The Constitution divides the court system into two main bodies: federal courts and state courts. The jurisdiction of state courts is outlined in the respective state constitution, but the jurisdiction of federal courts is explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution. Federal courts are meant to handle cases involving United States laws, treaties and policies with forreign nations, interpretations of the Constitution, and disputes or issues between states. Cases are organized and distributed to varying levels of federal courts by order of importance - after all, our Supreme Court Justices can't deal with every trivial problem. The picture below shows the order of lower federal courts, which are instituted by Congress.