The courts
district court
The federal trial court. There are 94 districts, at least one per state, where cases are filed, evidence is heard, and juries sit.
In full
District courts are where the federal record is made: pleadings, discovery, motions, trials, and the findings an appellate court will later be stuck with. Each district has a bench of Article III judges appointed for life, plus magistrate judges who handle pretrial matters and some trials by consent, and a bankruptcy court unit.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.