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The judicial branch is responsible for passing judgment on legal cases that challenge or require interpretation of acts of Congress and for trying criminal cases in which the defendant is accused of violating federal law. Federal courts also have appellate jurisdiction over state laws when challenged on constitutional grounds, and jurisdiction over cases involving more than one state, citizens of more than one state, or foreign parties.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, including the Courts of Appeal (also known as Circuit Courts or Appellate Courts), federal district courts, bankruptcy courts, and courts of federal claims. The courts of the federal judiciary hear both civil and criminal cases appealed from state courts. Their original jurisdiction covers cases relating to patents, trademarks, claims against the federal government, bankruptcy, financial securities, maritime law, and international claims.

As a separate branch of government, the judiciary is independent of the other two branches, subject only to the checks and balances defined in the Constitution. An independent federal judiciary is considered essential to ensure fairness and equal justice for all citizens.

• Access to the Courts: Equal Justice for All - DOS IIP, Electronic-Journal
• The Changing Face of U.S. Courts - DOS IIP, Electronic-Journal
• Criminal Justice in the U.S. - DOS IIP, Electronic-Journal
• How U.S. Courts Work - DOS IIP, Electronic-Journal
• The Judicial Branch
• The Judicial Branch: Interpreting the Constitution
• Outline of the U.S. Legal System
• Overview of Judicial Branch
• An Overview of the United States Sentencing Commission
• The Supreme Court of the United States: Highest Court in the Land - DOS IIP, Electronic-Journal
• Understanding the Federal Courts

• Courts (National Criminal Justice Reference Service)
• Federal Justice Statistics
• U.S. Courts Statistical Reports

• The Changing Face of U.S. Courts
• Federal Judicial Center
• Glossary of Terms
• How U.S. Courts Work
• Mediation and the Courts
• Terrorism and the Law of War: Trying Terrorists as War Criminals before Military Commissions
• Understanding the Federal Courts, 2003 Edition

• The U.S. Supreme Court
• Biographies of the Supreme Court Justices
• Biographies of Current Members of the Supreme Court
• Brief Overview of the Supreme Court
• Court Links (National Law Journal)
• Court of International Trade
• District Courts
• Famous Trials
• Federal Judicial Center
• The National Center for State Courts
• The Supreme Court
• Territorial Courts
• U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
• U.S. Courts of Appeals
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. Judiciary (Law Library of Congress)
• U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

• Administrative Office of the United States Courts
• Court Personnel
• Federal Judicial Center
• The Judicial Conference of the United States
• Judicial Councils
• PACER

• Judicial Branch Resources GPO Access
• Legal Information Institute Cornell University

• Directory of U.S. Courts of Appeals
• Directory of U.S. District Courts