United States
The analysis below describes the judicial system and practices in the federal courts of the US as well as most state courts. There are numerous deviations from the prevailing approach that vary by state.
The US has a federal system of government that is divided into three branches:
- the legislative branch;
- the executive branch; and
- the judicial branch.
The federal judicial branch is divided into three levels of courts: (i) the U.S. Supreme Court, (ii) 13 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals; and (iii) U.S. District Courts. The federal judicial system operates under a common law system.
The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Few cases originate in the U.S. Supreme Court; the court instead primarily acts as an appellate court for decisions originating in the lower courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has discretion to hear appeals from the Courts of Appeals and typically accepts between 100 and 150 cases per year out of thousands it is asked to review. Nine justices appointed to lifetime terms rule on these cases after receiving written submissions and hearing oral argument.
13 appellate courts, called the U.S. Courts of Appeals, sit below the U.S. Supreme Court. The United States is geographically divided into 94 judicial districts, which in turn are grouped into 12 regional circuits, each of which has its own U.S. Court of Appeals. The U.S. Courts of Appeals generally review the decisions of the U.S. District Courts and federal agencies within their circuits to determine whether the law was correctly applied. In addition to the 12 regional circuits defined geographically, there is one specialized U.S. Court of Appeal—the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals—which has nationwide jurisdiction over certain subject matters, consisting largely of patent and administrative law matters. U.S. Courts of Appeals decisions typically are made by a panel of three judges appointed to lifetime terms.
The United States has 94 federal trial courts, called the U.S. District Courts, corresponding to the 94 judicial districts. There is at least one U.S. District Court in each state. Decisions in the U.S. District Courts are usually made by one of the judges assigned to that district; as with U.S. Supreme Court justices and U.S. Courts of Appeals judges, U.S. District Court judges are appointed to lifetime terms. U.S. District Court judges can rule on both civil and criminal cases, but generally only do so in cases that involve questions of federal law or disputes between citizens of different states. The vast majority of disputes are instead heard by state courts.
Each of the 50 states has its own court system that operates separately from the federal system. Most states have structures similar to the federal courts, with trial courts assigned to particular geographic areas (usually at the county level), one or more intermediate appellate courts, and a state supreme court. In most states, the state supreme court has discretion to hear appeals from the intermediate appellate courts. Delaware is a notable exception; while the state hears many important business disputes, due to its small size has no intermediate appellate court. The state supreme courts are the final arbiters of the laws of their state absent the existence of a federal issue (for example, alleged unconstitutionality of a state statute). Thus, there are certain limited instances when an issue decided by a state supreme court may be elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court. All but one state operates under a common law system. The exception is the state of Louisiana, which is a civil law jurisdiction (primarily derived from the French Napoleonic code with some common law influences).
Notable state variations:
- Delaware: No intermediate appellate court exists in Delaware, due to its relatively small size. All appeals are heard by the Delaware Supreme Court as a matter of right.