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Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is formally known as the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. When it is referred to in case citations, it is known as the “8th Cir.” However it is known, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is a Federal court that has been granted appellate jurisdiction over the district courts located in these districts:
The Western District of Arkansas,
The Eastern District of Arkansas,
The Northern District of Iowa,
The Southern District of Iowa,
The District of Minnesota,
The Western District of Missouri,
The Eastern District of Missouri,
The District of Nebraska,
The District of North Dakota, and
The District of South Dakota.
There are 11 active judges on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is one of 13 United States Courts of Appeals. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeal is based in the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. 
Of the 13 Circuit Courts of Appeals, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is formally known as the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In case citations, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is notated as “7th Cir.” The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is the Federal court that has appellate jurisdiction over courts that are located in:
 
The Northern District of Illinois,
The Central District of Illinois,
The Southern District of Illinois,
The Northern District of Indiana,
The Southern District of Indiana,
The Western District of Wisconsin, and
The Eastern District of Wisconsin
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is unique because it is the only one of the 13 United States Courts of Appeal that has an internet presence that includes both a wiki and RSS feed that covers opinions and oral arguments presented by and before the Court. None of the other United States District or Appellate Courts offers oral arguments using these feeds to the internet, with the exception of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, although the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals only offers RSS features. Another notable fact about the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is that its panel includes two of the premier scholars on law and economics: Chief Judge Frank H. Esterbrook and Judge Richard Posner.
As of July 2010, ten of the eleven seats in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals are filled, with one nomination pending approval.  There are also six senior status judges involved with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is known formally as the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is one of 13 United States Courts of Appeals. When the decisions of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals are referenced in the case citations, the Court is listed as “6th Cir.” This Federal court has appellate Jurisdiction over district courts that are located in these districts:
 
The Western District of Kentucky,
The Eastern District of Kentucky,
The Western District of Michigan,
The Eastern District of Michigan,
The Northern District of Ohio, 
The Southern District of Ohio,
The Western District of Tennessee,
The Middle District of Tennessee,
The Eastern District of Tennessee.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals hears its cases and presents its rulings at the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
There are sixteen active judges who serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The function of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is assisted by fourteen senior judges. 
There have been four judges elevated directly from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Howell Edmunds Jackson was elevated in 1893, Justice William R. Day in 1903, Justice Horace Harmond Lurton in 1909, and Justice Potter Stewart in 1958. William Howard Taft, the only man to serve as both President of the United State of America and Chief Justice of the United States, served on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals prior to becoming President. 

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is formally known as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This court of appeals has appellate jurisdiction over district courts in:
 
The Western District of Louisiana,
The Middle District of Louisiana,
The Eastern District of Louisiana,
The Northern District of Mississippi,
The Southern District of Mississippi,
The Northern District of Texas,
The Eastern District of Texas,
The Southern District of Texas, and
The Western District of Texas.
Prior to October 1, 1981, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals included the Northern, Southern, and Middle Districts of Alabama, the Northern, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, and the Northern, Southern and Middle Districts of Georgia, but these nine district courts were then separated into te Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. However, as a result, decisions handed down by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals prior to the split are considered binding precedents in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had jurisdiction over the Panama Canal Zone between June 25, 1948, and March 31, 1982.
During the late 1950s the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was crucial in advancing the civil rights of African-Americans, leading Chief Justice Elbert Tuttle, Judge John Minor Wisdom, Judge John Brown, and Judge Richard Rives to become known as the “Fifth Circuit Four”. Tuttle and Wisdom would lend their names to the courthouses which house the Eleventh and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, respectively.

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals At A Glance

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is a Federal court that is located in Richmond, Virginia. It is one of the thirteen district courts of appeal. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has been granted jurisdiction to hear appeals that originate in the nine districts below:
 
The District of Maryland,
The Western District of North Carolina,
The Middle District of North Carolina
The Eastern District of North Carolina,
The District of South Carolina,
The Western District of Virginia,
The Eastern District of Virginia,
The Northern District of West Virginia, and
The Southern District of West Virginia.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is based at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. United States Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. There are 15 authorized judgeships associated with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. 13 of these positions are held by active justices, one by a senior judge who continues to hear cases on a part time basis, and two judges who have retired and no longer hear cases. 
Until recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has been considered the most conservative of the courts in the Federal Appellate System. Besides being extremely conservative, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is also the most efficient of the thirteen circuits, taking just seven months to resolve each appeal. The Court is also extremely collegial, with a tradition that calls for the Justices to come down from the bench following each oral argument and greet the lawyers arguing before the Court.

Your Quick Guide to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Your Quick Guide to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals is formally known as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Whichever name it is known as, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is a Federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the Federal district courts located in the District of Delaware, the District of New Jersey, and the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania. 
 
