41-556: The United States circuit courts were the intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system from 1789 until 1912. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 , and had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate jurisdiction over the United States district courts . The Judiciary Act of 1891 (26 Stat. 826 , also known as
82-488: A court of that state would decide the issue or, if that state accepts certified questions from federal courts when state law is unclear or uncertain, ask an appellate court of that state to decide the issue. Notably, the only federal court that can issue proclamations of federal law that bind state courts is the Supreme Court itself. Decisions of the lower federal courts, whether on issues of federal law or state law (when
123-699: A few judges, the Act was repealed after only one year because Jefferson feared the judiciary would become too powerful. The same act also created the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia , a "circuit court" for the District of Columbia . This court had the same original jurisdiction and powers as the United States circuit courts but, unlike those courts, it continued to have its own judges even after
164-610: A single judge, sitting alone". In certain cases, Congress has diverted original jurisdiction to specialized courts, such as the Court of International Trade , the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court , the Alien Terrorist Removal Court , or to Article I or Article IV tribunals . The district courts usually have jurisdiction to hear appeals from such tribunals (unless, for example, appeals are to
205-606: A variety of other lesser federal tribunals. Article III of the Constitution requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits the Congress to create other federal courts and place limitations on their jurisdiction . Article III states that federal judges are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, or die. All federal courts can be readily identified by
246-411: Is needed. This extends to the incomplete disclosure of gifts, including luxury trips, for judges throughout the judiciary, which hampers the ability of the public to know whether there are enough conflicts of interest to warrant a recusal . Suja A. Thomas argues the federal judiciary has taken most of the constitutionally-defined power from juries in the United States for itself thanks in part to
287-508: The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces , as well as Article I courts with appellate jurisdiction over specific geographic areas such as the District of Columbia Court of Appeals . The Article I courts with original jurisdiction over specific subject matter include the bankruptcy courts (for each district court), the Court of Federal Claims , and the Tax Court . Article IV courts include
328-495: The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ). Besides these federal courts, described as Article III courts, there are other adjudicative bodies described as Article I or Article IV courts in reference to the article of the Constitution from which the court's authority stems. There are a number of Article I courts with appellate jurisdiction over specific subject matter including the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and
369-487: The District of Columbia Circuit ; and a 13th circuit, the Federal Circuit , which has special jurisdiction over appeals involving specialized subjects such as patents and trademarks . Nearly all appeals are heard by three-judge panels, but on rare occasions, after a three-judge panel decides a case, all the judges in the circuit may rehear the case en banc . Decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeals can be appealed to
410-510: The Evarts Act ) transferred their appellate jurisdiction to the newly created United States circuit courts of appeals, which are now known as the United States courts of appeals . On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911 , the circuit courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. district courts. During the 100 years that
451-714: The High Court of American Samoa and territorial courts such as the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands , District Court of Guam , and District Court of the Virgin Islands . The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico was transformed from an Article IV court to an Article III court in 1966, and reform advocates say the other territorial courts should be changed as well. Federal judges, like Supreme Court justices, are appointed by
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#1732844577347492-461: The abstention doctrine and the Rooker–Feldman doctrine limit the power of lower federal courts to disturb rulings made by state courts . The Erie doctrine requires federal courts to apply substantive state law to claims arising from state law (which may be heard in federal courts under supplemental or diversity jurisdiction). In difficult cases, the federal courts must either guess as to how
533-660: The president with the consent of the Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, retire, or die. Under Article I of the federal Constitution, Congress also has the power to establish other tribunals, which are usually quite specialized, within the executive branch to assist the president in the execution of his or her powers. Judges who staff them normally serve terms of fixed duration, as do magistrate judges . Judges in Article I tribunals attached to executive branch agencies are referred to as administrative law judges (ALJs) and are generally considered to be part of
574-513: The 94 federal judicial districts . The U.S. District Courts and federal judicial districts are organized according to U.S. state boundaries. Depending on a state's population, it may be covered by only a single district court, such as the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska , or by up to four district courts, such as the U.S. District Courts for the Northern , Eastern , Western , and Southern Districts of New York . Most cases "are tried by
