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74-534: In the United States courts of appeals , the chief judge has certain administrative responsibilities and presides over en banc sessions of the court and meetings of the Judicial Council . The chief judge remains an active judge of the court hearing and deciding cases, but at their option may elect to take on a reduced caseload to provide time to perform administrative responsibilities. In order to qualify for

148-433: A Middle District, with two exceptions: Illinois has a Central District instead of a Middle District, and Oklahoma has Northern, Western, and Eastern Districts. Of the three states with four districts, New York and Texas use all four directional designations, while California has a Central District and no Western District. There are other federal trial courts that have nationwide jurisdiction over certain types of cases, but

222-410: A clerk, a person must have a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible administrative experience in public service or business that provides a thorough understanding of organizational, procedural, and human aspects of managing an organization, and at least 3 of the 10 years must have been in a position of substantial management responsibility. An attorney may substitute the active practice of law on

296-415: A district court to entertain a lawsuit, Congress must first grant the court subject matter jurisdiction over the type of dispute in question. The district courts exercise original jurisdiction over—that is, they are empowered to conduct trials in—the following types of cases: For most of these cases, the jurisdiction of the federal district courts is concurrent with that of the state courts. In other words,

370-700: A district court upon assignment by the chief judge of the circuit or by the Chief Justice of the United States . The number of judges in each district court (and the structure of the judicial system generally) is set by Congress in the United States Code . The president appoints the federal judges for terms of good behavior (subject to the advice and consent of the Senate ), so the nominees often share at least some of his or her convictions. In states represented by

444-662: A district judge from each judicial circuit — of the Judicial Conference . The Chief Justice of the United States is the presiding officer of the Conference. 28 U.S.C.   § 45 provides that chief judge of a circuit may serve seven years or until they attain the age of 70. There are some limited exceptions. Similar provisions apply for the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade. See United States Code 258. In

518-555: A fee and takes the oath of admission. Local practice varies as to whether the oath is given in writing or in open court before a judge of the district. A "sponsor" admitted to the court's bar is often required. Several district courts require attorneys seeking admission to their bars to take an additional bar examination on federal law, including the following: the Southern District of Ohio, the Northern District of Florida, and

592-509: A few federal court decisions that are classified for national security reasons. The circuit with the fewest appellate judges is the First Circuit , and the one with the most appellate judges is the geographically large and populous Ninth Circuit in the West. The number of judges that the U.S. Congress has authorized for each circuit is set forth by law in 28 U.S.C.   § 44 , while

666-611: A judge is through impeachment by the United States House of Representatives followed by a trial in the United States Senate and a conviction by a two-thirds vote. Otherwise, a judge, even if convicted of a felony criminal offense by a jury, is entitled to hold office until retirement or death. In the history of the United States, twelve judges have been impeached by the House, and seven have been removed following conviction in

740-592: A letter to James Madison , and it was also discussed by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 81 . However, this view did not prevail, and the first Congress created the district court system that is still in place today. Pursuant to the Constitution, nonetheless, state courts retain the power of concurrent jurisdiction in most federal matters. When the Act was first passed, there were thirteen districts created among

814-580: A number of years. The number of circuits remained unchanged until the year after Rhode Island ratified the Constitution, when the Midnight Judges Act reorganized the districts into six numbered circuits, and created circuit judgeships so that Supreme Court justices would no longer have to ride circuit. This Act, however, was repealed in March 1802, and Congress provided that the former circuit courts would be revived as of July 1 of that year. But it then passed

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888-418: A plaintiff can choose to bring these cases in either a federal district court or a state court. Congress has established a procedure whereby a party, typically the defendant, can "remove" a case from state court to federal court, provided that the federal court also has original jurisdiction over the matter (meaning that the case could have been filed in federal court initially). If the party that initially filed

962-542: A result of the Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington , but the Supreme Court dismissed the question. The last instance of the Supreme Court accepting a set of questions and answering them was in 1982's City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc . A court of appeals may convene a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel to hear appeals in bankruptcy cases directly from the bankruptcy court of its circuit. As of 2008 , only

