A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction , in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review ( appellate courts ). Most appellate courts do not have the authority to hear testimony or take evidence, but instead rule solely on matters of law.
18-798: The Massachusetts District Court (also known as the District Court Department of the Trial Court ) is a trial court in Massachusetts that hears a wide range of criminal , civil , housing , juvenile , mental health , and other types of cases. District Court criminal jurisdiction extends to all felonies punishable by a sentence up to five years, and many other specific felonies with greater potential penalties; all misdemeanors ; and all violations of city and town ordinances and by-laws. In felonies not within District Court final jurisdiction,
36-478: A Complex Litigation Unit with subdivisions for complex tort cases and complex business court cases. Judge Robert Rosenberg, who had suggested the idea of a specialized business court in the Seventeenth Circuit was appointed as one of the initial complex business case judges, with Judge Charles Greene to handle complex tort cases and Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld to handle complex tort and business cases. In 2017,
54-488: A magistrate, with right of appeal to a judge); equitable injunctions (exercising specialized equity jurisdiction in all counties, plus general equity jurisdiction in small claims, summary process and civil money damage actions); and other miscellaneous civil matters. Trial court In the trial court, evidence and testimony are admitted under the rules of evidence established by applicable procedural law and determinations called findings of fact are made based on
72-731: Is authorized to hear only specified types of cases. Trial courts of limited jurisdiction may be limited in subject-matter jurisdiction (such as juvenile , probate , and family courts in many U.S. states, or the United States Tax Court in the federal judiciary) or by other means, such as small claims courts in many states for civil cases with a low amount in controversy . Other trials do not take place in courts at all, but in quasi-judicial bodies or in administrative agencies with adjudicatory power created by statute to make binding determinations with simplified procedural practices, such as arbitration . The United States Supreme Court
90-823: Is co-chair of the Florida Bar Association 's Business Law Section Business Courts Task Force, which was formed in 2018 to study the merits of implementing a statewide business court. In early 2020, on the precipice of the COVID pandemic, the task force recommended a proposed statewide business court. Judge Richard A. Nielsen was the first presiding judge in the Thirteenth Circuit's Complex Business Litigation Division in Tampa, in 2007, where he served for 5 years. In 2008, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (Broward County) Chief Judge Victor Tobin issued an administrative order creating
108-582: Is primarily an appellate court, but has original jurisdiction in cases involving a diplomatic official or a state. Because different U.S. states apply different names to their courts, it is often not evident whether a court has general or limited jurisdiction or indeed is a trial court at all. For instance, the Maine District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, but the Nevada District Courts are courts of general jurisdiction. Likewise,
126-460: Is referred to as a bench trial . In the United States, a trial court of general jurisdiction is authorized to hear some type of civil or criminal case that is not committed exclusively to another court. The United States district courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction of the federal judiciary ; each state has a system establishing trial courts of general jurisdiction, such as
144-825: The Delaware Court of Common Pleas is a court of limited jurisdiction, but the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas are courts of general jurisdiction. Similarly, the California Superior Courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction, but the Superior Court of Pennsylvania is an appellate court, and the New Jersey Superior Court is both. Florida Circuit Courts The Florida circuit courts are state courts and trial courts of original jurisdiction for most controversies. In Florida,
162-906: The circuit courts are one of four types of courts created by the Florida Constitution (the other three being the Florida Supreme Court , Florida district courts of appeal , and Florida county courts ). The circuit courts primarily handle felony criminal cases; family law matters; civil cases where the amount in controversy is greater than $ 50,000; probate, guardianship, and mental health cases; juvenile dependency and delinquency cases; and appeals of decisions in certain administrative, noncriminal infractions, and other types of cases. There are 20 judicial circuits in Florida, all but five of which span multiple counties . They are: Florida circuit courts have original jurisdiction not vested in
180-675: The circuit courts in Florida, the superior courts in California, and the New York Supreme Court in New York state. Most trial courts are courts of record , where the record of the presentation of evidence is created and must be maintained or transmitted to the appellate court. The record of the trial court is certified by the clerk of the trial court and transmitted to the appellate body. Not all cases are heard in trial courts of general jurisdiction. A trial court of limited jurisdiction
198-581: The American Bar Association's Business Law Section. A specialized business court in Orlando (Orange County) was first suggested by Thomas Benton Smith (judge) . In 2023, the Ninth Circuit business court expanded from Orange County to add Osceola County. Judge Gill S. Freeman was the first judge presiding over Miami's Complex Business Litigation Section, serving in that role for five years. She
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#1733084634043216-594: The District Court conducts probable cause hearings to determine if a defendant should be bound over to the Superior Court. District Court magistrates conduct hearings to issue criminal complaints and arrest warrants , and to determine whether there is probable cause to detain persons arrested without a warrant . Both judges and magistrates issue criminal and administrative search warrants . In civil matters, District Court judges conduct both jury and jury-waived trials, and determine with finality any matter in which
234-577: The Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County Florida created a separate International Commercial Arbitration Court. As of May 2024, Judge Lisa S. Walsh serves as both a Complex Business Litigation Division Judge and a presiding International Commercial Arbitration Court Judge. Judge Jennifer D. Bailey also served both as a Complex Business Litigation Division judge and International Commercial Arbitration judge in
252-649: The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough County) Business Court, and the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (Broward County) Complex Litigation Unit consisting of a business and tort subdivision. In 2004, Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry made Judge Renee A. Roche Florida's first specialized business court judge. Judge Roche, along with Florida Judge John E. Jordan (Ninth Judicial Circuit), have served as Business Court Representatives to
270-405: The county courts, direct review of administrative action, and the power to issue writs of mandamus , quo warranto , certiorari , prohibition , and habeas corpus , as well as any other writs necessary to exercise their jurisdiction. As authorized by the legislature, and in addition to the power to issue various injunctions and other necessary orders, the circuit courts more specifically have
288-399: The evidence. The court, presided over by one or more judges , makes findings of law based upon the applicable law. In most common law jurisdictions, the trial court often sits with a jury and one judge; in such jury trials , the jury acts as trier of fact . In some cases, the judge or judges act as triers of both fact and law, by either statute, custom, or agreement of the parties; this
306-541: The following jurisdiction: Original jurisdiction is as follows: Appellate jurisdiction is as follows: Four of Florida's Circuit Court's have issued orders creating specialized complex business and commercial court programs, including the Ninth Judicial Circuit (Orange and Osceola Counties) Business Court, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit (Miami-Dade County) Complex Business Litigation Division,
324-1165: The likelihood of recovery does not exceed $ 25,000. The District Court also tries small claims anticipated to involve up to $ 7,000 (initially tried to a magistrate, with a defense right of appeal either to a judge or to a jury). Fifteen of its judges serve on the Appellate Division, an appellate tribunal with published opinions that is organized in three geographical districts, and sits in three-judge panels, to review questions of law that arise in civil cases. The District Court's civil jurisdiction also includes many specialized proceedings: inquests ; summary process ( evictions ); supplementary process (enforcement of money judgments); abuse prevention restraining orders ; mental health matters (including involuntary civil commitments and medication orders, and supervision of criminal defendants committed for mental observation or because incompetent to stand trial or after an insanity acquittal ); appeals from certain administrative agencies (involving, for example, firearms licenses or unemployment compensation ); civil motor vehicle infractions (tried initially to
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