Jurisdiction means the power, right and authority to interpret and apply law. The two primary types of jurisdiction discussed in relation to the US Supreme Court are original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction.
The court that first hears a case, or holds a trial, has original jurisdiction. The trial judge or jury are "triers of fact"; they examine evidence, listen to testimony, and try to make a fair decision about whether the information they're provided is sufficient (in criminal cases) to find a defendant guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."
If one party disagrees with the judge or jury decision at the trial level, he (or she) can appeal his case to the next higher court. Courts that hear appeals from trial courts have appellate jurisdiction. Appellate courts are not triers of fact; they don't look at evidence or hear testimony. Instead, they try to determine whether the trial or decision conformed with the law and constitution, and whether the trial procedures and jury instructions were followed correctly enough to allow a fair trial.
The US Supreme Court only has original jurisdiction over a small class of cases, and typically only considers disputes between the states under its original jurisdiction, while the lower federal courts handle the rest of the caseload. Conflicts between states don't occur very often, so these cases only represent a small portion of the Court's work.
Most of the cases the Supreme Court reviews were first tried in (for example) US District Court, and (usually) appealed to a US Court of Appeals Circuit Court. The Supreme Court then acts as the "court of last resort," or the final decision-maker (appellate jurisdiction), over cases it considers important to the national interest. This is what is meant by "the majority of cases to the US Supreme Court come through appellate jurisdiction."
It demonstrated that although the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction through the Constitution, Congress is entitled to pass statutes that would take the jurisdiction of the court away.
If the US Supreme Court is the first to hear a case, they are exercising original jurisdiction; if the Court hears a case directly from US District Court under appellate jurisdiction, bypassing the intermediate US Court of Appeals Circuit Court, they are exercising expedited jurisdiction (as well as appellate jurisdiction).
The answer depends on the specific court you're referring to. In the Federal Judiciary, the US District Courts have original jurisdiction; US Courts of Appeals Circuit Courts have appellate jurisdiction. Both state and federal cases enter the system through a trial court, which is the court of original jurisdiction. Both systems also have intermediate appellate courts below the supreme court (or court of last resort).
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving ambassadors, other public ministers, and those in which a state is a party. This means that these cases can be brought directly to the Supreme Court without going through lower courts first. Such original jurisdiction is outlined in Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Other cases typically fall under the Court's appellate jurisdiction.
In the federal court system, the US Courts of Appeals Circuit Court typically have appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in US District Court. The US Supreme Court may exercise appellate jurisdiction over either the US Courts of Appeals Circuit Courts or the US District Courts, but in most cases District Court appeals are first filtered through the Circuit Courts.
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over disputes between the states; it also has original, but shared, jurisdiction over cases involving ambassadors (although the latter class of case is not automatic). Congress cannot remove the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction; that action can only be accomplished through constitutional amendment.
The answer depends on the specific court you're referring to. In the Federal Judiciary, the US District Courts have original jurisdiction; US Courts of Appeals Circuit Courts have appellate jurisdiction. Both state and federal cases enter the system through a trial court, which is the court of original jurisdiction. Both systems also have intermediate appellate courts below the supreme court (or court of last resort).
Courts with appellate jurisdiction only hear cases that have been brought to them on appeal from a lower court. This means that the case has already gone through one trial before and because the people involved were unhappy with the decision, they took it to another court to see if another judge thinks differently.
Most cases reach the US Supreme Court under its appellate jurisdiction. The only cases the Court currently hears under original jurisdiction involve disputes between the states, which accounts for only a tiny portion of its caseload.For more information, see Related Questions, below.
The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over cases involving questions of federal or constitutional law or US treaties.They don't have jurisdiction over matters involving state or municipal laws or state constitutions, unless the case involves a conflict between two states, or a law or ordinance repugnant to the US Constitution.They don't have jurisdiction over cases from state courts if the federal question (constitutional issue or matter of federal law) was not raised at trial and preserved through the appellate process.They don't have jurisdiction cases involving political questions, such as appeals of impeachment.They don't have jurisdiction over cases prohibited by the Constitution or by constitutional Amendment, such as conflicts between the citizens of one state and the government of another (per the 11th Amendment), unless the state(s) waive their 11th Amendment protection or a state official is sued by name.They don't have jurisdiction over cases on matters from which Congress has stripped their appellate jurisdiction, assigning it to another court.
Cases that have federal jurisdiction. They can either arise under federal law or be state law cases that gain jurisdiction through diversity jurisdiction.
According to Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution, no other court has appeal authority over the Supreme Court. "In all other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact..." The Congress, if it doesn't like a ruling, can try and pass legislation (laws) that will have the affect of overruling a Supreme Court decision, but it takes a long time (usually) and is not always successful. The Supreme Court could still declare the new law unconstitutional.