The federal court system is comprised of the Supreme Court, circuit courts of appeal, and district courts. There are also specialized federal courts.
The two classications of courts are civil courts and criminal courts. Governmental divisions include federal, state, county, and municipal courts. A further division of federal and state courts is into trial courts and appeals courts.
Yes. The State judicial system is similar to the federal judicial system, in that it provides trial courts, intermediate appellate courts, and a state supreme court (or equivalent). Cases initiated in state courts may be appealed in state courts; and some cases initiated in the state courts may eventually be heard in the federal courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. The lower courts include the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts. Other state and local courts are also part of the legal system.
b. district courts
The 94 US District Courts are the trial courts of the federal judicial branch. The district courts were created by Congress and have jurisdiction to hear most categories of federal cases, civil and criminal. There are 94 federal districts, at least one in each state, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The US District Courts hear cases of general jurisdiction (criminal and civil cases). The US District Courts hear 80% of trial cases; however, the "federal court system" is broader than the Judicial Branch and the US Special Courts that hold the other 20% of federal trials. The US Special Courts include US Bankruptcy Courts, US Tax Courts, the US Court of Federal Claims and several other courts of limited jurisdiction established under Congress authority in Article I of the Constitution. While these are part of the federal court system, they are not part of the Judicial Branch but part of the Legislative Branch.
US courts of appeal
Supreme Court district courts Circuit Courts Court of Veterans' Appeals
According to the 2009 Annual Report of the Director for Judicial Business of the US Courts, the following chart shows the total number of authorized judgeships by court. Article III Courts are the only courts considered part of the Judicial Branch of the US, although there are other courts within the federal court system. This chart does not include federal magistrates who work in the US District Courts, but are not afforded the same benefits as Article III judges.Article III Federal CourtsSupreme Court of the United States.............9US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts............179US District Courts (judges)......................678US Court of International Trade....................9Article III, approximate...........................875(authorized judgeships)There are approximately 875 authorized seats (including vacancies) in the Federal Judicial Branch of government (Article III courts). This does not include Article I tribunals, such as US Bankruptcy Courts, administrative law judges or other courts of limited jurisdiction that are part of the federal court system, but not considered part of the Judicial Branch of government.
State supreme court, court of military appeals.
Only federal Courts must have judges approved by the Senate - apex
United States District Courts are trial courts in the federal court system, and part of the Judicial branch of government.