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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the United States |
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There are 94 active United States district and territorial courts. [1] Each of the 50 states has between one and four district courts, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico each have a district court.
The 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 the same jurisdiction as district courts, [2] [3] 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. [3] American Samoa does not have a district court or a federal territorial court, and so federal matters there are sent to either the District of Columbia or Hawaii. [4]
The district courts were established by Congress under Article III of the United States Constitution. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court. [2] Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the 13 courts of appeals, organized geographically. The number of district courts in a court of appeals' circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on the number of states in the region and the number of districts in each state. The formal naming convention for the district courts is "United States District Court for" followed by the district name. Each district court has one or more meeting places at which it holds hearings and conducts business. Many federal courthouses are named after notable judges, such as the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City or the Hugo L. Black Courthouse in Birmingham. The largest courthouse is the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse, which serves the Eastern District of Missouri. [5]
The largest courts by number of judges are the Central District of California and the Southern District of New York, each with 28 judgeships. The smallest are the District for the Northern Mariana Islands and the District of Guam, with one judgeship each.
Citation | The abbreviation used to refer to court decisions. |
Established | The date the district court was established as a court or the date it was subdivided from a larger district. |
Judges | The number of judgeships authorized for the district. |
Meeting places | The number of locations at which the court hears cases. |
Note: Defunct courts do not include courts consisting of an entire state that were later subdivided.
Name | Citation | Established | Disestablished |
---|---|---|---|
District of Edenton | — | 1794 | 1797 |
District of New Bern | — | 1794 | 1797 |
District of Wilmington | — | 1794 | 1797 |
District of East Jersey | — | 1801 | 1802 |
District of West Jersey | — | 1801 | 1802 |
District of Potomac | — | 1801 | 1802 |
District of Norfolk | — | 1801 | 1802 |
District of Albemarle | — | 1802 | 1872 |
District of Cape Fear | — | 1802 | 1872 |
District of Pamptico | — | 1802 | 1872 |
District of Orleans | — | 1804 | 1812 |
Eastern District of Illinois | E.D. Ill. | 1905 | 1978 |
District of China | — | 1906 | 1943 |
Eastern District of South Carolina | E.D.S.C. | 1911 | 1965 |
Western District of South Carolina | W.D.S.C. | 1911 | 1965 |
District of the Canal Zone | D.C.Z. | 1914 | 1982 |
District of Berlin | D.Berlin | 1955 | 1990 |
Name | Citation | Established | Subdivided |
---|---|---|---|
District of Alabama | D. Ala. | April 21, 1820 | March 10, 1824 |
District of Arkansas | D. Ark. | June 15, 1836 | March 3, 1851 |
District of California | D. Cal. | July 27, 1866 [6] | August 5, 1886 |
District of Florida | D. Fla. | March 3, 1845 | February 23, 1847 |
District of Georgia | D. Ga. | September 24, 1789 | August 11, 1848 |
District of Illinois | D. Ill. | March 3, 1819 | February 13, 1855 |
District of Indiana | D. Ind. | March 3, 1817 | April 21, 1928 |
District of Iowa | D. Iowa | March 3, 1845 | July 20, 1882 |
District of Kentucky | D. Ky. | September 24, 1789 March 8, 1802 [7] | February 13, 1801 February 12, 1901 |
District of Louisiana | D. La. | April 8, 1812 February 13, 1845 July 27, 1866 | March 3, 1823 March 3, 1849 March 3, 1881 |
District of Michigan | D. Mich. | July 1, 1836 | February 24, 1863 |
District of Mississippi | D. Miss. | April 3, 1818 | June 18, 1838 |
District of Missouri | D. Mo. | March 16, 1822 | March 3, 1857 |
District of New York | D.N.Y. | September 24, 1789 | April 9, 1814 |
District of North Carolina | D.N.C. | June 4, 1790 March 3, 1797 | June 9, 1794 April 29, 1802 |
District of Ohio | D. Ohio | February 19, 1803 | February 10, 1855 |
District of Pennsylvania | D. Pa. | September 24, 1789 | April 20, 1818 |
District of Tennessee | D. Tenn. | January 31, 1797 March 8, 1802 [8] | February 13, 1801 April 29, 1802 |
District of Texas | D. Tex. | December 29, 1845 | February 21, 1857 |
District of Virginia | D. Va. | September 24, 1789 March 8, 1802 June 11, 1864 | February 13, 1801 February 4, 1819 February 3, 1871 |
District of Washington | D. Wash. | April 5, 1890 | March 2, 1905 |
District of West Virginia | D.W.Va. | June 11, 1864 | January 22, 1901 |
District of Wisconsin | D. Wis. | May 29, 1848 | June 30, 1870 |
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal judiciary. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in district courts, each of which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and many districts have more than one. Most decisions of district courts may be appealed to the respective court of appeals of their circuit, with a small number instead being appealable to the Federal Circuit, or directly to the Supreme Court.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate courts, and covers only one district court: the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It meets at the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse, near Judiciary Square, Washington, D.C.
