The federal court system encompasses three layers of courts.

Cases begin at the trial court level in the federal district courts. Federal district court decisions may be appealed to federal circuit courts of appeals, and federal circuit courts of appeals decisions (as well as some state Supreme Court decisions) may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of the United States

• There are nine justices on the Supreme Court, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to lifetime appointments.
• It is the highest court in the nation – its decisions are binding on all the lower courts.
• The Court is in session from October to June each year.
• The Court receives about 8,000 petitions to hear cases each year, but typically only hears and issues opinions or rulings on fewer than 100.

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals

• The Courts of Appeals (also called the circuit courts) are made up of 13 circuits.
• Each Circuit Court has an average of about 14 judges, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to lifetime appointments. By tradition, each seat on a circuit court "belongs" to one of the states in the circuit, and the senators from that state have a special role in filling the seats. Cases are randomly assigned to three-judge panels.
• About 30,000 opinions are issued by the circuit courts each year, as compared with fewer than 100 that are decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which underscores why the circuit courts are so important.
• Decisions handed down by a Court of Appeals are binding on all states in that circuit.

U.S. District Courts

• There are 94 different districts, and at least one district per state.
• District court judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to lifetime appointments. Home-state senators have a strong say in the nomination of district court judges.

Nomination and Confirmation Process
The president nominates judges, and the Senate confirms them. These are co-equal roles. The Constitution requires the Senate to be a check on the president’s power to nominate. Because federal judges and Supreme Court justices serve for a lifetime, it is the Senate's responsibility to carefully scrutinize the records and positions of all nominees to ensure that the nation's court system maintains a balance.