The Rhode Island Superior Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction in Rhode Island.
The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in all felony proceedings, civil matters with an amount in controversy in excess of $10,000, and all matters of equity. The Superior Court exercises concurrent jurisdiction in civil matters with an amount in controversy between $5,000 and $10,000 with the lower District Court (a court of limited jurisdiction), and also has concurrent jurisdiction with the Rhode Island Supreme Court (the state supreme court) in the issuance of writs of habeas corpus and mandamus.
The Superior Court is the trial court of record in Rhode Island and is the only Rhode Island court for hearing jury trials. The lower District Courts hear trials of misdemeanor cases, and the decisions of the District Court may be appealed to the Superior Court for a trial de novo (new trial).
The Superior Court has a specialized business court track, the Business Calendar, [1] which is one of the oldest business court programs in the United States, [2] originally led by Associate Justice Michael A. Silverstein, who served as a Business Calendar judge from 2001 to 2018. [3]
Since Rhode Island has no intermediate appellate court, appeals from the Superior Court go directly to the Supreme Court.
The chief administrative judge of the court is the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court. The chief administrative judge establishes calendars, assigns judges, appoints the Superior Court administrator, jury commissioner, and other staff, and makes rules for court business. The Presiding Justice manages the Central Registry, Arbitration Office, and Clerk's Office. There are 21 Associate Justices and five Magistrates of the Superior Court.
Rhode Island's five counties each have separate jurisdictions of Superior Court: One in Kent County (at the Noel Judicial Complex in Warwick), one in Washington County (at the McGrath Judicial Complex at Wakefield), one in Newport County (at the Murray Judicial Complex in Newport), and a combined jurisdiction for Providence and Bristol counties (at the Licht Judicial Complex, formerly known as the Providence County Courthouse, in the state capital of Providence (which the Superior Court shares with the Supreme Court and Rhode Island Law Library).
In the United States, a state court has jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. State courts handle the vast majority of civil and criminal cases in the United States; the United States federal courts are far smaller in terms of both personnel and caseload, and handle different types of cases. States often provide their trial courts with general jurisdiction and state trial courts regularly have concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and their subject-matter jurisdiction arises only under federal law.
The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. In the courts, the judiciary interpret and apply the law of Canada. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.
The Superior Court of Justice is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges.
The Alaska Court System is the unified, centrally administered, and totally state-funded judicial system for the state of Alaska. The Alaska District Courts are the primary misdemeanor trial courts, the Alaska Superior Courts are the primary felony trial courts, and the Alaska Supreme Court and the Alaska Court of Appeals are the primary appellate courts. The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court is the administrative head of the Alaska Court System.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judicial positions on the Court in addition to supernumerary judges, making for a grand total of 108 judges. There are also 13 Supreme Court masters, who hear and dispose of a wide variety of applications in chambers.
The structure of the judiciary of Texas is laid out in Article 5 of the Constitution of Texas and is further defined by statute, in particular the Texas Government Code and Texas Probate Code. The structure is complex, featuring many layers of courts, numerous instances of overlapping jurisdiction, several differences between counties, as well as an unusual bifurcated appellate system at the top level found in only one other state: Oklahoma. Municipal Courts are the most active courts, with County Courts and District Courts handling most other cases and often sharing the same courthouse.
The New Hampshire Superior Court is the statewide court of general jurisdiction which provides jury trials in civil and criminal cases. There are 11 locations of the Superior Court, one for each county and two in Hillsborough County.
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts. Under the State Constitution, "'judicial power shall be vested in a Supreme Court, a Superior Court, and other courts of limited jurisdiction.'" The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts. The State Constitution renders the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division the intermediate appellate court, and "[a]ppeals may be taken to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court from the law and chancery divisions of the Superior Court and in such other causes as may be provided by law." Each division is in turn divided into various parts. "The trial divisions of the Superior Court are the principal trial courts of New Jersey. They are located within the State's various judicial geographic units, called 'vicinages,' R. 1:33-2(a), and are organized into two basic divisions: the Chancery Division and the Law Division".
The Supreme Court of Palau is the highest court of Palau. Article X of the Constitution vests the Supreme Court with judicial power and provides for its operation and jurisdiction. The Supreme Court is divided into a Trial Division and an Appellate Division. Cases are adjudicated by a single justice in the Trial Division and appeals are heard by panels of three different justices in the Appellate Division. The Trial Division of the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over all civil matters over $10,000 and criminal matters not assigned to the Court of Common Pleas and adjudication of land interests. The Supreme Court also handles disciplinary and other special proceedings. The Supreme Court consists of Appellate and Trial Divisions. Chief Justice, Oldiais Ngiraikelau, and Associate Justices John K. Rechucher and Fred M. Isaacs are currently serving in the former division, while Presiding Justice, Kathleen M. Salii and Associate Justice Lourdes F. Materne serve in the latter one. Other judges are invited to sit on an as-needed basis as Associate Justices Pro Tem or Part-Time Associate Justices.
The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Each justice enjoys lifetime tenure and no mandatory retirement age, similar to Federal judges. Justices may be removed only if impeached for improper conduct by a vote of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and convicted by trial in the Rhode Island Senate.
Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by the California Constitution, there is a superior court in each of the 58 counties in California. The superior courts also have appellate divisions which hear appeals from decisions in cases previously heard by inferior courts.
The Judiciary of Vermont is the state court system of Vermont, charged with Vermont law.
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania is the unified state court system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Circuit Courts of Maryland are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction in Maryland. They are Maryland's highest courts of record exercising original jurisdiction at law and in equity in all civil and criminal matters, and have such additional powers and jurisdiction as conferred by the Maryland Constitution of 1867 as amended, or by law. The Circuit Courts also preside over divorce and most family law matters. Probate and estate matters are handled by a separate Orphans' Court. The Circuit Courts are the only Maryland state courts empowered to conduct jury trials.
The Superior Court is North Carolina's general jurisdiction trial court. It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court.
The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top, California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts, and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.
The Florida State Courts System is the unified state court system of Florida.
Michael A. Silverstein was a United States judge serving as an associate justice on the Rhode Island Superior Court. He was known for handling significant and complex cases, and for his involvement in creating and heading the Rhode Island Superior Court's Business Calendar, a specialized business court docket within the Superior Court.