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62-549: 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

124-495: 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

186-750: 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

248-520: 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

310-461: A few situations (like lawsuits between state governments or some cases between 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

372-654: 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

434-491: 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

496-443: 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

558-528: 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 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

620-411: 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

682-438: 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

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744-625: 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

806-502: 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

868-460: 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

930-607: 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 ; 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

992-800: 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

1054-527: The Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, or die. All federal courts can be readily identified by 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

1116-459: The U.S. Courts of Appeals , and the U.S. District Courts . It also includes 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

1178-461: 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

1240-665: 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

1302-408: 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

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1364-461: 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

1426-455: 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

1488-854: 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

1550-494: 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

1612-587: 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

1674-425: 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

1736-560: 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

1798-419: 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

1860-679: The U.S. District Courts for the Northern , Eastern , Western , and Southern Districts of New York . Most cases "are tried by 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

1922-573: 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

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1984-631: 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

2046-410: The United States is the court of last resort . It generally hears appeals from 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

2108-1151: 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,

2170-418: 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

2232-594: 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

2294-446: 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

2356-426: 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

2418-414: 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

2480-412: 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

2542-504: 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

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2604-571: 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

2666-620: 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

2728-418: The general federal trial courts. There are 94 U.S. District Courts, one for each of 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

2790-403: 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

2852-418: 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

2914-480: 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

2976-494: 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

3038-452: 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)

3100-738: 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

3162-405: 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

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3224-433: 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

3286-487: 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

3348-519: 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

3410-565: 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

3472-407: 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

3534-434: 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

3596-420: 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

3658-528: 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

3720-497: Was accompanied by a newly created Supreme Court seat. United States federal judiciary [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 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 ,

3782-409: 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

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3844-497: 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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