Federal and State Court Systems: Structure and Jurisdiction

Introduction to the Federal Court System

There are three branches of the federal government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The federal courts were established by Congress, which is granted the power to create them under the Constitution. The Constitution also empowers Congress to establish the jurisdiction of the federal courts, determine the number of judges needed in the federal court system, confirm executive appointments of judges, and manage the judiciary's budget. Congress influences the establishment of the courts in several other ways as well. The various state-level governments share the same three basic branches, and their divisions of power and responsibility are likewise determined by their own constitutions or other founding documents.

Structure of the Federal Courts

The structure of the federal court system can be viewed as a top-down pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is the U.S. Supreme Court, which is the court of final resort for the entire United States. At the intermediate level are the United States Courts of Appeals, which include the 13 regular U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Underneath that level are the trial-level courts, which include the 94 U.S. District Courts, specialized courts such as the Tax Court, the Court of International Trade, and the Court of Federal Claims, and the Court of Veterans Appeals.

When a lawsuit is filed at the federal level, it is generally filed in one of the District Courts, which function as the trial-level court. Parties may then appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which is required to hear appeals. After that level, a dissatisfied party may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court's appellate review is discretionary; it hears only a very small percentage of the cases appealed from the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Generally, the Supreme Court becomes involved when the U.S. Courts of Appeals have given conflicting interpretations to constitutional issues. The Supreme Court has nine justices, but not all must preside over a given case, and there is no minimum number of justices who must be in agreement for the Court to issue a decision.

California's State Court System

While each state court system has some variation, they are largely structured in ways similar to the federal court system. This paper focuses specifically on the state court system in California, though there are differences between California's system and those in place in other states. Regardless of the state of initial jurisdiction, a party who has exhausted remedies in the state court system may seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court, though the likelihood that the Court will hear the dispute is very small.

The California state court system is immense. California has 400 trial courts, with 1,499 judges and 437 commissioners and referees. At the trial level, the courts are merged into a single superior court for each county, which has jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases filed in the state. In addition, these trial-level courts — referred to as superior courts — have appellate jurisdiction over misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases where $25,000 or less is in controversy.

The next level of the California state court system is the appellate level. There are 6 appellate districts with 19 divisions and 105 justices. These Courts of Appeals consist of panels of three justices and hear all appeals except for death penalty appeals. It is important to note that the California Courts of Appeals are not fact-finding courts; instead, they examine whether legal errors occurred in the trial court's decisions.

The final level of the California state court system is the Supreme Court, which is the court of highest jurisdiction in the state. It hears direct death penalty appeals and appeals of disciplinary cases for judges and attorneys directly from the trial level, as well as appeals from the appellate courts. There are seven justices on the California Supreme Court, and four must agree on a decision for the Court to render one.

Federal vs. State Court Jurisdiction

Determining which court system — federal or state — has jurisdiction over a dispute at the trial level involves an examination of subject matter, the location of the parties, and the amount in controversy. Generally, state courts handle: family law cases including divorces, child custody, and adoption; probate issues; real estate matters; most tort cases; and most criminal cases. Federal courts generally handle: cases involving a federal constitutional question, cases involving the laws and treaties of the United States, disputes between states, bankruptcy cases, admiralty cases, criminal cases involving members of the U.S. military, and criminal cases that either occurred on federal property, violate federal laws, or cross state lines.

References

United States Courts. (2012). Federal courts in the American government. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from USCourts.gov: http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/FederalCourtsInAmericanGovernment.aspx