Trial court

Most appellate courts do not have the authority to hear testimony or take evidence, but instead rule solely on matters of law.

In the United States, a trial court of general jurisdiction is authorized to hear some type of civil or criminal case that is not committed exclusively to another court.

Not all cases are heard in trial courts of general jurisdiction.

A trial court of limited jurisdiction is authorized to hear only specified types of cases.

Other trials do not take place in courts at all, but in quasi-judicial bodies or in administrative agencies with adjudicatory power created by statute to make binding determinations with simplified procedural practices, such as arbitration.