The judicial system of the United States comprises a large number of federal and state courts. Only very specifically defined legal issues can be brought before federal courts. By far, the greatest number of court cases take place at the state and local levels.

Viewed as a pyramid, the federal court system has the Supreme Court at its apex; its decisions are final and cannot be appealed. At the next level are 13 judicial circuits, each of which contains one U.S. Court of Appeals. Below the appellate level are 94 district courts and a few specialized federal courts, such as the Tax Court and Court of Federal Claims, which deals with such matters as the taking of private land for public purposes or suits filed against the federal government involving contracts or money damages.

In theory, therefore, a party to a federal judicial proceeding has access to three levels of decisions: if dissatisfied with the district court verdict, a party can appeal to a U.S. Court of Appeals. A party may then seek review of a court of appeals decision in a case before the Supreme Court. In practice, however, the Supreme Court agrees to review only a small number of cases each year that it considers to be of significant national importance.