"The
judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one
supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may
from time to time ordain and establish...." U.S.
Constitution, Article III, Section 1.
* * *
The U.S. Supreme Court is the
highest court in the federal judiciary. As authorized by the
Constitution, Congress has established two levels of federal
courts under the Supreme Court: the trial courts and the
appellate courts.
There are 94 trial courts, known as
U.S. District Courts, located in judicial districts throughout
the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The 94 judicial
districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which
has a U.S. Court of Appeals.
Two other courts, the U.S. Court of
International Trade and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, have
nationwide jurisdiction to hear special types of cases.
