Editing State court (United States) (section)

==Types of state courts==

===Trial court===
Cases in state courts begin in a [[trial court]] where lawsuits and criminal cases are filed and [[evidence (law)|evidence]] is eventually presented if a case proceeds to a hearing or trial.<ref name="Olson 1999 282" /> Trials in these courts are often held only after extensive pretrial procedures that in more than 90% of cases lead to a [[default judgment]] in a civil case, an agreed resolution [[Settlement (litigation)|settling the case]] or [[plea bargain]] resolving a criminal case, or pretrial resolution of the case by a judge either on the merits or on procedural grounds.  

On the one hand, the United States has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most litigious places in the world: "American society is somewhat exceptional not only in the frequency with which Americans resort to court to settle their disputes but, more significantly, the scope and importance of social and economic issues that are confided to the private litigation process".<ref name="Von_Mehren_Page_162">{{cite book |last1=von Mehren |first1=Arthur T. |last2=Murray |first2=Peter L. |author1-link=Arthur Taylor von Mehren |author2-link=Peter L. Murray |title=Law in the United States |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781139462198 |page=162 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9tpJlKdqVTsC&pg=PA162}}</ref>  On the other hand, very few cases actually go to a [[jury]] verdict and a final [[judgment]], let alone an appeal that results in a published appellate opinion.  In other words, the [[Law reports|reported]] [[case law]] studied in [[Law school in the United States|American law schools]] does not reflect the way the vast majority of cases are handled and resolved—by "bargain[ing] [in the] [[shadow of the law]]".<ref name="Friedman_Page_70">{{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Lawrence M. |last2=Hayden |first2=Grant |author1-link=Lawrence M. Friedman |title=American Law: An Introduction |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780190460594 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bJjDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |access-date=December 3, 2023|edition=3rd}}</ref>

Territory outside of any state in the United States, such as the [[District of Columbia]] or [[American Samoa]], often has a court system established under federal or territorial law which substitutes for a state court system and is distinct from the ordinary federal court system.

State trial courts are usually located in a [[courthouse]], which is often in the [[county seat]]. Even when state trial courts include more than one county in a judicial district, it is not uncommon for the state trial court to hold regular sessions at each county seat in its jurisdiction and function from the point of view of litigants as if it were a county-based court.

===Appellate court===
If one of the [[litigant]]s is unsatisfied with the decision of the lower court, the matter may be taken up on [[appeal]] (but an [[acquittal]] in a criminal trial may not be appealed by the state due to the [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment]] protection against [[double jeopardy]]). Usually, an intermediate appellate court, if there is one in that state, often called the state court of appeals, will review the decision of the trial court.  If still unsatisfied, the litigant can appeal to the highest [[appellate court]] in the state, which is usually called the [[state supreme court]] and is usually located in or near the [[state capital]]. Appellate courts in the United States, unlike their [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] counterparts, are generally not permitted to correct mistakes concerning the facts of the case on appeal, only mistakes of law, or findings of fact with no support in the trial court record.

===Courts of inferior jurisdiction===

{{anchor|Courts of inferior jurisdiction}}Many states have courts of [[limited jurisdiction]] (inferior jurisdiction), presided over by, for example, a [[magistrate]] or [[justice of the peace]] who hears [[arraignment|criminal arraignments]] and tries [[Misdemeanor|petty offenses]] and small [[Civil law (common law)|civil cases]].  Appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction are frequently sent to state trial courts of general jurisdiction rather than to an appellate court.

Larger cities often have [[city court]]s (also known as municipal courts) which hear [[traffic law|traffic offenses]] and violations of city [[local ordinance|ordinances]]; in some states, such as [[New York (state)|New York]], these courts have slightly broader jurisdiction and can also handle small claims and misdemeanors. Other courts of limited jurisdiction include [[alderman]]'s courts, police court, [[mayor]]'s courts, [[recorder's court]]s, [[county court]]s, [[probate court]]s, municipal courts, [[juvenile court]]s, courts of claims, courts of common pleas, [[family court]]s, [[small claims court]]s, tax courts, [[water court]]s (present in some western states such as [[Colorado Water Courts|Colorado]] and Montana), and [[workers' compensation]] courts (Rhode Island).

[[Lawrence M. Friedman]] has described courts of limited jurisdiction as "the bargain basement of justice," where procedures are often informal and "slapdash" and the quality of justice is poor.<ref name="Friedman_Page_56" />  In states that still use justices of the peace or equivalent judicial officers, many judges of courts of limited jurisdiction are laypersons who never attended law school or passed a [[Bar examination in the United States|bar examination]].<ref name="Friedman_Page_56" />

Courts of limited jurisdiction should not be confused with the [[administrative court]]s seen in other countries.  The United States does not use administrative courts,<ref name="Farnsworth_Page_170">{{cite book |last1=Farnsworth |first1=E. Allan |author-link1=E. Allan Farnsworth |editor1-last=Sheppard |editor1-first=Steve |editor1-link=Stephen M. Sheppard |title=An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199733101 |page=170 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOFMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA170 |access-date=November 17, 2020}}</ref> as a result of the strict [[Separation of powers under the United States Constitution|separation of powers imposed by the United States Constitution]].<ref name="Sunstein_Page_83">{{cite book |last1=Sunstein |first1=Cass R. |last2=Vermeule |first2=Adrian |author1-link=Cass Sunstein |author2-link=Adrian Vermeule |title=Law and Leviathan: Redeeming the Administrative State |date=2020 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780674249813 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6n8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |access-date=May 5, 2024}}</ref><ref>''City of Arlington, Texas v. Federal Communications Commission'', [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15785238659483190922&hl=en 569 U.S. 290, 304 n.4] (2013).</ref>  Instead, at both the federal and state levels, [[administrative law judge]]s (ALJs) preside over tribunals within executive branch agencies (although their decisions can usually be appealed to real judges in the judicial branch).  In state governments, ALJs handle matters such as driver's license revocations, workers' compensation claims, unemployment insurance claims, and land use disputes.

===Superior court===
All these courts are distinguished from courts of [[general jurisdiction]] (also known as "superior jurisdiction"), which are the default type of trial court that can hear any case which is not required to be first heard in a court of limited jurisdiction. Most such cases are civil cases involving large sums of money or criminal cases arising from serious felonies like rape and murder. Typically, felonies are handled in general jurisdiction courts, while misdemeanors and other lesser offenses are handled in inferior jurisdiction courts. Unlike most European courts (in both common law and civil law countries), American state courts do not usually have a separate court that handles serious crimes; jurisdiction lies with the court that handles all other felony cases in a given county. But, many state courts that handle criminal cases have separate divisions or judges assigned to handle certain types of crimes such as a [[drug court]], sometimes also known as a "problem-solving court".

Courts of general jurisdiction tend to be better funded, better staffed, more professional, more dignified, and more solemn than courts of limited jurisdiction.<ref name="Friedman_Page_57">{{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Lawrence M. |last2=Hayden |first2=Grant |author1-link=Lawrence M. Friedman |title=American Law: An Introduction |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780190460594 |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bJjDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |access-date=December 3, 2023|edition=3rd}}</ref>  They also tend to have jurisdiction over larger geographical areas and more people.<ref name="Friedman_Page_57" /> 
 
A few states like [[California]] have unified all courts of general and inferior jurisdiction to make the judicial process more efficient.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} In such judicial systems, there are still ''departments'' of limited jurisdiction within the trial courts, and often these departments occupy exactly the same facilities they once occupied as independent courts of limited jurisdiction.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} However, as mere administrative divisions, departments can be rearranged at the discretion of each trial court's presiding judge in response to changing caseloads.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}