Volume I, Chapter §5.2
Federal & State Court Structure

Court Titles for Local Jurisdictions

§5.2
		Introduction
		Paralegal Perspectives
		Lecture Notes
		Commonly Asked Questions
		Exercises

Introduction
Your instructor can help you determine the proper titles for courts within your jurisdiction. Don't be afraid to ask.

Paralegal Perspectives . . .

TRIAL & APPELLATE LEVEL COURTS
As a paralegal, you will never have to decide what court a case will be filed in. In order to fully understand more advanced concepts later, it is especially important to understand the differences between trial and appellate level courts.

DISCOVERY . . .
Discovery documents look a lot like pleadings. They are in 'Pleading Form.' But they serve a different purpose. In fact, as a paralegal, you will soon realize that discovery is very closely related to investigation. Discovery and investigation are both about finding (or discovering) facts.

STARE DECISIS . . .
Stare decisis is the doctrine that a court's decision will stand and be followed by subsequent decisions unless there is a compelling reason for the court to hold otherwise. In other words, it sets a precedent. When a paralegal conducts legal research, he or she is always looking for a precedent to guide the court.

Lecture Notes . . .

The titles of courts change from state to state. It is not important that you learn the names of courts in every state, just yours!

Court Structure Flowchart

Student-specific Information
The answers to the court structure flowchart will differ depending on the jurisdiction you reside in. For instance, in Nevada there is no State Court of Appeals. So any appeal from the State Trial Court must go straight to the State Supreme Court.

Students should research online to help them determine the court structure in their state. Use the Google, Bing, or Yahoo search engines at the right of this page.

You may also use the PDF below to view court structure from every state. (Thanks to the National Center for State Courts for permission.) Open it up and click on the link for your state.

STATE COURT STRUCTURE FOR ALL STATES

In addition, the Law Library Lab on this site will provide assistance as to specific state authority and you can certainly ask your instructor for help!