1036-636: A senator of the president's party, the senator (or the more senior of them if both senators are of the president's party) has substantial input into the nominating process, and through a tradition known as senatorial courtesy can exercise an unofficial veto over a nominee unacceptable to the senator. Federal magistrate judges are appointed by each district court pursuant to statute. They are appointed for an eight-year term and may be reappointed for additional eight-year terms. A magistrate judge may be removed "for incompetency, misconduct, neglect of duty, or physical or mental disability". A magistrate judgeship may be

1110-443: A single case can only be heard by one circuit court, a core legal principle may be tried through multiple cases in separate circuit courts, creating an inconsistency between different parts of the United States. This creates a split decision among the circuit courts. Often, if there is a split decision between two or more circuits, and a related case is petitioned to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will take that case as to resolve

1184-494: A stepping stone to a district judgeship nomination. District judges usually concentrate on managing their court's overall caseload, supervising trials, and writing opinions in response to important motions like the motion for summary judgment . Since the 1960s, routine tasks like resolving discovery disputes can, in the district judge's discretion, be referred to magistrate judges . Magistrate judges can also be requested to prepare reports and recommendations on contested matters for

1258-432: A strong federal judiciary argued that the federal courts ought to be limited to the Supreme Court, which would hear appeals only from state courts. In other words, the state courts would be treated as federal tribunals under Article I of the Constitution for the purpose of hearing disputes under federal law, but their judges would not become officers of the federal government. Edward Carrington advocated this position in

1332-399: A year-for-year basis for the management or administrative experience requirement. Clerks do not have to be licensed attorneys, but some courts specify that a law degree is a preference for employment. Unlike some state courts, the power of federal courts to hear cases and controversies is strictly limited. Federal courts may not decide every case that happens to come before them. In order for

1406-555: Is addressed in writing as " The Honorable John/Jane Doe" or "Hon. John/Jane Doe" and in speech as "Judge" or "Judge Doe" or, when presiding in court, "Your Honor". Each district court appoints a clerk, who is responsible for overseeing filings made with the court, maintaining the court's records, processing fees, fines, and restitution, and managing the non-judicial work of the court, including information technology, budget, procurement, human resources, and financial. Clerks may appoint deputies, clerical assistants, and employees to carry out

1480-438: Is statutory direction or some legislative history to the contrary." However, the above rule cannot apply in criminal cases if the effect of applying the newer law would be to create an ex post facto law to the detriment of the defendant. Decisions made by the circuit courts only apply to the states within the court's oversight, though other courts may use the guidance issued by the circuit court in their own judgments. While

1554-660: The District of Columbia or Hawaii . The Philippines were previously part of the United States but were never part of the U.S. federal court system. There are 89 districts in the 50 states, with a total of 94 districts including territories. There is at least one judicial district for each state , the District of Columbia , and Puerto Rico . Each state has between one and four districts. For states with multiple districts, they are named geographically. States with two districts all give them either Northern–Southern or Western–Eastern designations. Most states with three districts add

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1628-403: The District of Puerto Rico . Pro hac vice admission is also available in most federal district courts on a case-by-case basis. Most district courts require pro hac vice attorneys to associate with an attorney admitted to practice before the court. Generally, a final ruling by a district court in either a civil or a criminal case can be appealed to the United States court of appeals in

1702-456: The First , Sixth , Eighth , Ninth , and Tenth Circuits have established a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. Those circuits that do not have a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel have their bankruptcy appeals heard by the district court. Courts of appeals decisions, unlike those of the lower federal courts, establish binding precedents . Other federal courts in that circuit must, from that point forward, follow

1776-625: The U.S. court of appeals for the circuit in which they reside, except for certain specialized cases that are appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or directly to the U.S. Supreme Court . District courts are courts of law , equity , and admiralty , and can hear both civil and criminal cases. But unlike U.S. state courts , federal district courts are courts of limited jurisdiction , and can only hear cases that involve disputes between residents of different states , questions of federal law , or federal crimes. Unlike

