State courts are divided into limited or special jurisdiction or general jurisdiction. The grounds for going to a court of limited jurisdiction involve special cases, dealing with matters of probate and family, such as divorce and child custodies, juvenile crimes, traffic violations and small claims. These courts are known by the name of the matter they handle such as probate courts, family courts or traffic courts.
General jurisdiction state courts undertake trial cases that do not fall within the realm of special cases. The grounds for going to these courts are involve serious criminal or civil case such murder, violence, tax evasion. In these types of courts, judges determines matters of law and juries focus on the cases' facts. Different states have different names for courts of general jurisdiction. In the state of New York, these are called circuit courts, superior courts, courts of common pleas or supreme courts.
Other than the trial courts that handle limited or general litigation, state courts also have an appeals section. The grounds for going to the appeals court involve appealing decisions handed down by state trial courts of general jurisdiction. You can only appeal a "guilty" verdict in appellate state courts. This court is not concerned with the cases' facts but with whether trial judges have interpreted the laws correctly.
State courts section their court systems into types of remedies that plaintiffs are seeking. These are generally known as claims courts. The grounds for going there involve claiming money as compensation. These include small claims courts that handle cases with small amounts of money, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Claims courts also handle medium claims of up to $25,000.