United States Court of Appeals
The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. The court of appeals was originally created in 1891 and has grown to include thirteen courts.
A court of appeals decides appeals from any of the district courts that are in its federal judicial circuit. The appeals courts also can hear appeals from some administrative agencies. Decisions of the federal appeals courts can, in turn, be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
There are thirteen United States courts of appeals. In addition, there are other federal courts (such as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which hears appeals in court-martial cases) that have "Court of Appeals" in their titles.
The eleven "numbered" circuits and the D.C. Circuit are defined by geography. The thirteenth court of appeal is the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This court has nationwide jurisdiction over certain types of appeals based on what the underlying legal case is about.
All of the courts of appeals also hear appeals from some administrative agency decisions and rulemaking. The largest share of this type of case is heard by the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from specialized trial courts, primarily the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims, as well as appeals from the district courts in patent cases and certain other specialized matters.
The circuits
Relevant districts
Under each court is listed the U.S. district courts whose decisions, where relevant, are appealed to that circuit.
1st Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit contains the following districts:
2nd Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit contains the following districts:
3rd Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit contains the following districts:
4th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit contains the following districts:
5th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit contains the following districts:
6th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit contains the following districts:
7th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit contains the following districts:
8th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit contains the following districts:
9th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit contains the following districts:
10th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit contains the following districts:
11th Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit contains the following districts:
District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit contains the following districts:
Federal Circuit
Judges
Federal circuit court judges are appointed for life. They are paid approximately $179,500 annually. At the age of 65, a federal judge may choose to retire with his or her full salary. Judges may also choose to go on senior status at age 65, if they have served actively for 15 years.[1]
Appointments by president
The chart below shows the number of appeals court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through March 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.
External links
- Official site of the United States Courts
- Georgia Tech, "Federal Court Concepts"
- US Courts, "United States District Court Map"
Footnotes