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[[Jim Walton]], [[Christy Walton]], [[Alice Walton]] [[Jim Davis]], [[Michael Dell]], [[Gordon Getty]], [[J. Paul Getty]], [[Howard Hughes]], [[Bill Koch]], [[Charles Koch]], [[David Koch]], [[Koch brothers]], [[Ralph Lauren]], [[Michael Milken]], [[Gordon Moore]], [[Sheldon Adelson]], [[Phil Knight]], [[Forrest Mars, Jr.]], [[Eric Schmidt]], [[Robin Li]], [[Paul Allen]], [[Norman Braman]], [[Peter Thiel]], [[Joe Ricketts]], [[Ken Langone]], [[Woody Johnson]], The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system. A court of appeals decides appeals from the district courts within its federal judicial circuit, and in some instances from other designated federal courts and administrative agencies. The United States courts of appeals are considered among the most powerful and influential courts in the United States. 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 U.S. Supreme Court chooses to review less than 1% of the more than 10,000 cases filed with it annually, the United States courts of appeals serve as the final arbiter on most federal cases. The Ninth Circuit in particular is very influential, covering 20% of the American population. There are currently 179 judges on the United States courts of appeals authorized by Congress and Article III of the U.S. Constitution. These judges are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. They have lifetime tenure, earning an annual salary of $213,300.[1] There are thirteen United States courts of appeals, although there are other tribunals that have "Court of Appeals" in their titles, such as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which hears appeals in court-martial cases, and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which reviews final decisions by the Board of Veterans' Appeals in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The eleven numbered circuits and the D.C. Circuit are geographically defined. The thirteenth court of appeals is the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which has nationwide jurisdiction over certain appeals based on their subject matter. All of the courts of appeals also hear appeals from some administrative agency decisions and rulemaking, with by far the largest share of these cases heard by the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from specialized trial courts, primarily the United States Court of International Trade and the United States Court of Federal Claims, as well as appeals from the district courts in patent cases and certain other specialized matters. Decisions of the United States 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 are also available electronically on the official court websites. However, there are also a few federal court decisions that are classified for national security reasons. The circuit with the smallest number of appellate judges is the First Circuit, and the one with the largest number of appellate judges is the geographically-large and populous Ninth Circuit in the Far 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 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 referred to as circuit courts, they should not be confused with the former United States circuit courts, which were active from 1789 to 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 the dispersed population in towns and the smaller cities that existed then. The current "courts of appeal" system was established in the Judiciary Act of 1891, also known as the Evarts Act.[Note 1] Contents [hide] 1 Procedure2 Attorneys3 Nomenclature4 Judicial councils5 Circuit composition6 Circuit population7 History8 See also9 Notes10 References11 External linksProcedure[edit source | edit]Trials, at which witnesses and other evidence are presented to a jury or judge in order to determine the truth or facts regarding a particular case, are held only in courts with original jurisdiction, i.e., courts in which a lawsuit is originally (and properly) filed and which have the power to accept evidence from witnesses and make factual and legal determinations regarding the evidence presented. Such trial courts also determine punishments (in criminal cases) and remedies (in civil cases). Because the courts of appeals possess only appellate jurisdiction, they do not hold trials. Instead, appeals courts review decisions of trial courts for errors of law. Accordingly, an appeals court considers only 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 and 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 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 the Ninth Circuit Courts, 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 when he or she participated at an earlier stage of the same case). 