In the United States, the title of federal judge means a judge nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate pursuant to the Appointments Clause in Article II of the United States Constitution.
The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, and Spartanburg.
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the Constitution. The Federal Courthouse was built in 1908.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a United States court of appeals headquartered in Washington, D.C. The court was created by Congress with passage of the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, which merged the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the appellate division of the United States Court of Claims, making the judges of the former courts into circuit judges. The Federal Circuit is particularly known for its decisions on patent law, as it is the only appellate-level court other than the Supreme Court with the jurisdiction to hear patent case appeals.
The appointment of federal judges for United States federal courts has come to be viewed as a political process in the last several decades. The tables below provide the composition of all Article III courts which include the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals at the end of each four year presidential term, as well as the current compositions of the District Courts and the Court of International Trade, categorizing the judges by the presidential term during which they were first appointed to their seats.
The United States territorial courts are tribunals established in territories of the United States by the United States Congress, pursuant to its power under Article Four of the United States Constitution, the Territorial Clause. Most United States territorial courts are defunct because the territories under their jurisdiction have become states or been retroceded.
The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is based in San Juan. The main building is the Clemente Ruiz Nazario United States Courthouse located in the Hato Rey district of San Juan. The magistrate judges are located in the adjacent Federico Degetau Federal Building, and several senior district judges hold court at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Old San Juan. The old courthouse also houses the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Most appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which is headquartered in Boston but hears appeals at the Old San Juan courthouse for two sessions each year. Patent claims as well as claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act are appealed to the Federal Circuit.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, even though Maine was not a separate state from Massachusetts until 1820. The court is headquartered at the Edward T. Gignoux United States Courthouse in Portland, Maine and has a second courthouse in Bangor, Maine.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is a trial level federal district court based in St. Louis, Missouri, with jurisdiction over fifty counties in the eastern half of Missouri. The court is one of ninety-four district-level courts which make up the first tier of the U.S. federal judicial system. Judges of this court preside over civil and criminal trials on federal matters that originate within the borders of its jurisdiction. It is organized into three divisions, with court held in St. Louis, Hannibal, and Cape Girardeau.
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee. Based at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Nashville, it was created in 1839 when Congress added a third district to the state. Tennessee—along with Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan—is located within the area covered by United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and appeals are taken to that court.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee is the federal court in the Sixth Circuit whose jurisdiction covers all of East Tennessee and a portion of Middle Tennessee. The court has jurisdiction over 41 counties with 4 divisions. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, it maintains branch facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Greeneville, Tennessee; and Winchester, Tennessee.
The District Court of Guam is a United States territorial court with jurisdiction over the United States territory of Guam. It sits in the capital, Hagåtña. Appeals of the court's decisions are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It is not an Article III court, and therefore its judges do not have life tenure, but a ten-year term.
The Government of Guam (GovGuam) is a presidential representative democratic system, whereby the President is the head of state and the Governor is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs.