Federal courts are established by the United States government. Article III of the U.S. Constitution establishes the judicial branch as one of the three separate and distinct branches of the federal government. The other two are the legislative and executive branches.

There are three levels of federal courts:

1. District Courts: The federal trial courts where witnesses testify and juries serve. You will visit a district court today.

2. Courts of Appeals: If you lose a trial in the district court, you can appeal the case to the court of appeals which will review the case to see whether the district court judge applied the law correctly. There are no juries or witnesses at this court. Lawyers are permitted oral argument.

3. U.S. Supreme Court: Located in Washington, D.C., cases from the courts of appeal and from the state supreme courts can be appealed to this court. The Supreme Court does not have to hear every case that is brought to it, instead the justices choose which cases to hear.

Jurisdiction refers to the kinds of cases a court is authorized to hear. Federal courts do not have the same broad jurisdiction that state courts have. Federal court jurisdiction is primarily limited to cases involving the Constitution, laws passed by Congress (including federal criminal laws), cases in which the U.S. is a party, cases involving foreign diplomats, and special types of cases like bankruptcy. Also, federal courts have power to hear some cases that are based on state laws but that involve parties from different states.

Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the courts of appeal and the district courts are appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the Senate. These judges are appointed for life and can only be removed by the impeachment process. Although there are no special qualifications to become a judge of these courts, those who are chosen are typically very accomplished attorneys or judges from the state courts.

Magistrate Judges are judicial officers of the district courts and are appointed by the judges of the district court for eight year terms. Their duties fall into four general categories: (1) conducting most of the initial proceedings in criminal cases (including search and arrest warrants and detention hearings where bail may be set), (2) trial of certain criminal misdemeanor cases, (3) trial of civil cases with consent of the parties, and (4) conducting a wide variety of other proceedings referred to them by the district judge. Judge Fiora, who you will meet today, is a United States Magistrate Judge.