State court

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.

Overview

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 (chancery courts in the states that still have them are on this level);
• 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.

The trial court of general jurisdiction typically sits in the county seat, although counties with large populations may have multiple locations in which it sits. Depending on the state, the trial court of limited jurisdiction may have countywide venue or venue within a judicial district or municipality within the county.

By state

California

For a more detailed treatment, see California Judiciary.

Maryland

The Maryland judiciary includes:

• district courts, which sit in the county seats and, in more populous counties and Baltimore City, other locations;
• circuit courts, which sit in the county seats;
• the Court of Special Appeals, which is the state's intermediate appellate court; and
• the Court of Appeals, which is the state supreme court.

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts court system is organized as follows:

• The Trial Court, which is divided into the following departments:
  • Boston Municipal Court Department;
  • District Court Department;
  • Housing Court Department;
  • Juvenile Court Department;
  • Land Court Department;
  • Probate and Family Court Department; and
  • Superior Court Department;
• The Appeals Court; and
• The Supreme Judicial Court.

Decisions are available online.

The Supreme Judicial Court is the oldest appellate court in continuous existence in the Western Hemisphere.

New Jersey

The New Jersey judiciary includes:

• the municipal courts;
• the Superior Court, which is the trial court of general jurisdiction for both law and equity;
• the Tax Court, a specialized court;
• the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, which is the state's intermediate appellate court; and
• the Supreme Court.

The municipal courts sit in every municipality, although smaller municipalities in a county may share a judge, and are under the supervision of the Superior Court. Unusually, the Superior Court, not the municipal courts, functions as the Small Claims Court.

New York

New York has an unusually complicated state judicial system, with different organizational details for New York City, suburban Long Island, and Upstate New York. Most notably, the court called the Supreme Court is actually a trial court, roughly analogous to a circuit or superior court elsewhere. The highest court is called the Court of Appeals, and the intermediate appellate court is called the Appellate Division.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania judiciary includes:

• the minor courts, including the Philadelphia Municipal Court, the Philadelphia Traffic Court, the Pittsburgh Municipal Court, and magisterial district judges elsewhere;
• the Courts of Common Pleas, the upper-level trial courts;
• two intermediate appellate courts: the Commonwealth Court, for matters concerning state and local government; and the Superior Court, for all other matters; and
• the Supreme Court.

The Commonwealth Court also serves as a trial court for suits by or against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.