The Constitution is vague about the structure of the federal court system. Specifying only that there would be a Supreme Court, the Constitution left it to Congress's discretion to establish lower federal courts of general jurisdiction. Congress established these additional constitutional courts in the Judiciary Act of 1789. The three buttons to the left are constitutional courts, or courts with general jurisdiction.
Congress also established legislative courts for specialized purposes. These courts include the Court of Military Appeals, the Court of Claims, the Court of International Trade, and the Tax Court. Courts with original jurisdiction are those in which a case is heard first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case, whether its a criminal charge or a civil suit. Courts with appellate jurdisction hear cases brought to them on appeal from a lower court. Appellate courts do not review the factual record, only the legal issues involved. |