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In the Federal Court System, the US District Courts ARE the lowest level of court, and have original jurisdiction (over FEDERAL offenses) within their assigned districts (of which, I believe, there are 94).
State courts, by far, hear more cases per year than all of the Federal Circuits combined.
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There are eleven numbered circuits, each of which has a United States Court of Appeal, and the U.S. Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit. There are two specialized U.S. Courts of Appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Armed Forces.
The federal court system comprises the Supreme Court, circuit courts of appeal, and district courts. There are also specialized federal courts.
Federal district courts have jurisdiction over trials. Federal appeals courts have jurisdiction over appeals from the federal district courts.
The Constitution established only one federal court in the Judicial Branch, the Supreme Court. It left to Congress' discretion the creation of other federal courts under its authority in Article III (the constitutional courts) and Article I.The three most widely used courts in the federal judiciary are:US District Courts: The US and its territories are divided into 94 federal judicial districts, each with its own district court. These are the courts where cases are tried.US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts: The District Courts are divided among 12 geographical regions, called Circuits. Each circuit has its own Court of Appeals. There is also a thirteenth Circuit, the Federal Circuit which has nationwide jurisdiction over special subject matter, such as cases from the US Court of Federal Claims. If a person looses a case in the district court that person can appeal the case to the appropriate Court of Appeals Circuit Court.Supreme Court of the United States: The Supreme Court is the highest of the federal courts. Cases from the Circuit Courts and those involving federal question jurisdiction from the state supreme courts can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
There are 94 US District Courts located within 12 regional circuits. A federal case will be brought to a district court located within its regional circuit.
Federal courts do a lot of things. They hear cases just like state courts, but operate in a different system. They are allowed to hear different kinds of cases than state courts (like if the issue is about the constitution). Also, if the parties in a case are citizens of different states (this is called "diversity") the case is started in a federal court system.
Constitutional federal courts are either created or allowed to be created under Article III of the Constitution. For instance, federal district courts and circuit court of appeals are Constitutional federal courts. The Supreme Court also falls under the category of Constitutional Federal Courts and it is the highest court in America. Legislative federal courts, on the other hand, are established by Congress using implied power. For instance, the Court of Military Appeals is a legislative federal court.
Appellate courts. In the federal court system, the appellate courts are the US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts and the Supreme Court of the United States (aka US Supreme Court).