Looking at the Federal Court System

It is easy to be confused about the two separate court systems within the United States.

The Online Paralegal Programs website recently released a helpful infographic about the federal court system. Remember that although most cases are handled in state courts, violations of federal law are first tried in one of 94 U.S. District Courts. These cases, can later be appealed to one of the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeal and, potentially, to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Although we at the Ohio Supreme Court accept about 10 percent of cases appealed to us, the U.S. Supreme Court takes less than 1 percent.

 

Look at the graphic of the Federal court system and compare it with Ohio’s court system. Notice the similarities and differences.