The US judicial system is built on two parallel sets of courts — one federal, one state — that together handle every legal dispute in the country, from a speeding ticket to a constitutional challenge. State courts carry most of the volume, with roughly 70 million filings a year, while federal courts handle about 345,000 civil and criminal cases annually.1United States Courts. Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics 2025 Which system hears a case depends on what law is at stake, who the parties are, and sometimes where they live.
Two Parallel Systems
The dual structure comes from federalism, the constitutional principle that splits governing power between the national government and the states. Federal courts handle matters tied to the US Constitution, federal statutes, treaties, and disputes between states. State courts handle most of what people actually encounter in daily life: criminal prosecutions, divorce and custody, contract fights, personal injury claims, traffic offenses, and probate.2United States Courts. Comparing Federal and State Courts
Each system has its own rules, procedures, and constitutional foundation. State courts draw authority from state constitutions and legislatures. Federal courts operate under the US Constitution and acts of Congress. The two systems can overlap when a case raises both state and federal legal questions, or when a single act — selling a controlled substance near a school, for example — violates both state and federal law.
A third track exists for federally recognized tribes, which run their own judicial systems with authority over disputes involving tribal members on reservation land. Parties generally must exhaust tribal court remedies before challenging a decision in federal court.
Federal Court Structure
Article III of the Constitution vests judicial power “in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”3Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article III Congress built out the lower tiers over time, and the result is a three-level system that moves cases from trial through appeal to possible Supreme Court review.
District Courts
The 94 US district courts are the trial level of the federal system — the only tier where witnesses testify, evidence is presented, and juries decide facts. Every state has at least one district, and the largest states have as many as four. Most district judges are Article III judges with lifetime appointments, though judges in the three territorial districts (US Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands) serve ten-year terms.4United States Courts. About U.S. District Courts
District courts also use magistrate judges, who are appointed by the district judges rather than the President. They handle preliminary matters in criminal cases, set bail, manage pretrial proceedings, and can preside over civil trials when both parties agree. Full-time magistrate judges serve renewable eight-year terms.
Courts of Appeals
The 94 districts are grouped into 12 regional circuits, each with its own Court of Appeals. A thirteenth, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has nationwide jurisdiction over specialized areas such as patent disputes and claims against the government.5United States Courts. About the U.S. Courts of Appeals Appeals courts do not retry cases. A three-judge panel reviews the trial record, written briefs, and oral argument to decide whether the law was correctly applied and the proceedings were fair.
The Supreme Court
At the top sits the Supreme Court of the United States, made up of one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 1 – Number of Justices; Quorum It can review decisions from federal appellate courts and from state courts of last resort when a federal question is involved.
Specialized Federal Courts
Congress has also created several courts under Article I to handle specific categories of cases. Judges on these courts serve fixed terms and lack the lifetime tenure and salary protections of Article III judges.7Congress.gov. Overview of Congressional Power to Establish Non-Article III Courts Each of the 94 federal districts includes a bankruptcy court that operates as a unit of the district court and handles consumer and business bankruptcies. The US Tax Court has nationwide jurisdiction over disputes with the IRS and lets taxpayers challenge a deficiency before paying it.8United States Tax Court. United States Tax Court The US Court of Federal Claims, created in 1855, hears money claims against the federal government, including contract disputes, military and civilian pay claims, tax refund suits, vaccine injury cases, and property takings claims; there are no jury trials, and a judge decides both facts and law.9United States Court of Federal Claims. Frequently Asked Questions
State Court Structure
Most states follow a three-tier design that parallels the federal system, though names and details vary.
State trial courts come in two broad types. Courts of limited jurisdiction handle high-volume, lower-stakes matters like traffic tickets, small claims, and local ordinance violations. Courts of general jurisdiction manage felony prosecutions, major civil lawsuits, and family law disputes. Many states add specialized courts for probate, juvenile matters, drug offenses, or domestic violence.
When a party believes a legal error occurred at trial, the case moves to an intermediate appellate court, which reviews the trial record rather than hearing new evidence. Most states require their intermediate appellate courts to accept all cases appealed to them, giving litigants a guaranteed layer of review.
At the top is the state court of last resort, usually called the state supreme court. It holds final authority to interpret the state’s constitution and laws, and like the US Supreme Court it typically chooses which cases to hear. Its rulings are final unless a case involves federal law or a federal constitutional question, which opens the door to US Supreme Court review.
Which Court Hears Your Case
Jurisdiction — the legal authority of a court to decide a particular dispute — controls where a case lands. A court without jurisdiction must dismiss, no matter how strong the underlying claim.
State Court as the Default
State courts are courts of general jurisdiction, meaning they can hear almost anything not reserved for the federal system. Criminal charges under state statutes go to state court, and sentencing follows that state’s framework. Civil cases involving contracts, personal injury, property disputes, and family matters also default to state court.
When a Case Goes to Federal Court
Federal courts have limited jurisdiction, meaning they can only hear cases that fit specific categories defined by federal law. The two most common paths in are federal question jurisdiction, which covers cases arising under the Constitution, federal statutes, or treaties (civil rights suits, federal criminal prosecutions, bankruptcy, immigration, patent disputes),10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 1331 – Federal Question and diversity jurisdiction, which covers civil cases between citizens of different states where more than $75,000 is at stake. Diversity jurisdiction exists to blunt home-state bias against an out-of-state party.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction — meaning a case can start there instead of arriving on appeal — in disputes involving ambassadors and in cases where a state is a party.12Congress.gov. Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction These cases are rare.
