Courts and eras

CaseTrail currently covers one court: the Supreme Court of the United States, the final court of appeal in the federal system and on questions of federal law coming from state courts.

How the U.S. court system fits together

Most federal cases start in one of the 94 federal district courts (trial courts). Appeals go to one of the 13 courts of appeals (the regional circuits and the Federal Circuit). The Supreme Court then chooses which cases to hear, mostly by granting a petition for a writ of certiorari. Cases can also reach it from a state’s highest court when they raise a federal question, and a small number start there under its original jurisdiction, such as disputes between states.

Federal courts of appeals and state supreme courts are not in CaseTrail yet. When they are added, they will appear here with their own source and coverage notes.

Supreme Court eras

Historians usually group the Court by its Chief Justice. Choose an era:

Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error