Trial court

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Trial court

A trial court or court of first instance is a court

Court

A court is a body, often a government institution, with the authority to adjudication legal disputes and dispense private law, criminal justice, or administrative law justice in accordance with rules of law....
in which trial

Trial

A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:...
s take place.

A trial court of general jurisdiction

General jurisdiction

A court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal law, civil law , family law, probate, and so forth....
is authorized to hear any type of civil

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, refers to that branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which damages may be awarded to the victim....
or criminal

Criminal law

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply....
case

Legal case

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either Civil law or criminal law.There is a defendant and an accuser....
that is not committed exclusively to another court. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the United States district court

United States district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both Civil law and Criminal law cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, Equity , and admiralty....
s are the trial courts of general jurisdiction of the federal judiciary

United States federal courts

The United States federal courts comprises the Judiciary of government organized under the United States Constitution and Law of the United States of the federal government of the United States....
; each U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
has a state court

State court

In the United States, a state court has jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. Cases are heard before and evidence is presented in a trial court, which is usually located in a courthouse in the county seat....
systems establishing trial courts of general jurisdiction, such as the Florida Circuit Courts

Florida Circuit Courts

The Florida Circuit Courts are trial courts of original jurisdiction for most controversies. In Florida, the circuit courts are one of four types of courts created by the Florida Constitution ....
in Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, the Superior Courts of California

Superior Courts of California

The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency....
in California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, and the New York Supreme Court

New York Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the State of New York is New York's trial court, and is of general jurisdiction. There is a supreme court in each of List of New York counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties....
in New York

New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

Not all cases are heard in trial courts of general jurisdiction.

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Encyclopedia

A trial court or court of first instance is a court

Court

Trial

General jurisdiction

A court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal law, civil law , family law, probate, and so forth....
is authorized to hear any type of civil

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, refers to that branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which damages may be awarded to the victim....
or criminal

Criminal law

Legal case

United States

United States district court

United States federal courts

U.S. state

State court

Florida Circuit Courts

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, the Superior Courts of California

Superior Courts of California

California

New York Supreme Court

New York

Limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the courts' jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, family matters, etc....
is authorized to hear only specified types of cases. Trial courts of limited jurisdiction may be limited in subject-matter jurisdiction

Subject-matter jurisdiction

Subject-matter jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court has the authority to only hear bankruptcy cases....
(such as juvenile

Juvenile

Juvenile may refer to:*Juvenile or minor*Juvenile , American musician*Juvenile *Juvenile , a Japanese movie*"The Juvenile", a song by Jonas Berggren...
, probate

Probate

Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will....
, and family court

Family court

For family court in Hong Kong, see Family Court A family court is a court convened to decide matters and make court order in relation to family law, such as child custody....
s in many U.S. states, or the United States Tax Court

United States Tax Court

File:USTaxCourtDC.JPGThe United States Tax Court is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution of the Constitution of the United States, section 8 of which provides that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court"....
in the federal judiciary) or by other means, such as small claims court

Small claims court

Small claims courts are courts of limited jurisdiction that hear Civil law cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and the name by which such a court is known varies by jurisdiction: it may be known by such names as county court or magistrate's court....
s in many states for civil cases with a low amount in controversy

Amount in controversy

Amount in controversy is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the case....
. Other trials do not take place in courts at all, but in quasi-judicial bodies

Quasi-judicial body

A quasi-judicial body is an individual or organization which has powers resembling those of a court of law or judge and is able to remedy a situation or impose legal penalties on a person or organization....
or in administrative agencies with adjudicatory

Adjudication

Adjudication is the law process by which an arbitration or judge reviews evidence and Logical argument including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved....
power created by statute

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a country, state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy....
to make binding determinations with simplified procedural practices, such as arbitration

Arbitration

Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a law technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound....
.

Because different U.S. states apply different names to their courts, it is often not evident whether a court has general or limited jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
. For instance, the Maine District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, but the Nevada District Courts

Nevada District Courts

The Nevada District Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the Nevada state court system.In the District Courts "Criminal law, Civil law , Family law, and Juvenile delinquency matters are generally resolved through arbitration, mediation, and Bench trial or jury trials."...
are courts of general jurisdiction.

In the trial court, evidence

Evidence (law)

The law of evidence governs the use of testimony and exhibit s or other documentary material which is admissible in a dispute resolution ....
and testimony

Testimony

In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter....
are admitted under the rules of evidence

Rules of evidence

Rules of evidence govern whether, when, how, and for what purpose proof of a legal case may be placed before a trier of fact for consideration....
established by applicable procedural law

Procedural law

Procedural law comprises the rule by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil procedure lawsuit or criminal procedure wikt:proceedings....
and determinations called findings of fact are made based on the evidence. The court, presided over by one or more judge

Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
s, makes findings of law based upon the applicable law. In most common law

Common law

Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
jurisdictions, the trial court often sits with a jury

Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render a rationalism, impartiality verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence or judgment....
and one judge

Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
; in such jury trial

Jury trial

A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge. It is be distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges make all decisions....
s, the jury acting as trier of fact

Trier of fact

A trier of fact is a person who determines Question of facts in a legal proceeding. To determine a fact is to decide, from the evidence, whether something existed or some event occurred....
. In some cases, the judge or judges act as triers of both fact and law, by either statute, custom, or agreement of the parties; this is referred to as a bench trial

Bench trial

A bench trial is a trial held before a judge sitting without a jury. In United States law, most Civil law trials are bench trials unless a party requests a jury....
s.

Appeal

Appeal

In law, an appeal is a process for requesting a formal change to an official decision.The specific procedures for appealing, including even whether there is a right of appeal from a particular type of decision, can vary greatly from country to country....
s from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate court

Appellate court

An appellate court is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In most jurisdictions, the court system is divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and reviews evidence and testimony to determine the facts of the case; at least one intermediate appell...
s). Most trial courts are courts of record

Court of record

In common law jurisdictions, a court of record is a judicial tribunal having attributes and exercising functions independently of the person of the magistrate designated generally to hold it, and proceeding according to the course of common law, its acts and proceedings being enrolled for a perpetual memorial....
, where the record of the presentation of evidence is created and must be maintained or transmitted to the appellate court. The record of the trial court is certified by the clerk of the trial court

Court clerk

A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, Jury, and Grand jury....
and transmitted to the appellate body. Most appellate courts do not have the authority to hear testimony or take evidence, but instead rule solely on matters of law.

Trial court

See also