Editing State court (United States) (section)

===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.