1850-592: The United States Patent and Trademark Office ). Admission to the bar of a district court is generally available to any attorney who is admitted to practice law in the state where the district court sits. 56 districts (around 60% of all district courts) require an attorney to be admitted to practice in the state where the district court sits. The other 39 districts (around 40% of all district courts) extend admission to certain lawyers admitted in other states, although conditions vary from court to court. For example,

1924-667: The federal judicial circuit in which the district court is located, except that some district court rulings involving patents and certain other specialized matters must be appealed instead to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit , and in a very few cases the appeal may be taken directly to the United States Supreme Court . The Central District of California is the largest federal district by population; it includes all five counties that make up Greater Los Angeles . By contrast, New York City and

1998-408: The "Chief Justice" of the District of Columbia Circuit and the "Senior Circuit Court Judge" on the other circuits. Until August 6, 1959, it was filled by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. From then until October 1, 1982, it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70. Lists of

2072-497: The Central District of California are the largest federal districts by number of judges, with 28 judges each. In 2007, the busiest district courts in terms of criminal federal felony filings were the District of New Mexico , Western District of Texas , Southern District of Texas , and the District of Arizona . These four districts all share the border with Mexico . A crackdown on illegal immigration resulted in 75 percent of

2146-454: The Chief Judge hear en banc cases. Many decades ago, certain classes of federal court cases held the right of an automatic appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States . That is, one of the parties in the case could appeal a decision of a court of appeals to the Supreme Court, and it had to accept the case. The right of automatic appeal for most types of decisions of a court of appeals

2220-569: The Ninth Circuit Court, the en banc court consists of all of the circuit judges who are on active status, but it does not include the senior or assigned judges (except that under some circumstances, a senior judge may participate in an en banc hearing who participated at an earlier stage of the same case). Because of the large number of Appellate Judges in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (29), only ten judges, chosen at random, and

2294-625: The Senate. (For a table that includes the twelve impeached judges, see Impeachment in the United States .) A judge who has reached the age of 65 (or has become disabled) may retire or elect to go on senior status and keep working. Such senior judges are not counted in the quota of active judges for the district and do only whatever work they are assigned by the chief judge of the district, but they keep their offices (called "chambers") and staff, and many of them work full-time. As of 2010, there were 678 authorized district court judgeships. A federal judge

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2368-425: The Supreme Court for a ruling in the midst of reviewing a case. This procedure was formerly used somewhat commonly, but now it is quite rare. For example, while between 1937 and 1946 twenty 'certificate' cases were accepted, since 1947 the Supreme Court has accepted only four. The Second Circuit, sitting en banc , attempted to use this procedure in the case United States v. Penaranda , 375 F.3d 238 (2d Cir. 2004), as

2442-543: The Supreme Court may grant the writ of certiorari before the judgment is rendered by the court of appeals, thereby reviewing the lower court's ruling directly. Certiorari before judgment was granted in the Watergate scandal -related case, United States v. Nixon , and in the 2005 decision involving the Federal Sentencing Guidelines , United States v. Booker . A court of appeals may also pose questions to

2516-419: The Supreme Court. Because of their ability to set legal precedent in regions that cover millions of Americans, the United States courts of appeals have strong policy influence on U.S. law. Moreover, because the Supreme Court chooses to review fewer than 3% of the 7,000 to 8,000 cases filed with it annually, the U.S. courts of appeals serve as the final arbiter on most federal cases. There are 179 judgeships on

2590-526: The U.S. Supreme Court, which was expressly established by Article III of the Constitution , the district courts were established by Congress pursuant to authority delegated by Article III through the enacting of a federal statute, the Judiciary Act of 1789 . There is no constitutional requirement that district courts exist at all. During the drafting and ratification of the Constitution , some opponents of

2664-502: The U.S. courts of appeals authorized by Congress in 28 U.S.C.   § 43 pursuant to Article III of the U.S. Constitution . Like other federal judges , they are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate . They have lifetime tenure, earning (as of 2023) an annual salary of $ 246,600. The actual number of judges in service varies, both because of vacancies and because senior judges who continue to hear cases are not counted against

