The American court system is complex, mainly because of the federal system of government in the USA. Each state runs its own court system, and no two are identical. In addition, there is a separate system of federal courts which coexists with the state courts. The structure of state courts varies from state to state. Usually there are minor trial courts for less serious cases, major trial courts for more serious cases, intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort. The states minor trial courts have various names: justice courts, small-claim courts, traffic courts, police courts, municipal courts. The judges in these courts are usually quite professional, but some states still have Justices of the Peace men and women who have never gone to law school and never taken the bar exam. Individuals fall under jurisdiction of two different court systems, their state courts and federal courts. They can sue or be sued in either system, depending mostly on what their case is about. The vast majority of cases are resolved in the state courts. The federal courts are organized in three tiers, like a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid are the US district courts, where litigation begins. There are about ninety four district courts in different parts of the United States. The district courts are the lowest ones in the Federal court system. Most of the criminal and civil cases are tried by these courts. The district court is the only Federal court where trials are held, juries are used, and witnesses are called. There are about two hundred district judges in the USA. In the middle are the US courts of appeals. At the top is the US Supreme Court. To appeal means to take a case to a higher court. The courts of appeals and the Supreme Court are appellate courts, with few exceptions, they review cases that have been decided in lower courts. Most federal courts hear and decide a wide array of cases; the judges in these courts are known as generalists and they are appointed for life. The Supreme Court hears cases in which someone claims that a lower court ruling is unjust or in which someone claims that Constitutional law has been violated. The U.S. Supreme Court has only nine justices, headed by Chief Justice. The decisions of this Court are final and become legally binding.
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