Court types

SIGNIFICANCE: The judicial system in the United States is complex. Each state has courts of specialized, limited, and general jurisdiction. A separate hierarchy of federal courts parallels the fifty state judiciaries. In many states efforts have been made to reduce the number of court types.

In contrast to Japan and many European countries, the United States has a highly complex network of courts. In nations with unitary political systems, such as France, there is a single judicial hierarchy. Because of federalism, however, there are two sets of trial and appellate courts in the United States, one state and the other federal. At the state level many courts of original jurisdiction can hear only a single type of case, such as that dealing with wills (probate courts) or claims for small amounts of money. Courts differ also in whether jury trials are possible, in what types of procedures are used and in what types of remedy judges can provide complaining parties. Selecting the correct court in which to file a complaint is so complicated that most law schools offer students a course called “Conflict of Laws” to help them make the right choice.

Types of Jurisdiction

There are a number of fundamental characteristics that distinguish one court from another. Jurisdiction is the power, or authority, of a particular court to hear a case. Courts of original jurisdiction, or trial courts, hear cases for the first time. Courts of appeal review the decisions of trial judges to determine if they made any reversible errors. Courts of common law can provide monetary compensation to injured plaintiffs in civil suits. Equity courts, or chancery courts, issue injunctions, which are orders to act or to refrain from acting in a particular way, such as polluting a river. The right to trial by jury can be exercised in common law and criminal courts but not in equity courts. Courts of specialized jurisdiction can hear only one type of case. Courts of limited jurisdiction hear several kinds of cases but not all.

The most important state trial courts are the civil and criminal courts of general jurisdiction, which can hear and determine any case. State courts hear cases involving state law, while federal courts determine legal disputes arising under the U.S. Constitution or federal laws. There are circumstances, however, in which a state court can hear a case that requires the interpretation of federal law and in which a federal court can determine controversies arising under state legislation. In the former type of case, the losing party may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the state supreme court has rendered its decision. Criminal courts try cases in which the government seeks punishment of a defendant for violating the law. Civil courts resolve disputes between private parties in which a complainant alleges harm as a result of a defendant’s failure to fulfill a legal duty. A court of record is a trial court whose determinations of fact are final.

Criminal Courts

States have established a variety of judicial tribunals to handle criminal cases. Municipal courts are trial courts of limited jurisdiction with the authority to determine misdemeanor cases. Other names for criminal courts of limited jurisdiction are justice or general sessions courts. Night court, or police court, is available in many large urban areas to process cases in which defendants are charged with petty offenses, such as public drunkenness. Police forces in populous cities issue citations ordering drivers caught breaking the law to appear in traffic court. In rural areas, justices of the peace often hear cases involving minor criminal charges. Municipal courts preside over preliminary hearings to determine if evidence is sufficient to hold over felony defendants for trial in superior court. Felonies are prosecuted in criminal courts of general jurisdiction, often called superior or county courts. It is in these courts that most jury trials occur. Other names for such bodies are circuit, district, or criminal courts.

Civil Courts

Trial courts of limited and general criminal jurisdiction in most states have the power to determine civil controversies. Municipal courts may hear legal disputes in which the amount of compensation requested is relatively low, usually under $30,000. County and superior courts hear civil cases in which the monetary amount in dispute exceeds that. Most states have established a court of specialized jurisdiction, or small claims court, to make the civil courts more accessible to ordinary citizens. In these courts parties typically are not represented by lawyers, the filing fees are low, and the waiting period before trial is relatively short. The jurisdiction of small claims courts is typically confined to cases not exceeding $5,000.

Probate courts exercise jurisdiction over wills, estates, and guardianship questions. Probate judges determine how the assets of deceased persons are to be allocated and who is legally responsible for frail elderly or mentally incompetent persons. Family law courts, or domestic relations courts, process divorce cases and resolve often contentious issues of child custody, visitation, child support, alimony, and the division of property. Family law court judges have broad equitable powers. Youths charged with delinquency or youths in need of protection appear in family law or juvenile courts. Juvenile courts are civil courts; they do not mete out punishment, but rather provide treatment. In mediation court, or conciliation court, judges help parties negotiate mutually acceptable compromises rather than impose solutions to conflicts. In states with unified judicial systems, such as California, the trial court of general jurisdiction, the superior court, may sit as a probate court, juvenile court, family law court, and conciliation court.

Appellate Courts

While trial courts consist of a single judge, appellate courts are collegial bodies with three or more judges. They review trial courts’ decisions at the request of losing parties. A reversible error is one that is so egregious that a trial judge’s decision must be overturned. In general, appellate courts can reverse only a trial judge’s interpretation of the law and not the trial court’s determinations of fact. This rule exists to prevent appellate judges from undermining the jury system. In the United States, each loser in a trial has the right to one appeal. A consequence of this tradition is that some appellate courts have no control over their dockets. They must hear and decide every appeal that is filed.

The final court of appeal is the state supreme court (known in New York as the Court of Appeals). If a case involves matters of state law only, the decision of a state supreme court cannot be further appealed. In many states, the state supreme court is the only appellate court. In twenty-five states, however, there are intermediate courts of appeal. In these states the state supreme court enjoys discretion over the cases it wishes to review. Some states have separate intermediate courts of appeal for criminal and civil cases.

Several states, including New Jersey, Virginia, and California, have taken steps to simplify their judicial hierarchy. Their goal is to establish an integrated judicial pyramid embracing only a few kinds of trial courts and a single type of intermediate appellate court.

Federal Courts

Article III of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to establish trial and appellate courts to determine cases arising under federal law, cases involving foreign ambassadors, and suits between citizens of different states. The federal courts of general trial jurisdiction are the ninety-four U.S. district courts. Federal jury trials occur in the district courts. They have both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Federal law requires that judges give preference to criminal over civil cases when scheduling trials.

There are a number of federal trial courts of specialized jurisdiction. Each district court has a bankruptcy unit. Bankruptcy courts determine whether petitioners can be relieved of the obligation to repay debts. Magistrate judges handle misdemeanor trials and many of the procedural disputes that must be resolved before a trial in the district court can begin.

Appeals of district court decisions are made to one of the thirteen U.S. courts of appeals. The judges sit in panels of three. They also hear appeals from the decisions of federal administrative agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The courts of appeal must accept for review all appeals. A specialized federal court is the U.S. Court of International Trade. It reviews the rulings by federal customs inspectors governing tariffs on imported goods.

When a federal question is at issue, appeals of decisions of the U.S. courts of appeals and the state supreme courts may be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court has complete discretion and only grants review to approximately 1 percent of the cases that are filed before it. All nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court participate in the decision of every case accepted for review.

From time to time the U.S. Congress has established tribunals to assist administrative agencies in the performance of their adjudicative functions. U.S. Tax Court, for example, was set up to hear taxpayers’ appeals of decisions of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Such so-called Article I courts differ from their Article III counterparts in the judges’ tenure. Article I judges serve for a limited number of years while Article III judges are appointed for life. There are four other federal legislative courts: the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, and territorial courts.

The Court of Federal Claims adjudicates plaintiffs’ claims for compensation from the federal government. The Court of Military Appeals is a body of civilian judges who hear appeals from military courts-martial. The Court of Veterans Appeals reviews decisions of the Board of Veterans Appeals denying benefits to former military personnel. Appeals from the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of International Trade, and the Court of Veterans Appeals must be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The federal territories Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands have territorial courts, which can hear matters involving both local and federal law. Because Puerto Rico has its own set of local courts, the territorial court in Puerto Rico has the same jurisdiction as a U.S. district court.

Bibliography

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