Federal Court and State Courts – Things You Should Know

In the United States, there are two different kinds of courts function. One is the state court and another is the federal court. Both of these courts are known to come with certain differences and similarities. They come with different set of powers, jurisdictions and laws making it difficult for one to understand how they coexist and function. Here, you will get to know about some most important things about state courts and federal court,

State courts

State courts are established by the respective states that are looking to maintain the law and order within their purview and power limits. The laws and practices of state courts are considerably different from the federal courts. It needs to be understood that the laws and regulations varies between the states themselves. What is legal in California would be illegal in Texas and it is an altogether complicated area. There are local courts operating within the State and this includes courts in counties, municipalities and cities.

Federal court

The court is established by the constitution of the United States that was passed by the Congress in order to decide over issues that involves national interest. It decides over matters concerning the constitution and laws passed by the Congress. 
Jurisdiction.

The differences in the function of the two courts depend based on the jurisdiction. The Federal court jurisdiction would include those cases which has the United States as one of the party, cases that involves violation of the federal law and laws set-forth by the constitution of the U.S. It will also deal with those cases between two citizens when the amount exceeds $75,000. Apart from these, it also deals with copyright, patent, bankruptcy and maritime cases.

The state courts on the other hand deals with everything that comes under state laws. It includes family dispute cases, robberies, felony, misdemeanor, traffic violations and much more. The state courts are not allowed to deal with those cases that involve the United States and certain other areas that are exclusive to federal court.

Scope and power

It needs to be understood that the state courts have wider jurisdiction when compared to federal court, which has limited scope. It can handle matters concerning many areas of law. There are also certain areas where both the courts have jurisdiction to decide and in such case, the parties have the right to choose the court they want to proceed with.

This entry was posted in LEGAL.

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