by Eric Wood
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Federal courts don’t go looking for cases - they wait for disputes to come to them, and even then, only a small fraction of federal legal disputes ever reach the level most people associate with “the courts” at all: the Supreme Court.
Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch in far less structural detail than Articles I and II give Congress and the President - it creates “one supreme Court,” and leaves the rest of the federal court system’s structure entirely to Congress to establish by law. Congress exercised that authority early and has adjusted it repeatedly since, building the three-tiered system of district courts, circuit courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court that exists today.
The pages in this section
How the Federal Court System Works
District courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court - what each level actually does.
How Federal Judges Are Selected
Nomination, confirmation, and why federal judges serve for life.
Judicial Review, Explained
The power to strike down unconstitutional laws, and where it actually comes from.
How the Supreme Court Decides What to Hear
The certiorari process, and why the Court hears only a small fraction of cases appealed to it.
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The certiorari process, the Rule of Four, and why a circuit split is one of the most common reasons the Supreme Court agrees to take a case at all.
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The power to strike down unconstitutional laws isn't in the Constitution's text at all - how Marbury v. Madison established it, and how far it's expanded since.
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Presidential nomination, Senate confirmation, and lifetime tenure - why Hamilton argued judicial independence required insulating judges from political pressure.
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District courts try cases, circuit courts review for legal error, and the Supreme Court hears only a small fraction of what's appealed to it - the three tiers and what each one actually does.
