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Return to State-by-State Listing
State Judiciary Systems Included for each state are addresses and phone numbers for the state's appellate courts. Links are also provided to each state's judiciary website and state court organization chart (the latter provided by the National Center for State Courts (www.ncsc.org). Although there are differences from state to state, each state court system is typically composed of a supreme court (appeals from which are to the U.S. Supreme Court), one or more appellate courts, trial courts of general jurisdiction, and various courts of limited jurisdiction. The phrase "trial court of general jurisdiction" basically means the court hears both civil and criminal cases and that its decisions are reported -- that is, published -- in written or online formats. Courts of "limited jurisdiction," on the other hand, are courts specializing in a particular area of the law, such as probate courts (wills and estates) or family courts, or those courts whose jurisdiction is limited to claims not exceeding a certain dollar amount, such as municipal or small claims courts. Courts of general jurisdiction usually allow trial by jury; courts of limited jurisdiction typically involve a hearing before a judge or magistrate. Courts of limited jurisdiction decisions generally are not reported and can usually be appealed to the state’s trial courts of general jurisdiction, and from there to the appellate court and hence to the state supreme court.
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