District court
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Yes and no. The US Supreme Court has appellatejurisdiction over both civil and criminal suits (not necessarily most); however, the case must involve a preserved question of federal or constitutional law. The Court only has jurisdiction over matters involving state law and constitutional issues when those issues are important to the case, but subordinate to the federal or constitutional questions.
Yes. US District Courts have original jurisdiction over both criminal and civil cases arising under federal law, the Constitution or US treaties, as well as (original) diversity jurisdiction over civil cases where the parties reside in different states, if the amount is greater than $75,000.
No, The US supreme court only reviews cases which have already been through the trial process. The Supreme court then reviews the trial decision for correctness. Only the lowest levels of courts conduct trials; the supreme court simply hears legal arguments, where lawyers debate about the legal meaning of a fact or the legal meaning of the text of a law.
In the US trials are only done at the very lowest levels of courts. These lowest courts decided facts (did A shoot B?) everything above the lowest court simply reviews the legal reasoning (does ___ count as self-defense, and allow A to shoot B?). Reviewing legal decisions is purely legal, it is just lawyers arguing and laws and legal stuff; there is no jury.
The US Supreme Court only hears such cases on appeal; but yes, the Court has appellate jurisdiction over both criminal and civil cases.
Yes, the US Supreme Court can consider both civil and criminal cases under appellate jurisdiciton.
Federal courts of general jurisdiction (US District Courts, etc.) handle both civil and criminal cases.
The purpose of federal district courts is to handle small cases, such as those between businesses and people suing other people. The purpose of federal district courts is to handle the small problems that occur that need settling.Another View: US District Courts handle ALL matters (large and small - civil and criminal) which involve federal law and which originate within their jurisdiction. They are the lowest level courts of original jurisdiction within the federal system.In serious criminal cases, district courts convene panels of citizens, which are known as grand juries (to hear evidence of a possible crime and to recommend whether the evidence is sufficient to file criminal charges, there can be as many as 16 to 23 people, also they are not used in civil cases).
Charging and trying defendants for breaking federal laws.
In Alabama, Circuit Courts have more general jurisdiction over all types of cases, while District Courts have more limited jurisdiction. Practically, this means that in criminal matters, Circuit Courts hear the more serious cases like felonies, while District Courts generally hear the misdemeanors and ordinance violations. For civil cases, Circuit Courts generally handle matters where the amount in dispute is over $10,000. Circuit Courts and District Courts share jurisdiction over cases where the amount in dispute is less than $10,000 but more than $3,000; District Courts almost always hear the cases where the amount in dispute is less than $3,000 (small claims). In juvenile matters, the courts share jurisdiction but will operate as separate juvenile courts and maintain separate dockets. Circuit courts almost always hear domestic relations cases. For more information on this question and questions like it, check out the linked Court Reference website. It has great explanations of the court structures in different states as well as thousands of useful court-related links.
Arizona's trial court system includes Superior Courts, Justice Courts, Municipal Courts, and Magistrate Courts. Superior Courts have jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. Each county in Arizona has at least one Superior Court. Civil cases heard by Superior Courts include divorce, property cases, probate, estate, municipal ordinance legality, insolvency proceedings, and claims over $10,000. For claims of $5,001- $10,000, the Superior Courts share jurisdiction with the Justice Courts. The types of criminal cases handled by Superior Courts include felonies and some misdemeanors. Superior Courts also have a special panel, called the Tax Court, which handles cases involving the legality of a tax.