The U.S. Federal Court System

• The U.S. Constitution, Article III, establishes the federal court system with the U.S. Supreme Court and permits Congress to create lower federal courts, namely circuit and district courts.
• The federal courts decide disputes involving the U.S. Constitution, federal laws, disputes between states, and disputes involving more than $75,000 between residents of different states.
• There are 94 District Courts (trial courts), 13 Courts of Appeals (intermediate appellate courts), and the United States Supreme Court (the court of final review).
• The District Courts, which are spread out throughout the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, are the federal trial courts.
• The work of the federal courts often affects many people besides those involved in a specific lawsuit.
• In 2001, although the circuit courts decided over 57,000 cases, the Supreme Court actually heard and decided less than 90.

Test your knowledge about the U.S. federal court system, including the structure, jurisdiction, and significance of the different federal courts and their impact on U.S. law.