The Basics: Understanding the U.S. Court System

Each day, the Federal and State Courts issue rulings that have the potential to affect millions of people, and in rulings from the Supreme Court, the entire country.  Understanding the U.S. Court system will play a fundamental role in understanding the ramifications of a court's opinion.  Discerning the differences and similarities between State Municipal Courts, Federal District Courts, State District Courts, Federal Court of Appeals, State Court of Appeals, etc. can prove to be no simple task.  When most millennials are required to interact with the judicial system, the vast majority will deal with lower-level State Courts like a Municipal or Probate Court.  However, the organization and structure of a State's court system is left entirely up to the individual State or U.S. territory resulting in different court names, structure, and legal authority depending on which state you reside. 

As a starting point, there are two court systems in the United States: The Federal Court System and The State Court System

The Federal Court System	The State Court System
Court System Structure
●     Article III of the Constitution grants the judicial authority of the U.S. to a federal court system, specifically establishes the U.S. Supreme Court, and gives Congress authority to create the lower federal courts.	●     Each individual State Constitution and laws establish its own state court system, which often follow the federal court system structure.  A court of last resort, sometimes called the State Supreme Court, is typically the court for that state.
●     Congress has established 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, 94 U.S. District Courts, and other courts with a specific jurisdiction (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Court of International Trade, and the U.S. Court of Claims)	●     Following the court of last resort, often designated the State Supreme Court, many states have an intermediate level Court of Appeals, with the lowest level being State Trial Courts (sometimes called Circuit or District Courts depending on the state)
●        Parties dissatisfied with a U.S. District Court may appeal to a U.S. Court of Appeals.  The party may then ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision by the Court of Appeals (although the Supreme Court is generally under no obligation to hear)	●        Parties dissatisfied with a decision from a trial court (or alternately named lower court) may appeal to the intermediate court, usually the State Court of Appeals.  The party may then chose to appeal to the state’s highest court, usually the State Supreme Court.
Judge Selection
●        The Constitution prescribes that federal court judges be nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.	●        State court judges can be selected by election, appointment for a set number of years, appointment for life, or a combination of appointment with elections.
Types of Cases Heard
Cases dealing with the constitutionality of a law Cases dealing with federal law violation and U.S. treaties Bankruptcy Disputes between two states Ambassadors and public ministers	A majority of criminal cases Wills and Estates Contract cases Tort law Family law

Understanding the scope and breadth of influence from court decisions can begin by simply hearing which Court the ruling was from.  While the rulings issued by SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) are of the utmost importance, decisions handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals can affect millions of Americans instantly.  I found just being able to discern which types of cases are heard by federal or state courts immediately made understanding the characteristics of a Court’s opinion more straightforward.