Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.
The federal courts system is divided into 94 separate judicial districts. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico each have at least one federal judicial district.
These 94 judicial districts are organized into 12 separate regional circuits. Each circuit has one federal court of appeals.
The highest court in the U.S. federal court system is the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, at its discretion and within certain guidelines, hears a limited amount of cases during each of its terms.
Federal courts of special jurisdiction include:
To learn more, see About Federal Courts.
Researching case law involves reading court opinions. Our Case Law Research guide can help you become familiar with how to read a court opinion.
To locate case law, you will need to use tools like online case law databases or print case law reporters. These sources compile and categorize case law research to help make it accessible by topic or by keyword searching. You can also use footnotes or other annotations in secondary sources like a legal encyclopedia or a legal practice guide to locate case law on a topic.
Case law research is primarily focused on cases that have reached the courts of appeal. This is because appellate cases set precedent. Appellate cases are printed in case reporters like Texas Cases whereas trial court opinions are not.
To access court records other than appellate case opinions, your options will vary. You will likely need to contact the court clerk's office for an individual court if you want copies of court records.
Visit our Court Records guide to learn more about access to court records.
Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.