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 was ended by an Act of Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1925. This law was urged by Chief Justice William Howard Taft, and it also reorganized many other things in the federal court system. 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, 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,[2] and in the 2005 decision involving the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, United States v. Booker.[3] A court of appeals may also pose questions to 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. The Second Circuit, sitting en banc, attempted to use this procedure in the case United States v. Penaranda, as a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington,[4] but the Supreme Court dismissed the question after resolving the same issue in another case, which had come before the Court through the standard procedure. The last instance of the Supreme Court accepting a set of questions and answering them was in a case in 1982. 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 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 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 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 is statutory direction or some legislative history to the contrary."[5] 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. Attorneys[edit source | edit]In order to serve as counsel in a case appealed to a circuit court the attorney must 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 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. Nomenclature[edit source | edit]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 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 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 the appellate division of the United States Court of Claims. Judicial councils[edit source | edit]Main article: Judicial council (United States)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.[6][7] Among their responsibilities is judicial discipline, the formulation of circuit policy, the implementation of policy directives received from the Judicial Conference of 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.[6][8] Judicial councils consist of the chief judge of the circuit and an equal number of circuit judges and district judges of the circuit.[6][9] Circuit composition[edit source | edit] Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District CourtsDistrict of Columbia Circuit (Washington) District of ColumbiaFirst Circuit (Boston) District of MaineDistrict of MassachusettsDistrict of New HampshireDistrict of Puerto RicoDistrict of Rhode IslandSecond Circuit (New York City) District of ConnecticutEastern District of New YorkNorthern District of New YorkSouthern District of New YorkWestern District of New YorkDistrict of VermontThird Circuit (Philadelphia) District of DelawareDistrict of New JerseyEastern District of PennsylvaniaMiddle District of PennsylvaniaWestern District of PennsylvaniaDistrict of the Virgin Islands[A]Fourth Circuit (Richmond) District of MarylandEastern District of North CarolinaMiddle District of North CarolinaWestern District of North CarolinaDistrict of South CarolinaEastern District of VirginiaWestern District of VirginiaNorthern District of West VirginiaSouthern District of West VirginiaFifth Circuit (New Orleans) Eastern District of LouisianaMiddle District of LouisianaWestern District of LouisianaNorthern District of MississippiSouthern District of MississippiEastern District of TexasNorthern District of TexasSouthern District of TexasWestern District of TexasSixth Circuit (Cincinnati) Eastern District of KentuckyWestern District of KentuckyEastern District of MichiganWestern District of MichiganNorthern District of OhioSouthern District of OhioEastern District of TennesseeMiddle District of TennesseeWestern District of TennesseeSeventh Circuit (Chicago) Central District of IllinoisNorthern District of IllinoisSouthern District of IllinoisNorthern District of IndianaSouthern District of IndianaEastern District of WisconsinWestern District of WisconsinEighth Circuit (St. Louis) Eastern District of ArkansasWestern District of ArkansasNorthern District of IowaSouthern District of IowaDistrict of MinnesotaEastern District of MissouriWestern District of MissouriDistrict of NebraskaDistrict of North DakotaDistrict of South DakotaNinth Circuit (San Francisco) District of AlaskaDistrict of ArizonaCentral District of CaliforniaEastern District of CaliforniaNorthern District of CaliforniaSouthern District of CaliforniaDistrict of Guam[A]District of HawaiiDistrict of IdahoDistrict of MontanaDistrict of NevadaDistrict of the Northern Mariana Islands[A]District of OregonEastern District of WashingtonWestern District of WashingtonTenth Circuit (Denver) District of ColoradoDistrict of KansasDistrict of New MexicoEastern District of OklahomaNorthern District of OklahomaWestern District of OklahomaDistrict of UtahDistrict of WyomingEleventh Circuit (Atlanta) Middle District of AlabamaNorthern District of AlabamaSouthern District of AlabamaMiddle District of FloridaNorthern District of FloridaSouthern District of FloridaMiddle District of GeorgiaNorthern District of GeorgiaSouthern District of GeorgiaFederal Circuit (Washington) Courts[B]Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims[C]Court of Federal Claims[C]Court of International TradeAdministrative agenciesArmed Services Board of Contract Appeals[D]Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences[D]Bureau of Justice Assistance[D]Civilian Board of Contract Appeals[D]International Trade Commission[D]Merit Systems Protection Board[D]Office of Compliance[E]Personnel Appeals Board[D]Trademark Trial and Appeal Board[D]  ^ Jump up to: a b c These are article IV territorial courts and are therefore not part of the federal judiciary.Jump up ^ The Federal Circuit also has appellate jurisdiction over certain claims filed in any district court.^ Jump up to: a b These are article I tribunals and are therefore not part of the federal judiciary.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h These are administrative bodies within the executive branch and are therefore not part of the federal judiciary.Jump up ^ This is an administrative body within the legislative branch are therefore not part of the federal judiciary.Circuit population[edit source | edit]Based on 2010 United States Census figures, the population residing in each circuit is as follows. Circuit Authorized judges Population Percentage of US population Population per authorized judgeD.C. Circuit 11 601,723 0.19 54,7021st Circuit 6 13,970,816 4.47 2,328,4692nd Circuit 13 23,577,940 7.54 1,813,6883rd Circuit 14 22,498,612 7.19 1,607,0444th Circuit 15 29,788,417 9.52 1,985,8945th Circuit 17 32,646,230 10.44 1,920,3666th Circuit 16 32,105,616 10.26 2,006,6017th Circuit 11 25,001,420 7.99 2,272,8568th Circuit 11 20,568,237 6.58 1,869,8409th Circuit 29 61,742,908 19.74 2,129,06610th Circuit 12 17,020,355 5.44 1,418,36311th Circuit 12 33,268,699 10.64 2,772,392Federal Circuit[Note 2] 12 N/A N/A N/AHistory[edit source | edit]The Judiciary Act of 1789 established three circuits, which were groups of judicial districts in which United States circuit courts were established. Each circuit court consisted of two Supreme Court justices and 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 a number of years. The Midnight Judges Act reorganized the districts into six 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 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) was accompanied by a newly created Supreme Court seat. State Judicial District(s) created Circuit assignment(s)New Hampshire 1789 Eastern, 1789–18011st, 1801–Massachusetts 1789 Eastern, 1789–18011st, 1801–Maine 1789[Note 3] Eastern, 1789–18011st, 1801–18201st, 1820–Rhode Island 1790 Eastern, 1790–18011st, 1801–Connecticut 1789 Eastern, 1789–18012nd, 1801–New York 1789 Eastern, 1789–18012nd, 1801–New Jersey 1789 Middle, 1789–18013rd, 1801–Pennsylvania 1789 Middle, 1789–18013rd, 1801–Delaware 1789 Middle, 1789–18013rd, 1801–18024th, 1802–18663rd, 1866–Maryland 1789 Middle, 1789–18014th, 1801–Virginia 1789 Middle, 1789–18014th, 1801–18025th, 1802–18424th, 1842–Kentucky 1789[Note 4] 6th, 1801–18027th, 1807–18378th, 1837–18636th, 1863–North Carolina 1790 Southern, 1790–18015th, 1801–18426th, 1842–18634th, 1863–South Carolina 1789 Southern, 1789–18015th, 1801–18026th, 1802–18635th, 1863–18664th, 1866–Georgia 1789 Southern, 1789–18015th, 1801–18026th, 1802–18635th, 1863–198111th, 1981–Vermont 1791 Eastern, 1791–18012nd, 1801–Tennessee 1796 6th, 1801–18027th, 1807–18378th, 1837–18636th, 1863–Ohio 1801 (abolished 1802)[Note 5] 6th, 1801–1802Ohio 1803 7th, 1807–18666th, 1866–Louisiana 1812 9th, 1837–1842 (Eastern District)5th, 1842–18636th, 1863–18665th, 1866–Indiana 1816 7th, 1837–Mississippi 1817 9th, 1837–18635th, 1863–Illinois 1818 7th, 1837–18638th, 1863–18667th, 1866–Alabama 1819 9th, 1837–18425th, 1842–198111th, 1981–Missouri 1821 8th, 1837–18639th, 1863–18668th, 1866–Arkansas 1836 9th, 1837–18519th, 1851–1863 (Eastern District)6th, 1863–1866 (Eastern District)8th, 1866–Michigan 1837 7th, 1837–18638th, 1863–18666th, 1866–Florida 1845 5th, 1863–198111th, 1981–Texas 1845 6th, 1863–18665th, 1866–Iowa 1846 9th, 1863–18668th, 1866–Wisconsin 