 
In addition, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is granted appellate jurisdiction over the District Court of the Virgin Islands even though that district court is a territorial court which does not belong to any Federal judicial district. 
 
 
The Court operates out of the U.S. Court of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are 14 active justices in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. As of October 2010, there are an additional nine judges who retired to senior status from this Court. 
 
 
Holding senior status means that a judge is at least 65 and served at least 15 years as a justice (or one fewer year of service for each year above the age of 65). Depending on their work loads, a senior judge may be entitled to office staff. A senior judge must:
 
 
Carry, in the course of a year, the work that an active judge would have in three months,
 
 
Perform substantial judicial duties that did not involve courtroom participation, including settlement efforts, writing opinions in cases that did not involve oral arguments, administrative duties for the Court, or participate in settlement efforts and motion decisions, or
 
 
Perform substantial administrative work either for the courts or a governmental entity.

Your Guide to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Your Guide to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals is formally known as the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeal currently in use in the United States of America. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over the States of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. This Court has appellate jurisdiction for district courts in:
 
The District of Connecticut,
The Northern District of New York,
The Eastern District of New York,
The Southern District of New York,
The Western District of New York, and
The District of Vermont.
When the building is not undergoing renovations, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordinarily hears oral arguments in the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan. The Thurgood Marshall United State Courthouse is named for a Justice who formerly served on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals before resigning to serve as United States Solicitor General, and later being elevated to become the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. 
However, since that Courthouse has been under renovation since 2006, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has heard arguments across the street at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse. Some of the Court’s offices have relocated to the nearby Woolworth Building. 
Since 1950, three justices on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals have been elevated to the Supreme Court: Justice John Marshal Harlan II (nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower), Justice Marshall (elevated by President Lyndon Baines Johnson), and Justice Sonia Sotomayor (elevated by President Barack Obama).

Circuit Court Explained

Circuit Court Explained

Circuit Court
The modern Circuit Court system involves thirteen Circuit Courts of Appeals. There are eleven numbered Circuit Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The only one of these Circuit Courts that is not restricted by geography is the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 
Circuit Court Access

Circuit Court access has become much easier to obtain in recent years. In addition to Circuit Court access to rulings granted by West Publishing Company in the Federal Reporter and Federal Appendix, Circuit Court access can be found online. Circuit Court access involves each court’s website. 


Second Circuit Court of Appeals
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals represents New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals meets in downtown Manhattan. The Second Circuit Court of appeals is one or two Circuit Court of Appeals to have the majority of its members appointed by a single President, in this case President William Jefferson Clinton. 

Third Circuit Court of Appeals


The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction over courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the United States Virgin Islands, making it one of the three Circuit Courts of Appeals to have appellate jurisdiction over a territory of the United States of America.


Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals resulting from district court cases in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is the most efficient Circuit Court of Appeals, averaging seven months per appeal. 


Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ceded appellate jurisdiction over Alabama, Georgia, and Florida to the newly established Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 1981, but retains jurisdiction over district courts in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.


Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is the appellate court for district courts in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Sixth Circuit Court seated the only man to serve as both President and Supreme Justice of the United States of America, President Howard Taft. 


Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reviews district court decisions in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is the most technologically advanced, featuring an online presence that involves the use of a wiki site and an RSS feed which allows individuals to obtain information about arguments presented in the cases. 
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is the appellate court for Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas. Until 1929, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals had appellate jurisdiction over Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, until these district courts were removed to form the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the largest appellate district Court, covering Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also oversees courts in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Learn How to Obtain Circuit Court Access

Learn How to Obtain Circuit Court Access

An individual looking to obtain circuit court access so that they can find the latest public rulings of their local Circuit Court, or any Circuit Court in the United States of America, will have several options of how to obtain this information. Many Courts have moved towards making Circuit Court access available on their own websites. 
Ever since the first Circuit Courts of Appeal was established in 1911, Circuit Court access has been made possible through the publication of the rulings of the Circuit Courts of Appeal by the private company West Publishing in the Federal Reporter. However, the Federal Reporter only allows access to decisions that have been designated for publication by the Courts themselves. West publishes the “unpublished” opinions of all except for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits separately in the Federal Appendix. 
However, in recent years the trend has become to obtain Circuit Court access online. The decisions of the Circuit Courts of Appeal are available in online databases such as Lexis or Westlaw. 
It is impossible to obtain unrestricted Circuit Court access. Some of the decisions of the Circuit Courts are restricted due to national security concerns. 
Circuit Court access to decisions may be affected by geographic concerns, since each Circuit Courts of Appeal may have different systems in place which can affect access to the court decisions.