Court Structure

If court structure has been frustrating for you, don't worry. You're not alone. Here is another discussion to try to make things a bit clearer.

Going to Trial
Basically there are trial level courts and appellate level courts. Litigation or criminal trials will always begin in one of the trial courts. If the matter is a violation of an ordinance (which is a local law) or if the matter involves a small amount of money, the trial will start in the local trial court.

In Nevada, the local trial court is the Justice Court.

If the matter in dispute involves violation of a state law, or if the amount of money is more than a couple thousand dollars, the case will be in the state trial court.

In Nevada, the state trial court is the Nevada District Court.

If the matter in dispute involves a violation of federal law, then the case will be heard in the federal trial court.

The federal trial court in this jurisdiction is the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada.

Appealing the Trial Court Decision
There are two reasons to appeal the trial court's decision:

• The loser at the trial court wants to have the decision overturned
• The winner at the trial court doesn't feel he or she got enough money

If the trial occurred in the Justice Court (local trial court), the appeal goes to the next highest court, which is the Nevada District Court. But since the Nevada District Court is a trial court, not an appellate court, the District Court will actually conduct a new trial.

If the trial took place in the Nevada District Court, the appeal is to the next highest court. Most states have State Courts of Appeal, but not Nevada. So the next highest court is the Nevada Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Nevada must hear the appeal, and determine whether the trial court erred (made a mistake).

If the trial occurred in the federal trial court, the appeal is made to the appropriate Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. District of Nevada is in the 9th Circuit, so any appeal from the District of Nevada is made to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit. The Circuit Court would be required to hear the case, because there is one automatic right to appeal a trial court decision.

Going to the Highest Court
After the Nevada Supreme Court rules on a case, the only option left is for the loser on appeal to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. The Supreme Court is not required to hear the case, and denies most requests.

The same is also true for federal appeals. Any appeals from the U.S. Circuit Court would be made to the U.S. Supreme Court. But only if the Supreme Court approves the appeal.

Hope this helps!

Related Links:
Court Structure Chart