Areshia Streams
JUS - 261 - J1122
Southern New Hampshire University
September 05, 2021
1-2 Short Paper: Organization of the Federal Court System
The three tiers of the American federal court system is the U.S. District Courts, the Court
of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Courts. The U.S. District Courts is the principal trial court of
the federal system. It has jurisdiction over nearly all categories of federal cases. There are 94
federal judicial districts, including one or more in each state. Each U.S. judicial district includes
a bankruptcy court operating as a unit of the district court. The bankruptcy courts are
administratively managed by bankruptcy judges. The bankruptcy court has jurisdiction over
almost all matters involving insolvency cases except for criminal issues. Once a case is filed in
bankruptcy court, any related matters pending in other federal and state courts may be removed
to bankruptcy court. There are two special trial courts in the U.S. federal judiciary that have
nationwide jurisdiction. The first is the U.S. Court of International Trade that addresses cases
involving international trade and custom issues. The second is the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
that has jurisdiction disputes involving federal governments and a variety of other monetary
disputes against the United States. District Court proceedings are usually conducted by a single
judge or with a jury. The U.S. Constitution provides the right to a trial by jury in many categories
of cases including all criminal prosecutions except petty offences, civil cases in which the right
to a jury trial applied under the English law at the time of American independence, and cases in
which the Congress has expressly provided for the right to trial by jury.
The second tier of the American federal court system is the Appellate Courts. The 94
judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits. In each circuit there is a U.S. Court of
Appeals. The Appellate courts hear appeals from district courts within their circuit as well as
appeals from certain federal administrative agencies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal
circuit has nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals in specialized cases such as those involving
patent laws and cases decided by the U.S. Court of International Trade or Federal Claims. To
have a case reviewed in the Court of Appeals, one or more parties must file a timely appeal
challenging a lower court's decision. Once filed a three judge panel will review the decision.
During the hearing additional evidence is not required, they normally must accept the factual
findings established by the original trial court. If any additional fact finding is necessary, the
court of appeals may remand the case to the trial court or administrative agency for further
development of the record. A remand is unnecessary in most cases, however, the court of
appeals can either affirm or reverse the lower court or agency decision in written order or
opinion. For cases of unusual importance, the court of appeals may vote to sit "en banc" to
review the