General Jurisdiction Court in the United States

Introduction to Courts of General Jurisdiction

A trial court that has the power to respond to a broad range of issues. The term jurisdiction defines a court’s authority, and courts with general jurisdiction may properly hear civil and criminal cases of various kinds as well as act in an appellate capacity in specified situations. U.S. district courts are the federal trial courts of general jurisdiction. Every state judicial system will have one (possibly more) general jurisdiction trial court, typically located at the county level. (1)

Analysis and Relevance

The general jurisdiction court is the workhorse of any judicial system. A general jurisdiction court is distinct from a court of limited or special jurisdiction, which is a court that entertains a highly particularized docket. Commonly, a court system has multiple courts with a general jurisdiction court and several courts of limited jurisdiction. Rather than categorize under general and limited jurisdiction labels, some characterize courts as either major or minor. A major trial court will hear felony criminal cases, civil cases involving money values in excess of a certain level (usually $10,000), and possibly possess some appellate authority. Minor courts, on the other hand, deal with misdemeanor cases, traffic matters, small claims, and other civil questions of limited monetary value. (2)

Trial Courts: Courts of General Jurisdiction

Felony prosecutions and major civil trials take place in courts of general jurisdiction, which are empowered to hear many kinds of cases. These courts are often called superior courts, although the name varies by state. Every year more than 10 million cases or prosecutions are filed in these courts. Fewer than 2 percent of these ever come to trial. Most civil cases are settled by the parties and most criminal defendants enter plea bargains-that is, they plead guilty to the crime charged or to a lesser offense.” (3)

Resources

Notes and References

1. Definition of General Jurisdiction Court from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California
2. Information about Courts of General Jurisdiction in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

See Also

• Courts in the United States
• Courts Development
• Courts Challanges
• Jurisdiction (Judicial Organization)
• Limited Jurisdiction Court (Judicial Organization).