GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING. 1  Classmates: Chiadika Biringa (left), 20, studied theatre arts while Tekena Elkanah (right), 20 was a technical student. The four traveled to Aluu to collect a debt. 2  Close: Lloyd Toku (left), 19, was a civil engineering student and Ugonna Obuzor (right), 18, was a geology student.
The federal court system has three main levels: U.S. District Court, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Each level of court serves a different legal function for both civil and criminal cases.
Each system typically hears different cases to ensure that each court decides the law that it knows best. State courts, for the most part, interpret state law and tend to hear the types of cases that affect the personal lives of many residents, such as probate, family law, and most criminal law. Federal courts consist of district courts, appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and hear many different kinds of cases. Kinds of Cases Heard by Federal Courts . In the big picture, federal courts can only decide very limited types of cases: Federal Questions: Federal Courts can