Moving a Case From State to Federal Court
If a plaintiff files in state court but the case qualifies for federal jurisdiction, the defendant can remove it to the local federal district court by filing a notice of removal within 30 days of being served.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 1446 – Procedure for Removal of Civil Actions For diversity cases, removal is only available if no properly served defendant is a citizen of the state where the suit was filed.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 1441 – Actions Removable Generally Miss the 30-day window and the case stays in state court.
How the Supreme Court Decides What to Hear
The Court controls most of its own docket. Parties who want review file a petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Court to order the lower court to send up the record. Thousands of petitions arrive each term and the Court accepts only a fraction. In the October 2025 term, for example, the Court granted review in roughly 71 cases. Under the Rule of Four, at least four of the nine justices must vote to hear a case before it is accepted.15United States Courts. Supreme Court Procedures
Not every case follows that deliberate process. Emergency applications, sometimes called the shadow docket, seek immediate action such as a stay blocking a lower court ruling. These applications involve limited briefing, rarely include oral argument, and are often resolved through unsigned orders with little explanation.
The Court’s most consequential power is judicial review: the authority to strike down laws passed by Congress or actions taken by the President as unconstitutional. The Constitution does not spell this power out. The Court claimed it in Marbury v. Madison (1803), when Chief Justice John Marshall established that the judiciary has the final say on what the Constitution means.16Congress.gov. Marbury v. Madison and Judicial Review17National Archives. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Juries in Federal Court
The right to a jury trial in federal court is constitutionally guaranteed. The Sixth Amendment protects it in criminal cases, and the Seventh Amendment preserves it for civil cases at common law. Two kinds of juries do very different work.
A grand jury hears only criminal matters and decides whether enough evidence exists to formally charge someone. If it finds probable cause, it issues an indictment. Grand jurors do not decide guilt.
A petit jury is the trial jury most people picture. It sits through the trial and returns a verdict — guilty or not guilty in criminal cases, for the plaintiff or defendant in civil cases.
Jurors are drawn randomly from voter registration lists, supplemented when necessary with driver’s license records or similar sources. Those summoned report for voir dire, where the judge and attorneys evaluate whether each person can serve fairly. Attorneys can excuse a limited number of jurors without stating a reason.18United States Courts. Juror Selection Process
Why Earlier Decisions Matter
Courts do not decide every legal question from scratch. Under stare decisis, Latin for “to stand by things decided,” courts follow earlier rulings on the same legal issue. Vertically, lower courts must follow decisions of the higher courts above them: a federal district court in the Fifth Circuit, for instance, is bound by Fifth Circuit appellate rulings. Horizontally, a court generally follows its own prior decisions unless strong reasons exist to change course.
The system creates predictability. Lawyers can advise clients based on how courts have ruled before, and people can plan around rules that won’t shift without reason. When the Supreme Court decides a constitutional question, that interpretation binds every court in the country, which is what gives its rulings their reach.
How Federal Judges Get Their Seats, and Keep Them
Article II gives the President the power to nominate federal judges, subject to Senate confirmation. The clause provides that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint…Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.”19Legal Information Institute. Appointments of Justices to the Supreme Court This applies to all Article III judges — district, appellate, and Supreme Court. Once confirmed, they hold office “during good Behaviour,” which in practice means for life unless they resign or are removed.3Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article III
Removal requires impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”20Congress.gov. Judicial Impeachments The bar is intentionally high. Life tenure was designed to shield judges from political retaliation, so decisions turn on legal reasoning rather than election cycles. Short of impeachment, federal judges are subject to a Code of Conduct, and complaints about a judge’s behavior can trigger review by a judicial council.21United States Courts. Code of Conduct for United States Judges
Suing the Federal Government
Under sovereign immunity, you generally cannot sue the federal government unless it has consented to be sued. A lawsuit against the United States needs a specific statutory waiver.
The Federal Tort Claims Act provides one such waiver for injury or property damage caused by federal employees acting within their official duties. The government becomes liable “in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances,” though punitive damages are not available.22Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 2674 – Liability of United States Before filing suit, you must submit an administrative claim to the responsible agency within two years of the incident. That step is mandatory; skip it and a court will dismiss.
For non-tort money claims — breach of a federal contract, military pay disputes, tax refunds, property takings — the US Court of Federal Claims is the primary forum, created so citizens can seek monetary relief from the federal government under the Tucker Act.9United States Court of Federal Claims. Frequently Asked Questions
When the Agency Comes First
Many disputes with the federal government never reach a traditional courtroom. Federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the IRS run their own adjudication processes with administrative law judges. These proceedings look court-like — hearings, evidence, formal decisions — but they sit inside the executive branch rather than the judiciary.
The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies requires you to complete the agency’s internal procedures before a federal court will hear your case. Courts enforce this strictly. Filing in federal court too early typically results in dismissal, no matter how strong the underlying claim. The rule exists because agencies often have specialized expertise courts lack, and resolving matters internally cuts down on the cases that need judicial intervention at all.