Table of Contents

Federal Court System

Introduction: WHAT KINDS OF FEDERAL COURTS ARE THERE?

WHAT KINDS OF FEDERAL COURTS ARE THERE?

Of all the federal courts, the U.S. district courts are the most numerous.  Congress has divided the country into ninety-four federal judicial districts, and in each district there is a U.S. district court.  The U.S. district courts are the federal trial courts--the places where federal cases are tried, witnesses testify, and juries serve.  Within each district is a U.S. bankruptcy court, a a part of the district court that administers the bankruptcy laws.

  Congress has placed each of the ninety-four districts in one of twelve regional circuits, and each circuit has a court of appeals.  If you lose a trial in a district court, you can ask the court of appeals to review the case to see if the judge applied the law correctly.  sometimes courts of appeals are also asked to review decisions of federal administrative agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board.

  The supreme Court of the United States, in Washington, D.C., is the most famous federal court.  If you lose a case in the court of appeals (or, sometimes, in a state supreme court), you can ask the Supreme Court to hear your appeal.  However, unlike a court of appeals, the Supreme Court does not have to hear it.  In fact, the Supreme court hears only a very small percentage of the cases it is asked to review.
See Federal Judiciary: Court Links: Districts By Map Graphic ( Geographical Boundaries of U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts as set forth by 28 U.S.C.§§41, 81-131     )

THE IMPORTANCE OF CITATION Research, Writing & Advocacy Professor Hensel October 2, 2001  kk

 

Introduction: WHAT KINDS OF FEDERAL COURTS ARE THERE?