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The judicial branch of government is the system of courts where people can bring their legal disputes. For example, suppose that a high school principal suspended a student named Ben because Ben came to school wearing a t-shirt with a picture of his favorite rock band on it. Ben might disagree that the principal had the legal right to punish him. He might believe that he has a right to wear his t-shirt to school because the Constitution guarantees his freedom of speech.
First, of course, Ben and his parents should meet with the principal and try to solve their disagreements. If that doesn’t work, Ben and his parents might try to overturn Ben’s suspension by making a complaint in court against the principal and the school. If the case goes to trial, the court will listen to both sides explain the facts of what happened. The court will also think about how to interpret the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Based on the facts and the First Amendment, the court will decide who wins this dispute.
This is how the judicial branch of government works to solve disputes in an organized way. It is important to remember, however, that using the court system is usually a last resort. There are many other ways that people can try to solve their disputes by working together to find a solution.
There are two systems of courts in the United States: federal courts and state courts. Federal courts deal with disputes about laws that apply to the entire United States. State courts mostly deal with disputes about state laws. Most American Indian tribes also have court systems, like the Cherokee Nation’s and the Muskogee Creek Nation’s.
Federal court system
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the nation. It is the only court specifically created by the U.S. Constitution.
The Constitution gives Congress permission to create other federal courts. Congress created two other levels of federal courts: the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Federal judges in these courts hear disputes throughout the nation. As you’ll see, taking a case from one level of the courts to the next is a little like taking an elevator from floor to floor of a building.
Imaginary Elevator in Federal Court System
U.S. Supreme Court
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U.S. Court of Appeals
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U.S. District Court (the trial court)
Trial courts
In almost all legal disputes in federal court, the first court to hear the case is the District Court. The District Court is a trial court. In the trial court, people on each side of a dispute get to explain their version of what happened and try to prove their case with evidence such as witnesses or photographs.
In a jury trial, a group of twelve people is in charge of deciding who wins the case. The jury listens to evidence from both sides and then decides what actually happened. Based on this decision, the jury gives a “verdict,” which is a decision about who wins or loses the dispute. Some trials take place without a jury. In those cases, it is the judge who listens to the evidence, decides what happened, and gives a verdict.
Appellate courts
The person who lost the case in the trial court can request a higher court to look at the trial court’s decision and replace it with a different decision. Such a request is called an “appeal.” The higher court is called a “court of appeals,” or an “appellate court.” In the U.S. court system, the first appellate court is called the U.S. Court of Appeals. Taking an appeal from the trial court is a like taking an elevator from the ground floor to the court of appeals on the second floor.
After the U.S. Court of Appeals makes its decision on the imaginary second floor, the losing side can appeal to the very highest level by requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. This is the highest level. The Supreme Court, however, only grants these requests in the most important cases, which means very few disputes make it to the third floor in our imaginary elevator.
State court systems
Like the federal courts, state court systems have both a trial court and at least one appellate court. The trial court decides what happened in a case and gives a verdict, and the losing side can appeal to a court of appeals in most states. The side that loses in the court of appeals can ask the state’s highest court to hear the case.
State’s Highest Court
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State Court of Appeals
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State Trial Court
In a few of the smaller states, the court system has only one court of appeals
State Appellate Court
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State Trial Court
In your State Resources page you can find out how many levels your state’s court system has. You can also find the names given to each court. For example, is the main trial court called the State Superior Court, the State District Court, or something else? Is the highest court called the State Supreme Court or something else?
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