Most Americans who ever go to court go to a state court: for a traffic ticket, a divorce, a will, a landlord dispute or a criminal charge. Each state builds its own system, so names and details vary, but the shape is much like the federal courts.
Key idea
Most states have trial courts (often both limited-jurisdiction courts, such as traffic, small claims and probate, and general-jurisdiction courts), an intermediate appellate court, and a highest court, usually called the supreme court. Each state's highest court has the final word on that state's law.
| State | Trial court of general jurisdiction | Highest court |
|---|---|---|
| Most states | often called the circuit, district or superior court | the Supreme Court |
| New York | the Supreme Court (a trial court) | the Court of Appeals |
| Massachusetts | the Superior Court | the Supreme Judicial Court |
| Texas and Oklahoma | district courts | two: the Supreme Court (civil) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (criminal) |
Why it works
The Constitution created a federal government of limited powers and left the states with their own governments and courts. Since most law (crimes, contracts, property, family, accidents) is state law, most cases are state cases: by one common estimate, about 95 percent of the nation's civil and criminal cases. State courts also hear many cases involving federal law, because state judges are bound by the Supremacy Clause and usually share jurisdiction with federal courts. States choose judges in different ways: partisan or nonpartisan elections, appointment by the governor, or "merit selection" with later retention elections.
Worked example: Read the court's name
A news story says "the New York Supreme Court ruled today." Has New York's highest court decided the case?
- In New York, the Supreme Court is the main trial court.
- Appeals go to its Appellate Division and then to the Court of Appeals, the highest court.
- So the story describes a trial-level ruling, which may be appealed.
Answer: No. It was a trial court ruling.
Worked example: Which court is last?
A defendant is convicted of a crime in a Texas district court and loses in the intermediate court of appeals. Which Texas court is the last stop on Texas law?
- Texas splits its top level: civil cases go to the Supreme Court of Texas, criminal cases to the Court of Criminal Appeals.
- This is a criminal case.
Answer: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Common mistake
Assuming every state's "Supreme Court" is its highest court. In New York it is a trial court, and Texas and Oklahoma have two highest courts. Check the court's place in the system: does any other court of the state review its decisions? If so, it is not the highest.
This is an educational course, not legal advice.