2738-624: The U.S. state of New York , the judge that presides over the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals , is titled the "chief judge". Similarly, their fellow jurists on that court are titled "judges", while jurists who sit on lower courts are titled "justices". This is the reverse of usage in other states, where jurists who sit on the state's highest court(s) are titled "justices" and those in lower courts are titled "judges". United States court of appeals [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The United States courts of appeals are

2812-1133: The United States , and the annual submission of a report to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts on the number and nature of orders entered during the year that relate to judicial misconduct. Judicial councils consist of the chief judge of the circuit and an equal number of circuit judges and district judges of the circuit. The courts of appeals, and the lower courts and specific other bodies over which they have appellate jurisdiction, are as follows: First Circuit ( Boston ) Second Circuit ( New York City ) Third Circuit ( Philadelphia ) Fourth Circuit ( Richmond ) Fifth Circuit ( New Orleans ) Sixth Circuit ( Cincinnati ) Seventh Circuit ( Chicago ) Eighth Circuit ( St. Louis ) Ninth Circuit ( San Francisco ) Tenth Circuit ( Denver ) Eleventh Circuit ( Atlanta ) District of Columbia Circuit ( Washington ) Federal Circuit ( Washington ) Based on 2020 United States Census figures,

2886-418: The United States and hear appeals from the U.S. district courts within their borders. The District of Columbia Circuit covers only Washington, DC . The Federal Circuit hears appeals from federal courts across the entire United States in cases involving certain specialized areas of law. The United States courts of appeals are considered the most powerful and influential courts in the United States after

2960-494: The United States, including disputes over federal contracts, unlawful takings of private property by the federal government, and suits for injury on federal property or by a federal employee. The United States Tax Court has jurisdiction over contested pre-assessment determinations of taxes . A judge of a United States district court is officially titled a "United States District Judge". Other federal judges , including circuit judges and Supreme Court justices , can also sit in

3034-628: The _____ Circuit", and the "United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia" became the "United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit". The Tenth Circuit was created in 1929 by subdividing the existing Eighth Circuit, and the Eleventh Circuit was created in 1981 by subdividing the existing Fifth Circuit. The Federal Circuit was created in 1982 by the merger of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and

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3108-427: The administration of federal judicial business in those courts. The clerk for each district court was to also serve as clerk of the corresponding circuit court. The Judiciary Act required each clerk to issue the writs summoning jurors and "to record the decrees, judgments and determinations of the court of which he is clerk." The Judicial Code (28 U.S.C. § 751) provides that the clerk is appointed, and may be removed, by

3182-446: The appeals court's guidance in similar cases, regardless of whether the trial judge thinks that the case should be decided differently. Federal and state laws can and do change from time to time, depending on the actions of Congress and the state legislatures. Therefore, the law that exists at the time of the appeal might be different from the law that existed at the time of the events that are in controversy under civil or criminal law in

3256-426: The appellate division of the United States Court of Claims. Judicial councils are panels in each circuit that are charged with making "necessary and appropriate orders for the effective and expeditious administration of justice" within their circuits. Among their responsibilities is judicial discipline, the formulation of circuit policy, the implementation of policy directives received from the Judicial Conference of

3330-414: The case at hand. A court of appeals applies the law as it exists at the time of the appeal; otherwise, it would be handing down decisions that would be instantly obsolete, and this would be a waste of time and resources, since such decisions could not be cited as precedent. "[A] court is to apply the law in effect at the time it renders its decision, unless doing so would result in manifest injustice, or there

3404-438: The case in state court believes that removal was improper, that party can ask the district court to "remand" the case to the state court system. For certain matters, such as patent and copyright infringement disputes and prosecutions for federal crimes, the jurisdiction of the district courts is exclusive of that of the state courts, meaning that only federal courts can hear those cases. In addition to their original jurisdiction,

3478-459: The court hearing and deciding cases, but may take on a reduced caseload to perform administrative tasks. The qualifications for chief judge and the selection process are essentially the same for the district courts and for the courts of appeals. See 28 U.S.C.   § 136 . The chief judge of each judicial circuit and the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade are members — along with

3552-442: The court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States , a chief judge stays in active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of their promotion. See 28 U.S.C.   § 45 . These rules have applied since October 1, 1982. The office of chief judge was created effective September 1, 1948, replacing what had been known as

