San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

There are many different court systems in the United States. One of the main differences is whether the court is located in the federal or the state system. A large percentage of lawsuits and criminal cases are located in the state system, but the federal system deals with a large number of cases as well. The case may end up in federal court if the parties are located in different states, if the injury occurred across state lines, or if federal laws were broken. These are only a few of the possibilities in reaching a conclusion on which court system a case should be in.

Within the state system, there are several different types of courts—civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile. There may also be municipal or administrative courts that deal with citations or smaller issues. Probate court handles legal issues after people have passed away, for example, wills and trusts. Juvenile courts deal with minors and their criminal or abuse issues. Criminal courts address criminal matters, both misdemeanor and felony types. Civil court is one of the largest divisions, and handles cases ranging from personal injury to contractual disputes to constitutional violations. These cases may be decided by a jury or just a judge. The parties in civil cases are usually two private parties and sometimes involve a government entity (like in constitutional violation cases).

Filing a lawsuit in a civil court can be incredibly daunting because of the different rules and paperwork that is involved. Hiring an attorney to be on your side may be your best chance at success. Experienced attorneys will know deadlines to filing documents, the court process and how to gather evidence. The lawyers of Greenberg & Rudman LLP have over 50 years of combined experience and may be able to help you in your personal injury case. We handle different types of personal injury claims, including car accidents, wrongful death and elder abuse. Call us now at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) for a free consultation of your case. Check out our website, www.alawpro.com, where you can read profiles on our attorneys and information about the different types of lawsuits that we handle.

Do you want to learn more about civil and criminal courts? Then go to Part 2: LOS GATOS DRIVER ARRESTED FOR DEATH OF BICYCLIST, AND COULD BE RESPONSIBLE TO FAMILY OF VICTIM IN CIVIL CASE (Part 2 of 2)