Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. ... Institutional independence means the judicial branch is independent from the executive and legislative branches. Decisional independence is the idea that judges should be able to decide cases solely based on the law and facts ...

The Judicial Branch consists of the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, the Executive Office of the Trial Court, the Trial Court departments, the Massachusetts Probation Service, and the Office of Jury Commissioner. Click on a Court to learn more.

For purposes of the federal judicial system, Congress has divided the United States into judicial districts.There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.Three territories of the United States — the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands — have district courts that hear federal cases ...