Briefly explain the state court system.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

State courts usually include four levels. These levels are courts of limited jurisdiction, courts of
general jurisdiction, courts of appeals, and courts of last resort (state supreme court). The first level of
state trial courts includes the trial courts of limited jurisdiction. Courts of limited jurisdiction are those
courts that deal with the less serious offenses and civil cases. These courts are referred to by a variety of
names, including justice of the peace court, magistrate’s court, municipal court, and county court. These
lower courts handle a wide variety of matters, including minor criminal cases, traffic offenses, violations
of municipal ordinances, and civil disputes under a certain amount. On the criminal side, these courts
may also be responsible for issuing search and arrest warrants and conducting the preliminary stages of
felony cases, such as the preliminary hearing and arraignment. On the civil side, these courts may
handle a variety of matters, including juvenile delinquency, family law, and probate. The next level in a
typical state court system includes the courts of general jurisdiction. These are the trial courts for civil
and criminal matters. They are also courts of original jurisdiction in that it is here that trials for felonies
are held. They are generally authorized to hear any matters not exclusively designated for courts of
limited jurisdiction; in some states, they may even have concurrent jurisdiction with lower courts on some
matters, such as misdemeanors. They may also hear appeals, in the form of a trial de novo, from lower
courts. At the next level of the state court system are the appellate courts. These courts—which go by
such names as appeals courts, appellate courts, appellate divisions, and courts of appeals—are found in
39 states. Larger states often have several such courts, and they may divide them into civil and criminal
divisions. The state appellate courts—like the federal circuit courts of appeals—hear civil and criminal
appeals from the lower courts within their jurisdiction. Appellate courts have both mandatory and
discretionary jurisdiction. The court of last resort is in most states called the state supreme court. The
courts of last resort usually hear the majority of appeals on a discretionary basis, similar to the U.S.
Supreme Court. This allows them to control their docket and focus on cases involving significant legal
issues. The exception are those states that do not have an intermediate appellate court and, in other
states, death penalty cases. In states without an intermediate appellate court (usually the smaller, less
populous states), the state supreme court is the only appellate court and thus is mandated by law to hear
all appeals. Most states also require that their supreme court hear all appeals in cases involving the
death penalty. This is provided as an extra safeguard, as the punishment in these cases is obviously the
most severe possible, and the states wish to be absolutely sure the defendant has received a fair trial.
For most cases, the state supreme court is the end of the line, the final arbiter of the dispute. The only
option for a losing party in the state supreme court is to appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, and
to do so, the party must be able to identify a legal issue that involves the U.S. Constitution or a federal
law.