Two parallel systems
The United States runs federal courts and fifty state systems side by side, and well over 90 percent of cases are heard in the state ones. Divorce, probate, landlord disputes, contract claims, personal injury and nearly all criminal prosecutions belong to state courts.
Federal courts have limited jurisdiction. They hear cases arising under the Constitution or federal statutes, cases in which the United States is a party, bankruptcies, patent and copyright disputes, and suits between citizens of different states over more than $75,000.
Three levels
Trial courts hear witnesses, weigh evidence and decide facts. States usually split them into courts of limited jurisdiction, which handle traffic, small claims and misdemeanors, and courts of general jurisdiction, which handle felonies and larger civil cases. The names are no guide, since the same kind of court is called superior, circuit or district depending on the state. The federal trial courts are the 94 district courts.
Intermediate appellate courts come next, and the federal version is the 13 courts of appeals. At the top sits a court of last resort. The U.S. Supreme Court chooses its own docket, accepting roughly 60 to 70 cases a year from several thousand requests, and it takes a case only when at least four of the nine justices agree.
Civil and criminal
- A criminal case is brought by the government, must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt and can end in jail, probation or a fine.
- A civil case is brought by a private party or an agency, is decided by what is more likely than not, and ends in money or a court order.
- A defendant facing jail has the right to an appointed lawyer, while a party in a civil case generally does not.
- A single act, such as a drunk driving crash, can produce both kinds of case.
What an appeal is
An appeal is not a second trial. No witnesses testify, and no new evidence comes in. A panel of judges reads the record and written briefs to decide whether the trial court made a legal error that affected the outcome. Most appeals fail. Deadlines are short, often 30 days from the judgment, and missing one usually ends the matter.
Few cases reach trial at all. The great majority of criminal convictions come from plea agreements, and most civil suits settle.
Tip Court files are public with few exceptions, and most states offer a free online case search by name. The clerk's office will explain procedures and forms, although it cannot give legal advice.
