Us district court what type of cases

Each federal district is designated within one of the several federal circuits. The Federal District Court is the only federal court with jurisdiction or authority over civilians who commit federal crimes. Other federal courts hear specific types of disputes.

The United States Court of International Trade hears cases involving international trade and customs issues. While the power of the federal courts is strictly limited, the following are the types of cases that district courts can hear and decide:. For most of these cases, a plaintiff can choose to bring these cases in either a Federal District Court or a state court. Only federal courts can conduct trials of patent and copyright infringement disputes and prosecutions for federal crimes.

Attorneys » District of Massachusetts. Common Legal Terms appeal A request made after a trial, asking another court usually the court of appeals to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal. Appeals can be made for a variety of reasons including improper procedure and asking the court to change its interpretation of the law.

As it is used in federal criminal cases, "the government" refers to the lawyers of the U. Attorney's office who are prosecuting the case. Grand jury proceedings are closed to the public, and the person suspected of having committed the crime is not entitled to be present or have an attorney present. States are not required to use grand juries, but the federal government must do so under the Constitution. Additionally, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has a nationwide jurisdiction over very specific issues such as patents.

Each circuit court has multiple judges, ranging from six on the First Circuit to twenty-nine on the Ninth Circuit. Circuit court judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Appeals to circuit courts are first heard by a panel, consisting of three circuit court judges. En banc opinions tend to carry more weight and are usually decided only after a panel has first heard the case.

Beyond the Federal Circuit, a few courts have been established to deal with appeals on specific subjects such as veterans claims United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and military matters United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the American judicial system, and has the power to decide appeals on all cases brought in federal court or those brought in state court but dealing with federal law.

For example, if a First Amendment freedom of speech case was decided by the highest court of a state usually the state supreme court , the case could be appealed to the federal Supreme Court.

However, if that same case were decided entirely on a state law similar to the First Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States would not be able to consider the case.

After the circuit court or state supreme court has ruled on a case, either party may choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. Unlike circuit court appeals, however, the Supreme Court is usually not required to hear the appeal.

If the writ is granted, the Supreme Court will take briefs and conduct oral argument. The Court typically hears cases when there are conflicting decisions across the country on a particular issue or when there is an egregious error in a case. There are nine justices on the court — eight associate justices and one chief justice. The Constitution sets no requirements for Supreme Court justices, though all current members of the court are lawyers and most have served as circuit court judges.

District Courts The United States district courts are the trial courts of the federal court system. Within limits set by Congress and the Constitution, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases, including both civil and criminal matters.

Every day hundreds of people across the nation are selected for jury duty and help decide some of these cases. There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Three territories of the United States—the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—have district courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy cases.

Bankruptcy Courts Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters, and in almost all districts, bankruptcy cases are filed in the bankruptcy court. Bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court.