Divisions Within a Court
Within the civil justice system there may be several divisions or offices of the court dealing with different types of issues. There may be a landlord/tenant division, a small claims division, a domestic relations division, a probate division, and a tax division. Each of those divisions deals with the types of claims associated with their name. For instance, the landlord/tenant division will deal with landlord/tenant disputes, including evictions by landlords or complaints by tenants involving failure to comply with building code requirements.
The small claims division may deal with any type of claim within a jurisdictional monetary limit. The small claims division is a type of people’s court, wherein lawyers are typically not allowed and the strict rules of evidence may not apply. The domestic relations division deals with domestic matters, including divorce, custody, alimony, child support, and adoption. The probate division deals with estate matters and guardianship matters. Finally, within a civil court there may be a general civil division that would hear all claims other than the ones mentioned above.
