14.3: Federal and State Court Jurisdiction

The federal judiciary is not the only court system in the United States. American federalism empowers both the national government and state governments to establish and administer courts. Each state, therefore, has its own court system, some of which have existed since before the Constitution was ratified.

Cases originate in either federal courts or state courts depending on the issues at stake and the parties involved. Typically, cases which “fit” neatly within a state’s borders start in that state’s court system, whereas other cases start in the federal court system. Cases pertaining to national laws (including the U.S. Constitution) originate in federal courts, as do cases in which the U.S. government is a party, cases involving foreign parties, and cases in which one state is suing another state.

Some cases originate in a state court but escalate to a federal court when new issues arise during the judicial process. The 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright is one prominent example. Originally, it was a standard case of breaking-and-entering, the sort that state courts across the country handle daily. It became a federal matter when Florida violated Clarence Gideon’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by denying him a lawyer when he could not afford one. Had Gideon appealed his conviction purely on the grounds that he was innocent, the case would have remained under state court jurisdiction. Instead, he appealed based on Florida’s unconstitutional denial of his Sixth Amendment right. Because it involved a right guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, his appeal was for the federal courts to decide.