1) the judge, as in "The court rules in favor of the plaintiff. " 2) any official
tribunal (court) presided over by a judge or judges in which legal issues and claims
are heard and determined. In the United States there are essentially two systems
federal courts and state courts. The basic federal court system has jurisdiction
over cases involving federal statutes, constitutional questions, actions between
citizens of different states, and certain other types of cases. Its trial courts
are District Courts in one or more districts per state, over which there are District
Courts of Appeal (usually three-judge panels) to hear appeals from judgments of
the District Courts within the "circuit. " There are 10 geographic circuits throughout
the nation. Appeals on constitutional questions and other significant cases are
heard by the Supreme Court, but only if that court agrees to hear the case. There
are also special federal courts such as bankruptcy and tax courts with appeals directed
to the District Courts. Each state has local trial courts, which include courts
for misdemeanors (non-penitentiary crimes), smaller demand civil actions (called
municipal, city, justice or some other designation), and then courts, usually set
up in each county (variously called Superior, District, County, Common Pleas courts
and called Supreme Court in New York) to hear felonies (crimes punished by state
prison terms), estates, divorces and major lawsuits. The highest state court is
called the State Supreme Court, except in New York and Maryland, which call them
Court of Appeals. Some 29 states have intermediate appeals courts which hear appeals
from trial courts which will result in final decisions unless the State Supreme
Court chooses to consider the matter. Some states have speciality courts such as
family, surrogate and domestic relations. Small claims courts are an adjunct of
the lowest courts handling lesser disputes (although California's limit is $5,000)
with no representation by attorneys and short and somewhat informal trials conducted
by judges, commissioners or lawyers. The great number of law cases and lawyers'
procedural maneuvers has clogged courts' calendars and has induced many states or
local courts to set up mediation, arbitration, mandatory settlement conferences
and other formats to encourage settlement or early judgments without the cost and
wait of full court trials.
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