How do cases get to court?

Answer 1

This depends on the federal trial court's jurisdiction and what type of case it is.

For a civil subject matter case, the case can can be (but don't have to be) filed in federal court if one of two things are true:

a) diversity jurisdiction: plaintiff and defendant are from different states AND

there is more than $75,000 at stake OR

b) federal question jurisdiction: a basic part of the plaintiff's case is a question

arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the U.S.

Example of a: Plaintiff citizen of Wisconsin. Defendant citizen of Indiana. Plaintiff suing defendant for $80,000. Case can be filed in federal court because diversity and more than $75,000.

There are many cases where the federal courts have criminal subject matter jurisdiction over violates of federal criminal statutes. If the person violates a federal law, federal courts have jurisdiction.

Federal courts also have exclusive jurisdiction over certain cases, such as bankruptcy cases, which means that bankruptcy can ONLY be filed in a federal court. Another example would be patents - only a federal court can deal with patents.

Added: To answer the direct question, cases can get to federal court if they are 1) initially filed in federal court or 2) removed to federal court from state court.