Editing State court (United States) (section)

===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.