FDLP Resource Guides: U.S. Federal Courts: Home

Overview

This guide highlights the judicial branch of the Federal Government based on the 2025 edition of the United States Government Manual. The branch includes the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, and other lower and special courts. The guide covers the structure of the Federal Court system, how to find judicial information, the Supreme Court of the United States, lower courts, and special courts. The guide does not provide legal advice.

Order by Louis Schaettle (c. 1916) (Image source: Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Jurisdiction of the Federal Court System

The jurisdiction of the Federal court system is the following:

"Cases that raise a 'federal question' involving the United States Government, the U.S. Constitution, or other federal laws"¹
"Cases involving 'diversity of citizenship,' which are disputes between two parties not from the same state or country, and where the claim meets a set dollar threshold for damages"¹

Federal courts are located in every state; however, it is important to note that the great majority of legal disputes in the United States are addressed in the state court system.

¹USCourts.gov

Judicial Branch Agencies

In addition to the courts described in this guide, there are also agencies that support the Judicial Branch. They are the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC), Federal Judicial Center (FJC), Federal Public Defenders Organizations, and United States Sentencing Commission (USSC).

Click on the tabs of this box to find more information about them.

Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC)

"The AOUSC provides a range of administrative, financial, legal, legislative, management, technology, and program support services to Federal courts.... Providing staff support and counsel to the Judicial Conference and its committees is a primary responsibility of the AOUSC."¹

¹USCourts.gov

Federal Judicial Center (FJC)

The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency of the Judicial Branch of the U.S. government. The duties of the FJC are described in chapter 42, sections 620-629 of 28 U.S.C. The Board of the FJC is chaired by the Chief Justice of the United States.

Federal Public Defender Organizations

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an accused the right to representation by counsel in serious criminal prosecutions. There are 82 authorized federal defender organizations and their staffs are federal employees. The chief federal public defender is appointed to a four-year term by the court of appeals of the circuit in which the organization is located.

United States Sentencing Commission

The Commission was created by Congress by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 to reduce sentencing disparities and promote transparency and proportionality in sentencing. The President appoints the voting members with the advice and consent of the Senate for 6-year terms.

U.S. Government Resources about the Federal Court System

Resource	Information
United States Courts	Learn about the U.S. Courts, including court role and structure, educational resources, and Judicial vacancies.
Supreme Court of the United States	View the official website, including the Court calendar, and hear live audio.
Constitution Annotated	Read a comprehensive overview of how the Constitution has been interpreted over time.
Federal Judicial History	Find resources and research materials by the Federal Judicial Center on the history of the judicial branch.
Landmark Cases	Explore landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped history and have an impact on citizens today.
Law Library of Congress Research Guides	Check out these guides as a starting point to research legal topics, including recommended materials in the library's online and printed collections.

Related GPO Resources

GPO maintains resources with information and publications related to the Judicial Branch. Featured examples include DiscoverGov, FDLP Academy, FDLP Resource Guides, and GovInfo. Click on the tabs of this box to learn more about these resources.

DiscoverGov "provides simple, one-stop searching across multiple U.S. Federal Government databases including GPO's Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) and GovInfo. It will retrieve reports, articles, and citations while providing direct links to selected resources and publications available online."

Freely available for the general public, the FDLP Academy offers webinars and webcasts for Federal Depository Libraries. Its mission is to "create and deliver enhanced educational opportunities to the FDLP community by fostering collaboration, by facilitating knowledge sharing, and through the application of new methods and use of multiple mediums" about U.S. Government resources. The following webinars contain information related to the Judicial Branch that may be helpful for library professionals and the general public.

	Access to Court Resources: PACER, Court Records, and More Recorded on November 1, 2022 Length of Time: 60 minutes Speakers: Anna Russell (Ninth Circuit (Anchorage, District of Alaska)) and Nicole Peaks (Third Circuit (Newark, District of New Jersey))
	Federal Courts: Structure, Jurisdiction, & Research Recorded on August 5, 2021 Length of Time: 45 minutes Speaker: SaraJean Petite (Case Western Reserve University School of Law)
	Orientation to the Constitution Annotated Recorded on May 28, 2023 Length of Time: 58 minutes Speaker: Barbara Bavis (Law Library of Congress)
	Resources at the National Indian Law Library Recorded on November 8, 2023 Length of Time: 59 minutes Speaker: Anne Lucke (National Indian Law Library)
	Secrets of the Super Searchers III – Law Recorded on September 12, 2023 Length of Time: 59 minutes Speaker: Jennifer Morgan (Indiana University Maurer School of Law)

If interested in learning more about topics related to, but not specifically about, elections and voting rights, check out the following FDLP Resource Guides.

GovInfo provides free access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal government. For example, GovInfo has a collection of Federal Judicial Center publications, some of which are featured below. Also, to find key legal titles in GovInfo, see the Judicial Information page of this guide.

	Approaches to Federal Judicial History Publication Date: 2020 Quoted excerpt: "This volume presents recent scholarship on the history of the federal court system... the practices and importance of the lower federal courts, the relationship between district and circuit courts and the Supreme Court, and the broader role of the federal court system in American economy and society."
	History of the Article III Appellate Courts, 1789-2021: The Evolution of Their Geographic Scope, Number of Judgeships, and Jurisdiction Publication Date: 2021 Quoted excerpt: "Although structurally situated midway between the district courts and the Supreme Court, the modern courts of appeals are no mere way station for cases originating in the federal trial courts and potentially ending up in the highest court. Rather, the courts of appeals are vitally important because they have the last judicial word in about 99 percent of all the cases they decide."
	Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Federal Judges Publication Date: 2023 Quoted excerpt: "Just as AI is transforming the economy, health care, and American society, it will also transform the practice of government and law... Judges must understand how AI works, its applications, its implications for the fact-finding process, and its risks."
	Primer on the Jurisdiction of the U.S. Courts of Appeals Publication Date: 2023 Quoted excerpt: "A complete, thorough, and self-contained work on this subject necessarily would be several times longer with many more digressions. Indeed, each of the two leading multi-volume treatises takes up several feet of library shelf-space, and scores of supplements are added annually. Discussion here is meant to be brief and introductory."
	Trade Secret Case Management Judicial Guide Publication Date: 2023 Quoted excerpt: "Trade secret litigation has both similarities with and significant differences from other types of civil and criminal litigation. It also parallels and differs from other types of intellectual property litigation—patent, copyright, and trademark."