CHAPTER 24 THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM:JUDGING CASES 563 The Supreme Court is not the only federal court that"matters" in the American judicial system Most federal cases originate in district courts,and most appealed cases are settled in courts of appeals,never reaching the Supreme Court.(Eli Reed/Magnum) In theory,federal district courts are bound by legal precedents established by the Supreme Court.This requirement was reiterated in a 1982 case,Hutto v. Davis:"Unless we wish anarchy to prevail within the federal judicial system,a precedent of this Court must be followed by the lower federal courts no matter how misguided the judges of those courts may think it to be."10 There is no question that lower federal courts rely on and follow Supreme Court decisions in their own rulings.However,the idea that lower courts are guided strictly by Supreme Court rulings is part of the "upper-court myth." District-court judges may misapply or misunderstand the Supreme Court's position and deviate from it for that reason.In addition,the facts of a case before a district court are seldom precisely the same as those of a similar case decided by the Supreme Court.In this situation,the lower-court judge must.decide whether the facts of the current case are sufficiently different that a different legal principle must be invoked.In some cases,district-court judges have willfully disregarded Supreme Court precedent,finding a basis for decision that 1Hutto v.Davis,U.S.370 (1982). Supreme Court of the 月Unifed States FIGURE 24-1 The Federal Judicial System This simplified diagram shows the relationships among the State appellate U.S.courts Special federal courts (e.g.. various levels of federal courts courts of appeals Court of Claims) and between state and federal courts.The losing party in a case can appeal a lower-court decision to the court at the next highest level,as the arrows indicate.A case can be appealed Lower state U.S.district courts from state courts to federal courts courts only when a federal issue is involved