The courts of the United States are closely linked hierarchical systems of courts at the federal and state levels. The

federal courts Federal court may refer to: United States * Federal judiciary of the United States ** United States district court, a particular federal court Elsewhere * Federal Court of Australia * Federal courts of Brazil * Federal Court (Canada) * Federal co ...

form the

judicial branch The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

of the

US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

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 It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

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 group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...

. The state and territorial courts of the individual U.S. states and

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

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 The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

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 made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

s hearing cases which may be reviewed by

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

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, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

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 debtor ...

, 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 The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

, followed by

United States courts of appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...

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 U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. 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, which each cover o ...

s (see federal court sections by state below for specific district courts) **

List of United States district and territorial courts A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

(94 courts, also listed by state below) * Appellate Courts:

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 comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

** United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ** United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit **

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 a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

** 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 **

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Dist ...

** United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ** United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit * Court of last resort: **

Specific subject-matter jurisdiction

* United States federal courts with Original Jurisdiction over specific subject matter: **

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Trib ...

** Patent Trial and Appeal Board **

International Trade Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...

** United States Court of International Trade ** United States Court of Federal Claims **

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants aga ...

** United States bankruptcy courts ** Trademark Trial and Appeal Board **

United States Merit Systems Protection Board The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent quasi-judicial agency established in 1979 to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for federa ...

United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court The United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court is a special court in the United States created in 1996 which has never conducted proceedings. It consists of five Article III judges, selected by the Chief Justice of the United States. Its job i ...

* 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 a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the Federal judiciary of ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other pers ...

***

United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals In the United States military, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain court martial convictions of Army personnel. Jurisdiction In the United States, courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform C ...

***

Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) is the intermediate appellate court for criminal convictions in the United States Navy and the Marine Corps. Courts-martial are conducted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Title 1 ...

*** Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals ***

Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals The Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals (CGCCA) is the intermediate appellate court for criminal convictions in the U.S. Coast Guard. It is located in Washington, DC. The Court was established under Article 66, Uniform Code of Military Justic ...

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

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR) is a U.S. federal court whose sole purpose is to review denials of applications for electronic surveillance warrants (called FISA warrants) by the United States Foreign I ...

United States Court of Military Commission Review The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that rulings from the Guantanamo military commissions could be appealed to a Court of Military Commission Review, which would sit in Washington D.C. In the event, the Review Court was not ...

Civilian Board of Contract Appeals The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) is an Article I court that was established under the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 as an independent tribunal to hear and decide contract disputes between Government contractors and the General Servic ...

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) is an administrative tribunal within the United States Federal Government that hears certain claims arising from contract disputes between government contractors and either the Department of Defe ...

Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals The Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals (PSBCA) is a neutral, independent tribunal with the authority to hear and decide any appeal from a decision of a contracting officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS) or the Postal Regulatory Com ...

** 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, it determines whether U.S. military vete ...

Former United States Courts

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

Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

(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 The United States Court of Private Land Claims (1891–1904) was an ad-hoc court created to decide land claims guaranteed by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in the territories of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, and in the states of Nevada, Color ...

(1891–1904) *

United States Court for Berlin The United States Court for Berlin was a United States Article II court that had extraterritorial jurisdiction over American-occupied Berlin. It was in existence from 1955 until the Two plus Four Treaty in 1990. The United States High Commissione ...

(1955–1990) *

United States District Court for the Canal Zone The United States District Court for the Canal Zone (in case citations, D.C.Z.) was a United States District Court that existed in the Panama Canal Zone of Panama from 1914 to 1982. Appeals were taken to the United States Court of Appeals for th ...

( -1982) *

United States Court for China The United States Court for China was a United States district court that had extraterritorial jurisdiction over U.S. citizens in China. It existed from 1906 to 1943 and had jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, with appeals taken to the U ...

(1906–1943)

Courts by state of the United States

* State supreme courts **

State court (United States) In the United States, a state court has jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. State courts handle the vast majority of civil and criminal cases in the United States; the United States federal courts are far smaller i ...

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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, in the United States. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congr ...

** Superior Court of the District of Columbia Federal courts located in the District of Columbia *

** United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ***

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 federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

***

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

***

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 The High Court of American Samoa is a Samoan court and the highest court below the United States Supreme Court in American Samoa. The Court is located in the capital of Fagatogo. It consists of one chief justice and one associate justice, appo ...

Guam

* Supreme Court of Guam **

Superior Court of Guam The Supreme Court of Guam is the highest judicial body of the United States territory of Guam. The Court hears all appeals from the Superior Court of Guam and exercises original jurisdiction only in cases where a certified question is submitted ...

United States territorial court

District Court of Guam The District Court of Guam (in case citations, D. Guam) is a United States territorial court with jurisdiction over the United States territory of Guam. It sits in the capital, Hagåtña. Appeals of the court's decisions are taken to the United S ...

Northern Mariana Islands

Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1 CMC § 3101, is the highest court of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), exercising civil and criminal appellate jurisdiction over common ...

Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

United States territorial court

United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands The District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands (in case citations, D. N. Mar. I.) is a federal territorial court whose jurisdiction comprises the United States-affiliated Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It was establi ...

Panama Canal Zone

(abolished 1982)

Puerto Rico

* Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) **

Circuit Court of Appeals of Puerto Rico Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circui ...

(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 The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands is the highest court in the territory of the United States Virgin Islands. The Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction over all appeals from the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, a trial level court, on J ...

United States Virgin Islands Superior Court The Virgin Islands Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction for the United States Virgin Islands. The court is composed of nine judges. They are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. Effective January 29, 200 ...

(2 divisions)

United States territorial court

* District Court of the Virgin Islands ----

Extraterritorial courts of the United States

(1906 to 1943), appointed judge held court in cities in China including

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, Hankow, Tientsin, and

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

.Joseph Ragland, ''Outline of the Jurisdiction and Procedure of the Federal Courts'' (1917), p. 112–13, §81. *

(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 of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, 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 ''Runaway Jury'' is a 2003 American legal thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz. An adaptation of John Grisham's 1996 novel ''The Runaway Jury'', the film pits lawyer We ...

(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