The United States court system is separated according to jurisdiction. Cases which involve State charges or State issues, such as divorce, are handled by State courts. U.S. courts may sometimes dispute who has jurisdiction for criminal cases, especially when the case involves State and Federal charges. The defendant may in fact be charged in Federal court and in State court on separate charges.
U.S. courts handle a myriad of cases and criminal and civil cases are generally handled by the State courts. Evidence may be presented in State court, but criminal cases are often handled by a court which will be located in the county seat or county capital.
Civil cases may also be heard in the county court system, which is a division of the State court system. In general, lawyers will attempt to resolve civil cases before they are heard in court.
Cases in which the individuals are not satisfied with an outcome, such as in civil cases, can be challenged and brought to a higher court. However, the State may not bring criminal charges to a higher court if they are not satisfied with the outcome of a criminal case. The defendant is protected from being charged with the same crime by two courts, or even twice by the same court, due to the double jeopardy rule.
There are several jurisdictions in the country which are not part of a State, such as Washington D.C. However, Washington D.C. has a court system which is set up similarly to a state court system.