615-455: The Constitution came into force in 1789, Congress gained the authority to establish the federal judicial system as a whole. Only the Supreme Court was established by the Constitution itself. The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the first inferior (i.e., lower) federal courts established pursuant to the Constitution and provided for the first Article III judges. Virtually all U.S. law schools offer an elective course that focuses specifically on
656-602: The Criminal Court judge. On July 9, 1846, by 9 Stat. 35, The county of Alexandria in the District of Columbia was returned to the state of Virginia , and the division of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia seated in that county was abolished upon the formal approval of retrocession, occurred September 7, 1846. The circuit court, district court, and criminal court of the District of Columbia were finally abolished altogether on March 3, 1863, by 12 Stat. 762. A new court,
697-404: The Criminal Court of the District of Columbia on July 7, 1838, by 5 Stat. 306. This act authorized one judge, and granted the Criminal Court the powers of the U.S. circuit courts and the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia in criminal matters. The act of February 20, 1839, 5 Stat. 319, provided that the chief judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia would preside in the absence of
738-851: The IRS has already lost a case on that issue in that circuit. The Articles of Confederation provided a clear basis for the initial establishment of United States of America judicial authority by Congress prior to the Constitution. This authority, enumerated by Article IX, allowed for the establishment of United States jurisdiction in the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, final appeals from state court decisions in all cases of captures of enemy ships, last resort for resolution of disputes between two or more states (including disputes over borders and jurisdiction), and final determination of controversies between private parties arising from conflicting land grants issued by two or more states prior to settlement of which state actually has jurisdiction over
779-484: The Internal Revenue Service, nonacquiescences (published in a series of documents called Actions on Decisions) "generally do not affect the application of stare decisis or the rule of precedent ". The IRS "will recognize these principles and generally concede issues accordingly during administrative proceedings". In rare cases, however, the IRS may continue to litigate a legal issue in a given circuit even where
820-467: The Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court " rode circuit ", many justices complained about the effort required. Riding circuit took a great deal of time (about half of the year) and was both physically demanding and dangerous. However, "members of Congress held firm to the belief that circuit riding benefited the justices and the populace, and they turned a deaf ear to the corps of justices that desired to abolish
861-578: The Midnight Judges Act, but that proved to be highly controversial as the Act took effect with only 19 days remaining in John Adams 's Federalist administration. Before the oppositional Democratic-Republican administration of Thomas Jefferson took power, Adams took advantage of the Act to nominate several new federal judges expected to support the Federalist agenda. Although Jefferson also nominated
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#1732844577347902-502: The Supreme Court, but the Court of Appeals is the "end of the line" for most federal cases. Although several other federal courts bear the phrase "Court of Appeals" in their names—such as the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims —they are not Article III courts and are not considered to sit in appellate circuits. The United States district courts are the general federal trial courts. There are 94 U.S. District Courts, one for each of
943-498: The Supreme Court. United States federal court system The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primarily of the U.S. Supreme Court , the U.S. Courts of Appeals , and the U.S. District Courts . It also includes
984-482: The capital to hear appeals. The burden of circuit riding was somewhat alleviated by the appointment of circuit judges under the Circuit Judges Act of 1869 , but was not abolished until the creation of the intermediate courts of appeals in 1891. In 1801, Congress attempted for the first time in its history to relieve the Supreme Court justices of this burden by enacting the Judiciary Act of 1801 , commonly known as
1025-467: The circuit courts convened separately in each district and were designated by the name of the district (for example, the "U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts"), not by the name or number of the circuit. The designation of circuits served only for the purpose of designating the districts in which a particular Supreme Court Justice, and later a circuit judge, would sit on the circuit court. The circuit court districts were usually, but not always,
1066-548: The court the same powers as the U.S. circuit courts as well as local civil and criminal jurisdiction within the District of Columbia. On March 3, 1801, by 2 Stat. 123, Congress authorized the chief judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to hold the United States District Court for the District of Potomac , but this jurisdiction was short lived. On March 8, 1802, by 2 Stat. 132, the Potomac District
1107-407: The courts of appeals (and sometimes state courts), operating under discretionary review , which means that the Supreme Court can choose which cases to hear, by granting petitions for writs of certiorari . There is therefore generally no basic right of appeal that extends automatically all the way to the Supreme Court. In a few situations (like lawsuits between state governments or some cases between
1148-659: The district court clerk usually acted as the circuit court clerk. This arrangement persisted for many years in most federal judicial districts, even after Congress authorized the appointment of circuit judges in 1869 and allowed such judges to appoint a clerk without the concurrence of the district court judge. Although any district court judge could be authorized to act as a circuit judge, only fifty judges solely designated as circuit court judges were ever appointed. These can be broadly categorized into four groups: Three circuit court judges, Samuel M. Blatchford , David Josiah Brewer , and William Burnham Woods , were later appointed to
