Each state has its own courts, then you have the federales.  California once had three levels of court, now just two:  the municipal courts were subsumed into the superior courts.  Then you have the State Supreme Court.  We also have a circuit court in San Francisco, but that one is federal.  Beyond the circuit courts, you only find the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.  Let's see...there is also the difference in civil and criminal cases, but I think those exist side-by-side in all the above courts.  I'm fuzzy on that.  Also, small claims courts exist at the local level;  they are for civil cases only and have a cap on maximum judgments.  To request larger judgments, you have to go to superior court.