Judicial System Structure
American courts, whether federal or state, consist of three levels: trial courts, appellate courts and supreme courts. Federal courts are district courts, circuit courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. State courts include local courts and also have a three-tiered structure. The names used in different states vary considerably.
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Federal Courts
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The constitutional principle of states' rights, generally, requires separation of federal and state courts. However, in addition to handling cases involving federal law, federal courts also accept cases in "diversity," where the litigants---plaintiff and defendant---are from different states.
District courts are trial courts, where new cases begin. The twelve circuit courts of appeals (divided geographically) are mid-level appellate courts, where litigants dissatisfied with the district court's decisions may ask for appellate review. The U.S. Supreme Court, an appellate court, hears only those cases in which a litigant appeals the district court's decision, which the justices choose or reject.
The federal system's subsidiary trial courts include bankruptcy court, Court of Federal Claims, Tax Court, Court of International Trade, military courts and the Court of Veterans Appeals. Federal courts are managed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
State Courts
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While maintaining a three-tiered structure, each state designs its own judicial system. As with federal courts, state courts handle both civil and criminal matters. Some states split their judicial systems into those two divisions. Like the U.S. Supreme Court, a state's supreme court elects cases to consider.
Texas maintains two separate supreme courts, one civil and one criminal, while Illinois' court structure follows the standard three-tiered federal-like structure. States also have local and/or county courts, which serve as trial courts for those geographical districts.
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Common Law System
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American courts (with an occasional exception, such as Louisiana) operate under the English common law system. When making decisions, judges are required to consider both statutes and other courts' opinions as legal justification to support their decisions.
Limitations
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Judges are limited as to which courts' decisions their rulings must conform. If a judge makes a determination that contradicts other courts' decisions for the same or similar set of circumstances and legal issues, the judge's ruling might be overturned on appeal.
Courts are ranked according to importance. Judges in a lower court must conform their decisions with prior cases (called "precedents") of a higher court. Federal court decisions override state decisions. For example, a judge, sitting in federal district court will consider opinions of the federal courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court; however, that judge is not bound by state courts' decisions. A trial judge, sitting in state court, is bound by both state and federal appellate court decisions; however, a state appellate judge is not bound by lower court decisions.
When Justice is Blind
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The judicial system relies on "Lady Justice," with her eyes covered, to hold the judicial scales. When judicial decisions are made on the basis of law and truth, and do not consider the particular litigants, the American judicial system can work as designed.
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References
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