Government of Indiana
The Supreme Court of Indiana is the highest judicial body in Indiana. The court oversees the lower courts and commissions that jointly make up the judicial branch. The other courts include the Indiana Tax Court, the Indiana Court of Appeals, and circuit, superior, and city or town courts. Every county in the state has a circuit court, in which all matter of suits may be filed, and the larger cities (such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Evansville, and Terre Haute) have courts of concurrent jurisdiction that act as superior or municipal courts. The courts are assisted by several commissions that are also part of the judicial branch, including the Judicial Nominating Commission.
Government of the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court. Established in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its authority is derived from the United States Congress rather than from the inherent sovereignty of the states. The Court of Appeals should not be confused with the District's federal appellate court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Court of Appeals is authorized to review all final orders, judgments, and specified interlocutory orders of the associate judges of the Superior Court, to review decisions of administrative agencies, boards, and commissions of the District government, and to answer questions of law presented by the Supreme Court of the United States, a United States court of appeals, or the highest appellate court of any state. The court consists of a chief judge and eight associate judges. The court is assisted by the service of retired judges who have been recommended and approved as senior judges. Despite being the District's local appellate court, judges are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for 15-year terms. The DC Courts are a Federal agency.