- The Constitution allows Congess to create, or set up, other courts. All these created by Congress are called inferior courts because they are lower than the U.S. Supreme Court. Congress has, over the years, started several kinds of inferior courts. These include district courts, courts of appeals, the Court of International Trade, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
- Congress created the federal district courts in the Judiciary Act of 1789. They act as federal trial courts. The 50 States are divided into 11 circuits, which are further dicided into 89 judicial districts, with one court in each district. There is also a district court in the District of Columbia and another in Puerto Rico. Those 91 courts hear about 80 percent of all federal cases.
- A single judge often hears cases tried in the district courts. A three-judge panel, however, hears some cases. The judge's or judges' decision usually is final. The exception is a case appealed to the court of appeals or, in rare cases, directly to the Supreme Court.
- Congress set up the courts of appeals in 1891. They act to take some of the burden off the Supreme Court. The 11 circuits each have one court of appeals, with another for Washington, D.C. The 12 courts of appeals have only appellate jurisdiction That means they can only hear cases on appeal from the lower federal courts.
- The Court of International Trade is another inferior court. The judges who make up the Trade Court hear cases about tariff (taxes on goods brought into the United States) and other trade-related laws. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears apeals from the Trade Court.
- Congress created the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982. Its job was to centralize, and so speed up, the handling of appeals in some civil cases. A civil case is a noncriminal case between private people or groups or between private people and the government. This court differs from other appeals courts in that it hears cases from all across the country. That is, it has a nationwide jurisdiction. Its judges hear cases that deal mostly with trade, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Appeals go to the supreme court.