American Courts

A Judicial Review

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Landlord Tenant cases are usually heard in district court and are often handled as Summary Proceedings.
(where there is no dispute as to the facts; a tenant owes rent but can't or won't pay it)

Overview of the U.S. Judicial System

      The U.S. judicial system operates through a series of state and federal courts: trial (lower) courts that conduct trials; and appeals (higher) courts that determine questions of law, particularly as to whether errors of law were made by a trial court.
      The state court system may not intervene in the federal court system, which is the U.S. legal authority within its jurisdiction. The federal court system, however, may intervene in state courts where there are legal disputes involving the U.S. Constitution; otherwise, the state court system is the final legal authority in its jurisdiction.
      Trial courts resolve questions of fact based upon the evidence presented, and no appeals court can substitute a different set of facts. Judges preside over trials and also decide all cases where the parties have not requested juries.  When a jury hears a case, it must reach a verdict based upon the evidence presented and using the judge's instructions.
In the appellate courts, a panel of judges rather than jurors decides the cases.

The State Court System

Most states utilize a multi-tiered system consisting of district, municipal and circuit courts; State Court of Appeals; and State Supreme Court.
      The State Supreme Court is the highest appeals court in the state and has supervisory authority over all other state courts. It hears appeals of the decisions rendered by the State Court of Appeals; its opinions are binding on all other State courts, but may be overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Federal Court System

      The federal court system consists of three tiers: U.S. district courts; U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and U.S. Supreme Court.
      Most federal cases begin in one of the U.S. District Courts, which hear criminal cases that arise under federal statutes or the U.S. Constitution. As with the state circuit courts, U.S. District Courts are trial courts; however, as with the state court system, a district court may act as an appellate body for litigants who begin their journeys through the legal system by starting with a federal administrative agency such as HUD.
      The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals of the decisions rendered by the U.S. District Courts. There are thirteen geographic circuits .  As with all appeals courts, cases are decided by panels of judges rather than jurors.
      Appeals from state supreme courts and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals are heard by the U.S. Supreme Court .  A final decision on the issues of an appeal is determined by the agreement of at least five of the nine judges.

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