what is the differnece between circuit court and district court?

Question

my car was vandalized and the guy was charged with crimianl mischief ,but the moved it up to circuit court

Answer 1

District Court is normally where all the traffic cases and misdemeanor cases are handled by a Judge that normally has jurisdiction within that specific county only.

Most all cases will start at the District level and if the Judge determines that the case belongs in a higher Circuit Court, the case is "bound over" to the Circuit Court , normally, in my jurisdiction, through the Grand Jury.

The Grand Jury meets periodically and is composed of citizens within the community. They will hear facts of the case presented by the District Attorney and witnesses for the State to determine if enough "Probable Cause" exists in the case to indict the case.

A Circuit Court is normally where all the felony cases are handled by a Circuit Court Judge who has a jurisdiction normally contained within several surrounding counties.

In your case, the value of damage may have taken the value of damages over the threshold of a misdemeanor offense to that of a felony!

Hope this helps....best wishes!

Answer 2

relies upon on the jurisdiction. In some states, the term "district courtroom" refers to small claims courts, or county-point courts, on a similar time as "circuits" confer with bigger areas interior the state or to state-point courts. under the federal device, District Courts are the popular trial courts, and the Circuit Courts of Appeals are the intermediate point appellate courts.

Answer 3

I agree with the first answer. The courts are separated according to misdemeanor and felony cases. District and Municipal courts handle misdemeanors and Circuit (or Superior in some states) handles felonies.