Difference between revisions of "State court"
(tie in to jury trials) |
(another fact about state courts, with reference) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | '''State court''' is a court established by state rather than [[federal]] law. It is typically a court of general [[jurisdiction]], except when established by state law to handle only a particular type of claim, such as [[small claims court]]. A typical state court system has four levels: | + | '''State court''' is a court established by state rather than [[federal]] law. It is typically a court of general [[jurisdiction]], except when established by state law to handle only a particular type of claim, such as [[small claims court]]. State courts handle over 98% of all litigation in the United States.<ref>[http://public.findlaw.com/abaflg/flg-2-2a-4.html What sorts of cases do state courts decide?]</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | A typical state court system has four levels: | ||
*a [[trial court]] of limited jurisdiction, typically called a [[district court]], a municipal court, or a justice court; | *a [[trial court]] of limited jurisdiction, typically called a [[district court]], a municipal court, or a justice court; | ||
*a trial court of general jurisdiction, typically called a [[superior court]] or a [[circuit court]]; | *a trial court of general jurisdiction, typically called a [[superior court]] or a [[circuit court]]; | ||
| Line 9: | Line 11: | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
[[California Judiciary]] | [[California Judiciary]] | ||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | <references/> | ||
[[category:Judicial]] | [[category:Judicial]] | ||
[[category:government]] | [[category:government]] | ||
Revision as of 14:10, January 11, 2011
State court is a court established by state rather than federal law. It is typically a court of general jurisdiction, except when established by state law to handle only a particular type of claim, such as small claims court. State courts handle over 98% of all litigation in the United States.[1]
A typical state court system has four levels:
- a trial court of limited jurisdiction, typically called a district court, a municipal court, or a justice court;
- a trial court of general jurisdiction, typically called a superior court or a circuit court;
- an intermediate appellate court; and
- a state supreme court.
Traditionally, the trial court of limited jurisdiction has handled non-jury trials for traffic offenses, misdemeanors, and civil lawsuits seeking damages up to a certain amount, while the trial court of general jurisdiction has handled felonies, civil lawsuits seeking damages above a certain amount, jury trials, and (in states not having separate courts of equity) cases seeking equitable relief. However, there is a trend toward consolidation of the first two levels into a single level of trial courts.
Typically, all state courts except the trial court of limited jurisdiction are courts of record. In states where the lower-level trial court is not a court of record, when a decision of such a court is appealed to the higher-level trial court, the higher-level trial court hears the matter de novo, as there is no record on which to base an appeal.