Federal Courts - Structure

District courts function as general trial-level courts in the federal system. An appeal from a judgment rendered in a district court is taken to the court of appeals in the judicial circuit in which the district court sits. The Supreme Court hears appeals from a court of appeals pursuant to its mandatory jurisdiction, certiorari jurisdiction, and its rarely used jurisdiction to decide QUESTIONS OF LAW certified to it by the court of appeals. In addition, specialized federal courts such as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. TAX COURT entertain and determine cases that involve only certain areas of law.