Structure of the Courts | Branchesofgov

Structure of the Federal Court System

The Supreme Court

Apallete (Appeals) Courts

District Courts

Courts of appeal review all final decisions of district courts
Except rare situations where the law provides for direct review by the Supreme Court
75% of more than 61,000 cases filed in the courts of appeal each year come from district courts
The United States is divided in to 12 judicial circuits
Each circuit serves at least two states and has between 6 and 28 permanent circuit judges
There is a special appeals court called the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Congress made this court made of 12 judges to hear appeals in specialized cases
Ex. cases regarding patents, claims against the United States and international trade
In courts of appeal there are no trails and no testimonys

The Supreme Court resolves conflicts among the sates and maintains national supremacy of the law
They also ensure uniformity in the interpretation of national laws
There are 9 justices, 8 associates and one chief justice (To see who these justices are click here)
The Supreme Court decides which cases it wants to hear
Almost all come from the appellate process
The Supreme Court hears cases from state courts only if they involve federal law
The Court will not try to settle matters of state law or determine guilt or innocence in state criminal cases

There are 91 district courts with at least one in each state and one in Washington D.C and Puerto Rico
Districts courts are courts or original jurisdiction; they don't hear appeals
They are the only federal courts that hold trials and impanel juries
There are 678 district court judges
Their jurisdictions are the following...

Federal crimes

Civil suits under federal law

Civil suits between citizens of different states where the amount in question is more than $75,000

Supervision of bankruptcy

Review of the actions of some federal administrative agencies

Admiralty and maritime law cases

Supervision of the naturalization of aliens