1. The United States court system is actually many court systems: a federal system and 50 state systems.
2. Most legal issues are resolved in the Supreme Court.
3. Courts may be city or municipal courts, justice of the peace or jp courts, county or circuit courts, or even regional trial courts.
4. Most states have two levels of trial courts: trial courts with specific jurisdiction and trial courts with limited jurisdiction.
5. Some trial courts with limited jurisdiction also hold pretrial hearings for minor cases.
6. Many states also have specialized trial courts that hear cases related to a very specific area of the law; these courts can include probate courts, family law courts, juvenile courts, and small claims courts.
7. The appellate courts review the decisions and procedures of the trial courts in their systems and either uphold or reverse their decisions or modify the amount of a monetary reward.
8. The Federal Court of Appleal decisions are final within a state court system.
9. There is at least one federal district in every state.
10. Generally, federal lawsuits start out at the district level in a federal court.
11. Tax court, bankruptcy court, court of federal claims, and court of veteran appeals are all examples of appellate courts.
12. The U.S. Supreme Court hears only a very small number of cases.
