State Courts in the United States

he judicial branch of state government interprets and applies existing law to cases brought before its courts. Many states, such as Massachusetts and Utah, now have unified court systems that include a Supreme Court, courts of appeals, juvenile or family courts, and district or trial courts located throughout a state.

Introduction to State Courts

The vast majority of legal cases in the United States are decided in state courts. In every state the purpose of the courts is the same: to prosecute crimes and settle disputes. However, the states differ broadly in how their court systems are organized. Every state arranges its courts in a hierarchy similar to the federal system. Trial courts try cases, intermediate appellate courts consider appeals from trials, and supreme courts hear further appeals. But in many states the trial court system is not unified-that is, the common law and equity courts have not been merged and a single court cannot provide both common law and equitable remedies. An example of an equitable remedy is an injunction-a court order directing a defendant to act or refrain from acting in a certain way.

Within a state’s court system many different courts, with specialized jurisdiction, present a bewildering maze for lawyers and their clients. For example, New York City has 11 separate trial courts, each operating under different rules but often with overlapping jurisdiction. These include a general trial court to try felony criminal prosecutions and major civil cases, a Family Court, a Surrogate’s Court to administer wills, a Civil Court for cases valued at less than $25,000, and a Housing Court to handle landlord-tenant disputes.

Historically, judges on many state courts-including state supreme courts-have been elected and serve for various terms, some as long as 15 years. In an attempt to reduce the influence of politics on the courts, many states now require the governor to appoint judges. In many states, the initial appointment is for a period of years (ranging from 1 to 14), after which a retention election is held. Beginning in the 1980s, many governors asked panels of attorneys and others to provide lists of candidates from which to make their selections. By longstanding tradition all judges appointed to the federal courts are lawyers, but some judges on smaller, limited-jurisdiction state courts are not. In many states, for example, lay judges serve on rural traffic courts and as justices of the peace.” (1)

State Courts WebSites

The main state judicial site may feature court calendars and procedures, news, biographies of judges, directories, forms, court records, such as opinions and case reports, and information on how to file claims or start a proceeding for a divorce or to settle a financial dispute. There may also be probate courts, small claims courts, information for or about juries, and lists of lawyers. The state’s law library may be included in the main judicial site, or may have a site of its own.

Often county and municipal courts that are not operated by the state are accessible via a state’s judicial website. The State and Local Government on the Net Directory lists only the main state judicial site and law library. See county and city government websites for links to local courts.

Historical Court websites:

Alabama	Administrative Office of Courts Alabama Judicial System Alabama State Law Library Alalinc: Alabama’s Legal Information Network
Alaska	Alaska Appellate Courts Case Management System Alaska Court System Alaska Judicial Council
Arizona	Arizona Judicial Department Court of Appeals – Division One Court of Appeals – Division Two
Arkansas	Arkansas Judiciary Arkansas Supreme Court Library
California	Judicial Branch
Colorado	Colorado Courts Colorado Supreme Court Library
Connecticut	Judicial Branch
Delaware	Judicial Branch
Florida	Florida Court System
Georgia	Judicial Branch of Georgia Supreme Court of Georgia
Hawaii	The Judiciary
Idaho	Idaho Judicial Branch
Illinois	Supreme and Appellate Courts Opinions
Indiana	Indiana Courts
Iowa	Iowa Judicial Branch
Kansas	Kansas Judicial Branch
Kentucky	Court of Justice
Louisiana	Law Library of Louisiana Supreme Court of Louisiana
Maine	Court Opinions Search Judicial Branch
Maryland	Judiciary State Law Library
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Court System
Michigan	Michigan Courts Michigan Supreme Court Michigan Supreme Court Opinions
Minnesota	Minnesota State Court System State Law Library
Mississippi	Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance Mississippi Supreme Court
Missouri	Missouri Judiciary
Montana	Montana State Law Library
Nebraska	Judicial Branch
Nevada	Nevada Supreme Court Library Supreme Court
New Hampshire	Administrative Office of the Courts New Hampshire Judicial Branch New Hampshire Law Library New Hampshire Supreme Court
New Jersey	New Jersey Judiciary
New Mexico	New Mexico State Judiciary
New York	Court of Claims New York State Unified Court System
North Carolina	Court of Appeals North Carolina Judicial Branch Supreme Court
North Dakota	North Dakota Supreme Court
Ohio	Ohio Judicial Conference Supreme Court
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Oklahoma Supreme Court Network
Oregon	Oregon Judicial Department’
Pennsylvania	Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Judiciary System State Law Library
South Carolina	Judicial Department
South Dakota	Unified Judicial System
Tennessee	Administrative Office of the Courts
Texas	Office of Court Administration Supreme Court of Texas Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Texas Judicial Web Server
Utah	Utah State Court System
Vermont	Vermont Judiciary
Virginia	Judicial System
Washington	Washington State Courts
West Virginia	Supreme Court
Wisconsin	State Law Library Wisconsin Court System
Wyoming	Wyoming State Law Library Wyoming State Supreme Court

State Courts: Past, Present, and Future

Chris W. Bonneau and Brent D. Boyea, in the chapter “State Courts: Past, Present, and Future” of the Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government, offers some insight and critically assesses the situation and current state of scholarship on the topic. The following is a summary:This article examines the evolution of literature on state courts with a particular focus on the expansion of the field since the 1990s and the diverse application of theoretical frameworks utilized. The authors argue that studies of state courts have made powerful advances in terms of data and methodology. The increase in available data has made 50-state studies of state courts common, and these studies allow us to better understand the behavior of judges and courts, the role of institutional features on courts and judicial decisions, as well as the influences on state courts by external forces, such as the public, and the influence of courts on state policy.

Resources

Notes and References

Information about State Courts in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to State Courts

In this Section

Courts in the United States

Courts Development
Federal Courts
District Courts
Courts of Appeals
Supreme Court
Courts of Special Jurisdiction
Territorial Courts
State Courts
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Courts of General Jurisdiction
Intermediate Appellate Courts
Supreme Appellate Courts
Courts Challanges
Courts of Appeals

State Courts