What are the typical courts in a state court system?

Answer 1

Very generally, there are trial courts and appeals courts within a state court system; appeals courts generally include a supreme court (the final court of appeals at the state court level) and intermediate appellate courts that hear appeals directly from trial courts.

The structure, number and jurisdiction of trial courts, however, varies vastly from state to state. Each state determines its own trial court structure. Some states may have court jurisdiction at the county level, others may have village courts with very limited jurisdiction, municipal courts with slightly greater jurisdiction, and then county-wide courts with much broader jurisdiction. Some states have separate courts for particular subject areas, such as probate courts or family courts, while others make distinctions based on, eg, how much money is in controversy in a civil case or the level of offense (felony or misdemeanor) in a criminal case.

In California, for example, all trial courts are called Superior Courts and these Superior Courts have general jurisdiction over all matters eligible for state court jurisdiction. Within a California Superior Court, there may be separate divisions for family law cases, criminal cases, etc, and multiple locations within one county, but it is all one level of court. In Virginia, on the other hand, almost all counties have one circuit court, one district court, and one juvenile/domestic relations court. Each of these courts hears different kinds of cases, though there may be overlapping jurisdiction. Other states, such as Texas, have five or more different types of trial courts, so it can be very confusing. for a complete state-by-state directory of trial courts, including a description of the jurisdiction of each court, visit the Court Reference related link.