There are local, state and federal court systems. They each have completely separate personnel, administration and facilities, but cases may move from one system to another depending on a variety of legal circumstances. We will only be talking about the federal court system in these pages.

The federal courts have three main levels: district courts (the trial court), circuit courts which are the first level of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States, the final level of appeal in the federal system. There are 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts, and one Supreme Court in the U.S. For more information, visit the Introduction to the Federal Courts(link is external) page.
U.S. district courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases, including both civil and criminal matters. Two territories of the United States, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, have U.S. district courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy cases. More information about the federal courts is available on the U.S. Courts website.
The Ninth Circuit Court Court of Appeals is an appellate court that reviews the procedures and the decisions to make sure that the proceedings were fair and that the proper law was applied correctly in the trial courts within the 15 judicial districts that comprise the Ninth Circuit.
The Office of the Circuit Executive (OCE) was created by statute to provide professional administrative staffing to circuit councils. The OCE provides administrative support to the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit and its various committees. It also provides direct services to all 64 judicial court units in the circuit.
The Eastern District of Washington has three courthouse(s) located in Spokane, Yakima and Richland.
Following a final appellate court ruling, parties to the case can then petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling. At its discretion, and within the certain guidelines established by Congress, the Supreme Court may grant or deny the petition. The court hears a small percentage of cases it is asked to review each year. If the petition to review the ruling is denied, then the appellate court ruling stands.