District courts are part of the US federal judicial system, with at least one in every state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. They hear criminal and civil cases that meet certain requirements, and judges are appointed for life. Cases can be referred to magistrates, and appeals can be made to the US court of appeals or the Supreme Court.
A district court is a court that is part of the federal judicial system of the United States, where most cases take place. There is at least one District Court in every state, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. There are 91 district courts in all, with California, New York and Texas having the most courts, with four district courts for each state.
Criminal and civil cases can be heard in a district court, provided they meet certain requirements. A district court may hear a case where the dispute concerns an accident that occurred at sea or within maritime jurisdiction. They may hear a case in which the defendant and the plaintiff reside in different states, or in which one of the members is a resident alien, but only if the amount in dispute is more than US $75,000 (USD). They may also hear a case that most obviously falls under federal jurisdiction, such as one in which the United States is the plaintiff or defendant, one in which a federal employee is a defendant, or one in which the matter before trial involves a law federal and non-state.
Judges of a district court are appointed by the president and appointed for life. The number of justices serving in any given district court is set by Congress. There is a popular tradition where the senior senator, if of the same party as the president, can exercise a non-traditional veto over a candidate, known as a senatorial courtesy.
At the discretion of a district judge, a case deemed routine may be referred to a magistrate for treatment. Magistrates are not appointed, but rather employed, and may be fired, by the district judge. District judges employ magistrates to help manage the district court’s workload, shifting their duties and responsibilities as appropriate.
Cases that have been brought before a district court can generally be appealed in the United States court of appeals or in the appropriate federal circuit. In some exceptional cases, the appeals process instead goes directly to the US Supreme Court. To practice law before a district court, an attorney usually only needs to have passed the state bar in which the district is located and have filed an application and been sworn in.
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