3626-468: The court. The clerk's duties are prescribed by the statute, by the court's customs and practices, and by policy established by the Judicial Conference of the United States . The clerk is appointed by order of the court en banc to serve the entire court. The role of the clerk and deputies or assistants should not be confused with the judges' law clerks , who assist the judges by conducting research and preparing drafts of opinions. To be eligible to serve as

3700-1015: The criminal cases filed in the 94 district courts in 2007 being filed in these four districts and the other district that borders Mexico, the Southern District of California . The busiest patent litigation court is the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas , with the most patent lawsuits filed there nearly every year. Most extinct district courts have disappeared by being divided into smaller districts. The following courts were subdivided out of existence: Alabama , Arkansas , California , Florida , Georgia , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kentucky , Louisiana , Michigan , Mississippi , Missouri , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , Washington , West Virginia , Wisconsin . On rare occasions, an extinct district court

3774-509: The dispersed population in towns and the smaller cities that existed then. The "courts of appeals" system was established in the Judiciary Act of 1891 . Because the courts of appeals possess only appellate jurisdiction, they do not hold trials . Only courts with original jurisdiction hold trials and thus determine punishments (in criminal cases) and remedies (in civil cases). Instead, appeals courts review decisions of trial courts for errors of law. Accordingly, an appeals court considers only

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3848-399: The district court also has concurrent jurisdiction over many of those cases, and the district court is the only one with jurisdiction over civilian criminal cases. The United States Court of International Trade addresses cases involving international trade and customs issues. The United States Court of Federal Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over most claims for money damages against

3922-415: The district courts have appellate jurisdiction over a very limited class of judgments, orders, and decrees. In order to represent a party in a case in a district court, a person must be an attorney at law and generally must be admitted to the bar of that particular court. The United States usually does not have a separate bar examination for federal practice (except with respect to patent practice before

3996-587: The district courts in New York City ( Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York ) extend admission to attorneys admitted to the bar in Connecticut or Vermont and to the district court in that state, but otherwise require attorneys to be admitted to the New York bar. Only 13 districts extend admission to attorneys admitted to any U.S. state bar. The attorney generally submits an application with

4070-586: The district judge's consideration or, with the consent of all parties, to assume complete jurisdiction over a case including conducting the trial. With the exception of the territorial courts ( Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands , and the Virgin Islands ), federal district judges are Article III judges appointed for life, and can be removed involuntarily only when they violate the standard of "good behavior". The sole method of involuntary removal of

4144-486: The eleven states which had ratified the Constitution by that point. When North Carolina and Rhode Island voted to ratify, a district was created for each of them, bringing the number of districts to fifteen. The territories ( insular areas ) of Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands , and the United States Virgin Islands each have one territorial court; these courts are called "district courts" and exercise

4218-418: The intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary . They hear appeals of cases from the United States district courts and some U.S. administrative agencies , and their decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States . The courts of appeals are divided into 13 "Circuits". Eleven of the circuits are numbered "First" through "Eleventh" and cover geographic areas of

4292-473: The judges who have served as chief judge of each of the courts of appeals can be found in the articles for the respective circuits, such as United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit . In United States district courts with at least two judges, the chief judge has certain administrative responsibilities, including presiding over some meetings of the judges. The chief judge remains an active judge of

4366-490: The local district judge; the three circuits existed solely for the purpose of assigning the justices to a group of circuit courts. Some districts (generally the ones most difficult for an itinerant justice to reach) did not have a circuit court; in these districts the district court exercised the original jurisdiction of a circuit court. As new states were admitted to the Union, Congress often did not create circuit courts for them for

4440-448: The new Judiciary Act of 1802 in April, so that the revival of the old courts never took effect. The 1802 Act restored circuit riding, but with only one justice to a circuit; it therefore created six new circuits, but with slightly different compositions than the 1801 Act. These six circuits later were augmented by others. Until 1866, each new circuit (except the short-lived California Circuit)