1189-443: The district, although in 1793 Congress provided that a quorum of one justice and one district judge could hold court. After 1802, only one justice was assigned to each circuit, and a quorum could consist of a single justice or judge. This " circuit riding " arrangement meant that the Supreme Court justices spent the majority of the year traveling to each district within their circuit to conduct trials, and spent far less time assembled at
1230-620: The executive branch even though they exercise quasi-judicial powers. With limited exceptions, they cannot render final judgments in cases involving life, liberty, and private property rights, but may make preliminary rulings subject to review by an Article III judge. The 30,000 people who work for the judiciary have mostly no workplace protections unlike millions of employees around the United States, including in U.S. Congress, who have more civil rights as employees. The judiciary has been critiqued as an example of how self-policing does not work and transparency and accountability from an independent body
1271-557: The federal government and a state) it sits as a court of original jurisdiction. The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate federal appellate courts. They operate under a system of mandatory review which means they must hear all appeals of right from the lower courts. In some cases, Congress has diverted appellate jurisdiction to specialized courts, such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review . The U.S. Courts of Appeals are divided into 13 circuits: 12 regional circuits, numbered First through Eleventh ;
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1312-403: The influence of legal elites and companies that prefer judges over juries as well as the inability of the jury to defend its power. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution as placing some additional restrictions on the federal courts. For example, the doctrines of mootness , ripeness , and standing prohibit district courts from issuing advisory opinions . Other doctrines, such as
1353-413: The powers and limitations of U.S. federal courts, with coverage of topics such as justiciability , abstention doctrines , the abrogation doctrine , and habeas corpus . United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia The United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (in case citations, C.C.D.C. ) was a United States federal court which existed from 1801 to 1863. The court
1394-465: The practice." The Judiciary Act of 1869 established a separate circuit court (and allowed the hiring of judges specifically to handle the cases) but the act required that Supreme Court justices had to ride circuit once every two years. However, this came to a final end in 1891 when the Circuit Courts of Appeals Act was passed. Although the federal judicial districts were grouped into circuits ,
1435-407: The question was not certified to a state court), are persuasive but not binding authority in the states in which those federal courts sit. Some commentators assert that another limitation upon federal courts is executive nonacquiescence in judicial decisions, where the executive simply refuses to accept them as binding precedent . In the context of administration of U.S. internal revenue laws by
1476-458: The repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801, and also exercised appellate jurisdiction over justices of the peace and other "local" courts of the District. The District of Columbia was not enumerated among the federal "circuits" at the time. This court was abolished in 1863. Since each circuit court was initially staffed by sharing judges between the U.S. Supreme Court and each federal district court,
1517-466: The same as the districts established for the district courts. Congress had borrowed the general idea of circuit courts from England, but at their creation, the new United States circuit courts were "a unique institution, whose composition and jurisdiction did not resemble any prior court in England or America." Each circuit court was composed initially of two Supreme Court justices and the district judge of
1558-515: The territory. The Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture was the first United States court established by the United States. Additional United States courts were established to adjudicate border disputes between the states of Connecticut and Pennsylvania , New York and Massachusetts , Georgia and South Carolina . A United States court was also established for the Northwest Territory . When
1599-429: The words "United States" (abbreviated to "U.S.") in their official names; no state court may include this designation as part of its name. The federal courts are generally divided between trial courts, which hear cases in the first instance, and appellate courts, which review contested decisions made by lower courts. The Supreme Court of the United States is the court of last resort . It generally hears appeals from
1640-440: Was abolished, effective July 1, 1802. Shortly thereafter, on April 29, 1802, by 2 Stat. 156, the Judiciary Act of 1802 established the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and specified that the court would have the same jurisdiction and powers as the U.S. district courts. The act authorized the chief judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to preside in the district court. Congress established
1681-443: Was created by the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 . The D.C. circuit court was not one of the United States circuit courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 . The Circuit Court of the District of Columbia was established on February 27, 1801 by the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 , 2 Stat. 103, which authorized one chief judge and two assistant judges who were to serve during good behavior. Congress granted