1848 8th, 1863–18667th, 1866–California 1850 California Circuit, 1855–186310th, 1863–18669th, 1866–Minnesota 1858 9th, 1863–18668th, 1866–Oregon 1859 10th, 1863–18669th, 1866–Kansas 1861 9th, 1863–18668th, 1866–192910th, 1929–West Virginia 1863 4th, 1863–Nevada 1864 9th, 1866–Nebraska 1867 8th, 1867–Colorado 1876 8th, 1876–192910th, 1929–North Dakota 1889 8th, 1889–South Dakota 1889 8th, 1889–Montana 1889 9th, 1889–Washington 1889 9th, 1889–Idaho 1890 9th, 1890–Wyoming 1890 8th, 1890–192910th, 1929–Utah 1896 8th, 1896–192910th, 1929–Oklahoma 1907 8th, 1907–192910th, 1929–New Mexico 1912 8th, 1912–192910th, 1929–Arizona 1912 9th, 1912–District of Columbia 1948[Note 6] District of Columbia Circuit, 1948–Alaska 1959 9th, 1959–Hawaii 1959 9th, 1959–Puerto Rico 1966[Note 7] 1st, 1966–GuamVirgin IslandsPhilippines 1898[Note 8]Panama Canal Zone[Note 9]See also[edit source | edit]List of United States courts of appeals casesState supreme courtJudicial appointment history for United States federal courtsUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of ReviewNotes[edit source | edit]Jump up ^ The U.S. Courts of Appeals and the Federal Judiciary, History of the Federal Judiciary, Federal Judicial Center (last visited March 5, 2014).Jump up ^ The Federal Circuit's jurisdiction is not based on geography; rather, the Federal Circuit has jurisdiction over the entire United States, for certain classes of cases.Jump up ^ The Judiciary Act of 1789 divided Massachusetts into the Maine District, comprising what is now the State of Maine, and the Massachusetts District, comprising the remainder of the state.Jump up ^ The Judiciary Act of 1789 divided Virginia into the Kentucky District, comprising what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the Virginia District, comprising the remainder of the state.Jump up ^ The first District of Ohio encompassed the Northwest and Indiana Territories.Jump up ^ The pre-existing courts of the District of Columbia were elevated to United States district court and court of appeals status in 1948. The courts of the District had been incorporated into the Federal Court System by the Judiciary Act of 1925.Jump up ^ The pre-existing territorial district court of Puerto Rico was elevated to United States district court status. Appellate jurisdiction from the Puerto Rico courts was assigned to the 1st Circuit in 1915.Jump up ^ There were U.S. Federal Courts in the Philippines following the Spanish–American War of 1898 up through the granting of independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946—with the exception of the Philippine occupation by the Japanese Army in 1942–45.Jump up ^ There were formerly U.S. Federal Courts in the Panama Canal Zone, until that Zone was returned to Panama by treaty on December 31, 1999.References[edit source | edit]Jump up ^ http://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-compensationJump up ^ United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)Jump up ^ United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005)Jump up ^ Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004)Jump up ^ Bradley v. Richmond Sch. Bd., 416 U.S. 696, 711-12 (1974)^ Jump up to: a b c Barbour, Emily C. (April 7, 2011), Judicial Discipline Process: An Overview (PDF), Congressional Research ServiceJump up ^ 28 U.S.C. § 332Jump up ^ 28 U.S.C. § 332(g)Jump up ^ 28 U.S.C. § 332(1)(a)External links[edit source | edit]Info about U.S. courtsHistory of the Federal Judiciary (Federal Judicial Center)Official site of the United States CourtsUnited States Appeals Courts @ OpenJuristFederal Court Concepts, Georgia Tech[show] v t eCurrent judges of the United States courts of appeals[show] v t eCurrent senior judges of the United States courts of appeals[show] v t eLaw of the United States[show] v t eUnited States articlesCategories: United States courts of appealsJudicial branch of the United States governmentNavigation menuLarry the Insane00TalkSandboxPreferencesBetaWatchlistContributionsLog outArticleTalkReadEdit sourceEditView historyWatchMore SearchGoMain pageContentsFeatured contentCurrent eventsRandom articleDonate to WikipediaWikipedia storeInteractionHelpAbout WikipediaCommunity portalRecent changesContact pageToolsWhat links hereRelated changesUpload fileSpecial pagesPermanent linkPage informationWikidata itemCite this pagePrint/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable versionIn other projectsWikimedia CommonsLanguagesDeutschEspañolEsperantoفارسیFrançais한국어LietuviųSimple EnglishSuomiTürkçe中文Edit linksThis page was last modified on 21 March 2016, at 18:55.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. 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