3-2 Federal Court System
By Kaitlyn Flanagan and Lindsey Hill
Jurisdiction Of The Federal Courts
• There are three levels of federal courts with
general jurisdiction
• Federal district courts
• Federal courts of appeals
• U.S supreme court
• A court w General Jurisdiction can hear almost
any kind of case
Federal District Courts
• Lowest level of federal court
• This is the trial court, the first to hear the
dispute
• Has the power to use the facts and to make
initial determination of the law to use in
deciding the case
Federal Courts Of Appeals
• Have jurisdiction over the district courts, certain
specialized federal courts, and many federal
administrative agencies.
• Do not accept any new evidence or call
witnesses. Instead they review all the facts and
oral arguments of the attorneys to reach a
decision.
• There are 13 Federal courts of appeal, 12 of these
are circuit courts and the 13 is dedicated to the
“federal circuit”
United States Supreme Court
• Has both original and appellate jurisdiction.
• Original jurisdiction is over “cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and
consuls and those in which the state shall be
party”
• Appellate jurisdiction is exercised over cases
on appeal for the U.S or from higher courts of
the various states