Whats the difference between State and Federal Courts?
Federal Courts are operated by the federal government. They are for trying federal crimes, civil matters of federal jurisdiction (arising out of federal statutes), and for certain matters between citizens of different states where the amount in controversy is high enough. The bankruptcy court is a federal court as it is exclusively a federal matter. Federal court judges are appointed for life by the President of the United States. Therefore, while they may politically be affiliated with a particular party, once they are appointed there is no political pressure on them to decide cases a certain way. State courts are for criminal and civil matters that are governed by state or local laws, or for matters that are not exclusively reserved to the federal courts. State court judges are usually elected and there are time limits on the length of each judge’s term before they must be re-elected.
