Guam ** Superior Court of Guam

United States territorial court

* District Court of Guam

Northern Mariana Islands

* Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court ** Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court

United States territorial court

* United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands

Panama Canal Zone

* United States District Court for the Canal Zone (abolished 1982)

Puerto Rico

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico () is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of the United State ...

(Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) ** Circuit Court of Appeals of Puerto Rico (Tribunal de Apelaciones) ** * Courts of First Instance of Puerto Rico (Tribunal de Primera Instancia; 13 divisions) Federal courts located in Puerto Rico: * United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

United States Virgin Islands

* United States Virgin Islands Supreme Court ** United States Virgin Islands Superior Court (2 divisions)

United States territorial court

* District Court of the Virgin Islands ----

Extraterritorial courts of the United States

* United States Court for China (1906 to 1943), appointed judge held court in cities in China including

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, Hankow, Tientsin, and Canton.Joseph Ragland, ''Outline of the Jurisdiction and Procedure of the Federal Courts'' (1917), p. 112–13, §81. * United States Court for Berlin (1979), existed on paper since 1955, but constituted in fact only once, to hear a single case.

U.S. judicial system in popular culture

Due to its involvement in the resolution of crimes and conflicts, which are an intricate part of

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, the U.S. judicial system is often portrayed in American literature and films. Several Hollywood films such as '' A Few Good Men'' (1992) and '' Runaway Jury'' (2003) are set around its courts.

References

External links

National Center for State Courts – directory of state court websites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courts Of The United States State court systems of the United States *List of Z United States law-related lists