ABSTRACT

At the bottom of the ladder are the courts of limited jurisdiction. They are so called because they can only hear those cases that the legislature has given them power to hear. A bottom court in the federal system is listed as the Federal Magistrate. Federal Magistrates can hear minor federal criminal cases, probable cause hearings in major federal criminal cases, and can sit in for federal district judges if the parties agree to the substitution. Courts of general jurisdiction are so called that because they have all the powers that a court may have. In the vast majority of states, the court of general jurisdiction is called the Circuit Court. In the federal system the highest court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court has nine justices and all of them hear any given case. The only really practical way to get a case before the US Supreme Court is by the writ of certiorari.