The levels of courts in the United States fall into two parallel systems — federal and state — each built on three tiers: trial courts at the bottom, appellate courts in the middle, and a single court of last resort at the top. The federal side runs 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts of appeals, and one Supreme Court.1United States Department of Justice. Introduction to the Federal Court System State systems mirror that pattern and handle the overwhelming majority of cases filed in this country. Around those main hierarchies sit specialized courts, tribal courts, and administrative tribunals that handle everything from bankruptcy to disability benefits.
The Three Federal Tiers
District Courts
Every federal lawsuit starts in a US district court. Each of the 94 districts has at least one district judge, and cases are usually decided by a single judge who presides over jury trials, hears testimony, and rules on evidence.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 132 – Creation and Composition of District Courts District courts handle civil and criminal matters involving federal law, constitutional questions, and certain disputes between citizens of different states.
Federal magistrate judges share the load. They can handle pretrial matters like scheduling, discovery disputes, and motions, and they can try entire civil cases when both parties consent.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 636 – Jurisdiction, Powers, and Temporary Assignment In criminal cases they can sentence petty offenses, and misdemeanors when the defendant agrees.
Circuit Courts of Appeals
A party who loses in a district court can appeal to one of 13 federal circuit courts of appeals.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC Chapter 3 – Courts of Appeals Twelve cover geographic regions. The thirteenth, the Federal Circuit, takes specialized subject matter like patent law and international trade claims regardless of where the case arose.
Appeals are not retrials. No juries, no witnesses, no new evidence. Three-judge panels review the trial record and decide whether the district court applied the law correctly or made errors that affected the outcome.5United States Courts. Appeals Each side submits written briefs, and many cases also get a short oral argument, typically about 15 minutes per side. A circuit’s decision binds every district court inside it, which is why conflicting rulings between circuits often attract the Supreme Court’s attention.
The US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court sits at the top of the federal system with one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC Part I – Organization of Courts Unlike the courts below it, it chooses its own docket. Parties who want review must file a petition for a writ of certiorari, and the Court grants it in only a small fraction of petitions — typically fewer than 80 cases per term out of thousands.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1254 – Courts of Appeals; Certiorari; Certified Questions It tends to take cases involving a split between circuits or significant constitutional questions. Once it rules, every federal and state court in the country must follow.
The Three State Tiers
State courts handle the vast majority of legal disputes in the country. In 2024, state courts collectively processed roughly 70 million filings. At the base of every state system are trial courts of general jurisdiction, called circuit courts, superior courts, district courts, or courts of common pleas depending on the state.8United States Courts. Comparing Federal and State Courts These are where juries hear evidence, witnesses testify, and judges make initial rulings on everything from murder prosecutions to contract disputes and personal injury claims.
Below the general jurisdiction trial courts, most states operate courts of limited jurisdiction — small claims divisions, traffic courts, and municipal courts — handling lower-stakes matters with simpler procedures.
Most states also have an intermediate appellate court that works much like the federal circuits. Panels review the trial record and the written briefs, sometimes hear oral argument, and focus on legal errors: misapplied evidence rules, faulty jury instructions, misread statutes. No new evidence comes in.
At the top of each state system is a court of last resort, usually called the state supreme court. New York, confusingly, calls its trial courts “supreme courts” and its highest court the “Court of Appeals.” The court of last resort has the final word on interpreting the state’s constitution and statutes, and its rulings bind every lower court in the state.8United States Courts. Comparing Federal and State Courts The only way past a state supreme court is to raise a federal constitutional issue and persuade the US Supreme Court to grant certiorari.
Which System Hears Which Case
Two main gates control entry into federal court. The first is federal question jurisdiction: lawsuits arising under the Constitution, a federal statute, or a treaty can be heard in a federal district court.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1331 – Federal Question The second is diversity jurisdiction, which applies when all plaintiffs are from different states than all defendants and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs The idea behind diversity jurisdiction is to blunt home-court bias when a local jury would otherwise weigh in on an out-of-state party.
Cases that don’t meet either test stay in state court. Even when a plaintiff files in state court, a defendant may be able to remove the case to federal court if it would have qualified for federal jurisdiction from the start, by filing a notice of removal within 30 days of receiving the complaint.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1446 – Procedure for Removal of Civil Actions
Everything else belongs in state court: most contract disputes, personal injury claims, family law matters, and criminal prosecutions under state law. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. State courts are the default.
Specialized Federal Courts
Several federal courts handle narrow subject areas with judges who develop deep expertise in that one field.
