FORTY YEARS AGO last Sunday, five men broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington DC in a botched operation that would spark a chain of events that two years later would see Richard Nixon resign as the 37th president of the United States.
Federal courts hear cases involving violations of federal statues, crimes committed on federal property or disputes between residents of different states. State courts hear cases involving violations of state laws or disputes between two or more residents of that state. The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is a Federal Court. This Court is completely separate from State Courts.
The federal courts hear both criminal and civil cases. The federal system has three levels, one trial court level and two appellate court levels. The trial court level, where complaints are filed and where the actual trials occur, is called the district court because the federal system is divided into districts. Illinois has three districts: the Northern District (Chicago), the Central District (Springfield), and the Southern District (East St. Louis).