Judicial Order of Operations

To put it simplistically, if a case deals with something on a Federal level, it will (usually) initially take place in one of the 94 U.S. District Courts (or the Court of International Trade or Court of Federal Claims).  If that case’s ruling is appealed, it will be heard in one of the U.S. Courts of appeals.  From there, the case can be appealed to the Supreme Court, where it has a highly unlikely chance of being actually heard – only 1-2% of all cases appealed to the Supreme Court actually make it there.

The Supreme Court can also hear original jurisdiction, but that is limited to cases involving disputes between the states or disputes arising among ambassadors and other high-ranking ministers

For a great summary and wealth of information of the Judicial Branch in just 5 minutes, watch this video!  Some of this information will also be included in the mid-lesson and final quiz.