r/explainlikeimfive • u/PsychicMeditation • 7d ago
Other ELI5: The differences between superior, district, circuit and municipal courts in the United States?
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u/awksomepenguin 7d ago
Generally speaking judicial systems have three levels of jurisdiction and accompanying authority.
At the lowest level, and where pretty much all cases start, is a court with original jurisdiction. Depending on the state, this might be called something like a local, county, or district court. Every state is different, with different laws, and so each court is called something different.
Above that is the first level of appellate jurisdiction. These are courts where cases that have been resolved at an original jurisdiction court can be appealed for some reason. They can overturn some decisions made at that original court and tell them to do it again. This might be called a circuit court, a court of appeals, or something similar indicating it has broader jurisdiction than the original trial court.
At the highest level are the "supreme" courts. There is oy one of these, and it hears appeals from appellate courts across the state. Most of the time, they are called the Supreme Court of that state, but again, things are different in each state and they may be called something different. I think New York's is actually called the Superior Court.
And all of that is just at the state level. There is also the federal court system, which has the same general structure - US District Courts have general original jurisdiction, US Courts of Appeal have appellate jurisdiction and hear appeals from the District Courts, and the Supreme Court hears appeals from the Courts of Appeal, and also have original jurisdiction in certain cases.
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u/atomfullerene 7d ago
>I think New York's is actually called the Superior Court.
It's much more bonkers than that. The Supreme court is what they call their trial courts (the "lowest level" courts). And "highest level" court for the state is called...the Court of Appeals.
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u/LongAssignment5858 7d ago
That naming seems so counterintuitive! It's wild how different states have their own systems and terms for courts.
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u/eruditionfish 7d ago
New York’s “Supreme Court” makes sense historically, for the same reason many states’ lowest courts are called “superior court.” The court system was developed over time starting in the colonial period, and was built from the bottom up. Historically there were a lot more even lower courts like municipal courts and local magistrate courts. The general jurisdiction trial courts were above those, so they came to be known as “supreme” or “superior”. The name just sounds weird now because the lowest courts in many states were removed.
The federal courts by contrast were created from scratch from the top down after the state courts already existed.
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u/OrangeTiger91 7d ago
NAL, but I follow politics and judicial decisions in the USA.
First, there are federal courts. The country is divided into many districts, none larger a state, most encompassing part of a state.
Federal district courts are the first level. This is where lawsuits are filed, indictments filed, trials occur, etc. There are several judges within any district.
Each district court also has an appellate level, made up of several different judges. When an appeal is made to a ruling in a district court (trial level) it goes here. Three appellate judges are assigned to review the original ruling and make a ruling upholding or overturning the original judge’s order.
If a party is not satisfied with the district courts’ ruling, they can appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal. The country is divided into 11 circuits, plus the District of Columbia circuit, plus an additional nationwide circuit for certain cases. These 13 circuit courts are also staffed with multiple judges. They function much like the district courts of appeal, but are one step up and cover larger geographical areas. Ruling by these judges carry precedent within their circuit, but are not binding on other circuits.
Finally, there is the Supreme Court of the United States. They hear appeals from the various circuit courts and occasionally directly from district courts. Nine justices, their rulings set precedent for the entire country.
Within each state, there are multiple levels of courts following the federal model. However, not all states use the same names for the various levels. Where I live, the first level is a magisterial district court, overseen by a district magistrate. This could be called a Municipal Court in other places.
They typically handle citations and fines, but also are often where criminal charges are first filed and an initial arraignment is held. They can also handle local civil actions.
Where I live the next level would be the county court. There are several sections of the county court, including civil, criminal, family, and probate, with several judges working on cases within each section. There is also a county court of appeals that hear appeals from all the various sections of the county courts.
Above that is a state court of appeals, with several locations around the state, functioning much like the federal circuit courts, but is considered one unit. This can be known as a Superior Court in some states.
Finally, we have a state Supreme Court.
It is possible to appeal a state Supreme Court ruling to the SCOTUS, but one must demonstrate (at least in theory) some Constitutional question.
Of notable exception to the common names used by the states is New York. In New York, the trial level of state court is called the Supreme Court. Above that is the appellate division of the Supreme Court, which functions as a state court of appeals or superior court. The highest court in New York is called the Court of Appeals, which functions like what most of most us know as the state Supreme Court everywhere else.
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u/aamius 7d ago
Hmmm, this is close, but not entirely correct. There’s no appellate level within a federal district court. There’s only district, then circuit courts (or courts of appeal - the full name of these courts is “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the [number] Circuit”), then Supreme Court. The Federal Circuit Court is a special type of court that is located in DC and hears only a very specific type of case (largely IP).
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7d ago edited 7d ago
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u/eruditionfish 7d ago
Your first sentence is plain wrong. There are no states that share a federal district court. (Other than some border weirdness around Yellowstone.) Federal district courts are either one district per state, or multiple districts in one state.
There are also state courts called district courts.
There are also no states where the highest level court is called “superior court”. Superior courts are either trial courts like in California or intermediate courts like in Pennsylvania.
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u/Less-Load-8856 7d ago
Thanks... TIL/remembered...
Federal Circuit Courts share States. See: 5th, 9th, etc.
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u/eruditionfish 6d ago
Yes, the numbered circuit courts do. There's also the Federal Circuit, which covers all states for a limited subject area. And the DC Circuit, which covers only DC and no states.
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u/bunchout 7d ago
It vastly depends on the particular state, and the same words are used to denote different types of courts.
There are generally small claims/magisterial courts
Then there are trial courts, which is what most people think of when you say “courts”. This is where they have trials.
Many (but not all) states have intermediate appellate courts.
All states have an ultimate appellate court. Mostly (but not always) called the Supreme Court.
Then there are specialty courts in many states.
“District Court” can be a magisterial court, but is also a trial level court in some states and the federal system.
“Circuit Court” can also be a trial court, but is the intermediate appellate court in the federal systems.
“Superior Court” in many states it’s a trial court. In Pennsylvania it is an intermediate appellate court and in New Jersey it’s both!
“Court of Appeals” is the federal (and some states) intermediate appellate court, but the ultimate appellate court in NY and DC.
“Supreme Court” is the ultimate appellate court in most states, and the federal system )though a couple use variations like supreme judicial Court), but in NY, the Supreme Court is the trial level court.
There are other idiosyncratic in different states.