District courts -> Appeals court-> Supreme court District Courts Types of cases they hear * 91 total courts (678 total judges) * Federal crimes
* At least 1 in each state * Bankruptcy * Have original jurisdiction * Naturalization * Hear about 350,000 cases a year * Civil suites between citizens of different states * Only federal courts that hold trials * Maritime law
Appeals Courts The Supreme Court * Divided into 12 judicial circuits * Consist of 9 justices * Usually has a panel of 3 judges to hear a case (178 in all) * Hear cases to resolve conflicts among states, interpreting national laws, * Not looking for guilt or innocence but to correct errors made at the district court level and maintain national supremacy in the law