What is the nature of the judicial system in america?

There are two types of cases, criminal and civil. Civil cases are when an individual brings charges against another individual over monetary compensation. Civil cases can either be small claims for dispute over an amount of money under $5,000 or general suits over disputes over an amount of money over $5,000. Criminal cases are when the government brings charges against an individual. They can be lower end charges called misdemeanors which can have a max sentence of 1 year or higher end charges called felonies that have an infinite sentence. The important things to note is that most cases are tried in state courts, not in federal court.