Bankruptcy courts are the most visible. Each judicial district has one operating as a unit of the district court, with judges who handle only insolvency cases — consumer bankruptcies, business reorganizations, and related disputes.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC Chapter 6 – Bankruptcy Judges
The US Tax Court is the only court where you can challenge an IRS deficiency notice without paying the disputed tax first.13Taxpayer Advocate Service. Filing a Petition with the United States Tax Court
The Court of International Trade handles disputes over tariffs, customs classifications, and trade determinations — a niche area with substantial financial stakes for importers and exporters.
Specialized State Courts
States run their own specialized divisions. Probate courts oversee the distribution of estates, validation of wills, and appointment of guardians. Family courts handle divorce, child custody, and support. Juvenile courts process cases involving minors with procedures that emphasize rehabilitation over punishment. Traffic courts manage motor vehicle violations.
Small claims courts deserve special mention because they are designed for people without lawyers. They handle disputes up to a capped dollar amount that varies widely, as low as $1,500 in some states and as high as $25,000 in others. Procedures are simplified: no formal discovery, no complex motions, cases often resolved in a single hearing. Some states restrict or limit attorney representation to keep the process accessible.
Problem-Solving Courts
Over the past three decades, states have created thousands of specialized courts that focus less on punishment and more on the root causes of criminal behavior. More than 3,000 of these problem-solving courts now operate across the country, with adult drug courts alone accounting for over 1,600.14National Institute of Justice. Problem-Solving Courts: Fighting Crime by Treating the Offender The model has expanded to veterans treatment courts, mental health courts, and DUI courts.
The structure is similar across types. Participants enter voluntarily, often as an alternative to a traditional sentence. They undergo substance abuse or mental health treatment, submit to regular drug testing, and appear before the same judge at frequent status hearings. The judge functions more like a case manager, using graduated sanctions and incentives to keep participants on track. Research from the National Institute of Justice reports that drug court participants use drugs less frequently and are rearrested at lower rates than comparable individuals on standard probation, with net cost savings of roughly $5,700 to $6,200 per person.14National Institute of Justice. Problem-Solving Courts: Fighting Crime by Treating the Offender
Administrative Adjudication
A large volume of legal disputes never reaches a traditional courtroom. Federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the Department of Labor, and the Securities and Exchange Commission employ administrative law judges who conduct hearings, weigh evidence, and issue binding decisions inside their agency’s area of authority. These judges sit in the executive branch rather than the judicial branch.
Social Security disability is the most common place people encounter this system. If the SSA denies a claim, the appeals process has four steps: reconsideration, a hearing before an administrative law judge, review by the SSA’s Appeals Council, and finally federal court review.15Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income Appeals Process Each level has to be requested in writing within 60 days of receiving the prior decision. Most claimants don’t reach federal court because the ALJ hearing is where most overturned denials happen, but the path exists as a safety valve that connects the administrative system back to the judicial branch.
Tribal Court Systems
Federally recognized tribal nations operate their own court systems as an exercise of inherent sovereignty that predates the US Constitution. Roughly 275 tribal nations have established formal court systems, with approximately 400 tribal courts operating across the country. Congress has formally recognized these systems as essential forums for protecting public safety and resolving disputes involving personal and property rights on tribal lands.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC Chapter 38 – Indian Tribal Justice Support
Tribal courts hear civil and criminal cases arising on tribal land and involving tribal members, applying tribal codes that often blend traditional practices with modern legal procedures. Jurisdiction gets complicated where tribal, state, and federal authority overlap. Under Public Law 280, Congress transferred federal criminal enforcement authority over certain tribal lands to a handful of states, but tribal governments retained their inherent power to exercise criminal jurisdiction over their own citizens and lands. The practical result is a patchwork where the answer to “which court handles this?” depends on where the conduct occurred, who was involved, and which sovereigns have asserted authority.
How Judges Reach the Bench
How judges are chosen differs dramatically between the federal and state systems, and the difference helps explain why the same type of case can feel different depending on where it’s heard.
All Article III federal judges — district, circuit, and Supreme Court — are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Once confirmed, they serve “during good Behaviour,” which in practice means life tenure.17Congress.gov. Good Behavior Clause Doctrine The Constitution also prohibits reducing a federal judge’s salary while in office. These protections insulate judges from political pressure. Magistrate judges and bankruptcy judges, by contrast, serve fixed terms and are appointed by the courts themselves rather than through the presidential nomination process.
States use a patchwork of methods. Some elect judges in partisan races that look like any other political campaign. Others use nonpartisan elections or pure gubernatorial appointment. The most common hybrid is merit selection, used by at least 33 states for some or all of their judges: a nonpartisan nominating commission screens candidates and sends a short list to the governor, who picks from that list. After an initial term, the judge typically faces a retention election — no opponent, just a yes-or-no vote on performance. Each approach carries tradeoffs between democratic accountability and judicial independence, and many states use different methods for different court levels.