A state trial court can hear all the cases that occurs within the jurisdiction of the states (even in different cities, as long as they are located within the same state borders). Exception might occurs if the higher level state directly asked to hand over the case. In that case, the state trial court would be forced to oblige.
The fugitive slave law mean that Southerners could capture slaves that escaped to the north and made it illegal for Northerners to help escaped slaves. Hope this helps!
