United States courts of appeals

[1][2][3][4] Eleven of the circuits are numbered "First" through "Eleventh" and cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals from the U.S. district courts within their borders.

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.

The "unpublished" opinions (of all but the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits) are published separately in West's Federal Appendix, and they are also available in on-line databases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.

[citation needed] 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.

[citation needed] 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.

Passage of this law was urged by Chief Justice William Howard Taft.

[12] The Second Circuit, sitting en banc, attempted to use this procedure in the case United States v. Penaranda, 375 F.3d 238 (2d Cir.

As of 2008[update], only the First, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits have established a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

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.

While 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.

The attorney submits an application, pays a fee, and takes the oath of admission.

[19][20] 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.

Based on 2020 United States Census figures, the population residing in each circuit is as follows.

[27] The original three circuits were given distinct names, rather than numbers: the Eastern, the Middle, and the Southern.

As new states were admitted to the Union, Congress often did not create circuit courts for them for a number of years.

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.