4514-726: The number of authorized judgeships. Decisions of the U.S. courts of appeals have been published by the private company West Publishing in the Federal Reporter series since the courts were established. Only decisions that the courts designate for publication are included. The "unpublished" opinions (of all but the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits ) are published separately in West's Federal Appendix , and they are also available in on-line databases like LexisNexis or Westlaw . More recently, court decisions have also been made available electronically on official court websites. However, there are also

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4588-405: The oath is given in writing or in open court before a judge of the circuit, and most courts of appeals allow the applicant attorney to choose which method he or she prefers. When the courts of appeals were created in 1891, one was created for each of the nine circuits then existing , and each court was named the "United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the _____ Circuit". When a court of appeals

4662-433: The office of chief judge, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy in the office of chief judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of

4736-480: The parties' lawyers speak to the court. The rules that govern the procedure in the courts of appeals are the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure . In a court of appeals, an appeal is almost always heard by a "panel" of three judges who are randomly selected from the available judges (including senior judges and judges temporarily assigned to the circuit). Some cases, however, receive an en banc hearing. Except in

4810-519: The places where those judges must regularly sit to hear appeals are prescribed in 28 U.S.C.   § 48 . Although the courts of appeals are frequently called "circuit courts", they should not be confused with the former United States circuit courts , which were active from 1789 through 1911, during the time when long-distance transportation was much less available, and which were primarily first-level federal trial courts that moved periodically from place to place in "circuits" in order to serve

4884-551: The population residing in each circuit is as follows. The Judiciary Act of 1789 established three circuits, which were groups of judicial districts in which United States circuit courts were established. The original three circuits were given distinct names, rather than numbers: the Eastern, the Middle, and the Southern. Each circuit court consisted of two Supreme Court justices and

4958-434: The record (that is, the papers the parties filed and the transcripts and any exhibits from any trial) from the trial court, and the legal arguments of the parties. These arguments, which are presented in written form and can range in length from dozens to hundreds of pages, are known as briefs . Sometimes lawyers are permitted to add to their written briefs with oral arguments before the appeals judges. At such hearings, only

5032-399: The same jurisdiction as district courts, but differ from district courts in that territorial courts are Article IV courts , with judges who serve ten-year terms rather than the lifetime tenure of judges of Article III courts , such as the district court judges. American Samoa does not have a district court or a federal territorial court, and so federal matters there are sent to either

5106-420: The split. In order to serve as counsel in a case appealed to a circuit court, the attorney must first be admitted to the bar of that circuit. Admission to the bar of a circuit court is granted as a matter of course to any attorney who is admitted to practice law in any state of the United States. The attorney submits an application, pays a fee, and takes the oath of admission. Local practice varies as to whether

5180-582: The surrounding metropolitan area are divided between the Southern District of New York (which includes Manhattan , The Bronx and Westchester County ) and the Eastern District of New York (which includes Brooklyn , Queens , Staten Island , Nassau County and Suffolk County ). New York suburbs in Connecticut and New Jersey are covered by the District of Connecticut and District of New Jersey , respectively. The Southern District of New York and

5254-413: The work of the court. The clerk of each district court must reside in the district for which the clerk is appointed, except that the clerk of the District of Columbia and the clerk of the Southern District of New York may reside within twenty miles of their respective districts. The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the Supreme Court and the judge of each U.S. District Court to appoint a clerk to assist with

5328-495: Was accompanied by a newly created Supreme Court seat. United States district court [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary . There is one district court for each federal judicial district . Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one federal courthouse in each district, and many districts have more than one. District court decisions are appealed to

5402-409: Was created for the District of Columbia in 1893, it was named the "Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia", and it was renamed to the "United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia" in 1934. In 1948, Congress renamed all of the courts of appeals then existing to their current formal names: the court of appeals for each numbered circuit was named the "United States Court of Appeals for

5476-497: Was ended by an Act of Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1925 , which also reorganized many other things in the federal court system. Passage of this law was urged by Chief Justice William Howard Taft . The current procedure is that a party in a case may apply to the Supreme Court to review a ruling of the circuit court. This is called petitioning for a writ of certiorari , and the Supreme Court may choose, in its sole discretion, to review any lower court ruling. In extremely rare cases,

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