United States district court

Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, which was expressly established by Article III of the Constitution, the district courts were established by Congress pursuant to authority delegated by Article III[note 1] through the enacting of a federal statute, the Judiciary Act of 1789.

[1] Edward Carrington advocated this position in a letter to James Madison, and it was also discussed by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No.

[1] However, this view did not prevail, and the first Congress created the district court system that is still in place today.

[1] Pursuant to the Constitution, nonetheless, state courts retain the power of concurrent jurisdiction in most federal matters.

[2] When the Act was first passed, there were thirteen districts created among the eleven states which had ratified the Constitution by that point.

The number of judges in each district court (and the structure of the judicial system generally) is set by Congress in the United States Code.

The president appoints the federal judges for terms of good behavior (subject to the advice and consent of the Senate), so the nominees often share at least some of his or her convictions.

A magistrate judge may be removed "for incompetency, misconduct, neglect of duty, or physical or mental disability".

Magistrate judges can also be requested to prepare reports and recommendations on contested matters for the district judge's consideration or, with the consent of all parties, to assume complete jurisdiction over a case including conducting the trial.

With the exception of the territorial courts (Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands), federal district judges are Article III judges appointed for life, and can be removed involuntarily only when they violate the standard of "good behavior".

Otherwise, a judge, even if convicted of a felony criminal offense by a jury, is entitled to hold office until retirement or death.

In the history of the United States, twelve judges have been impeached by the House, and seven have been removed following conviction in the Senate.

A judge who has reached the age of 65 (or has become disabled) may retire or elect to go on senior status and keep working.

Clerks may appoint deputies, clerical assistants, and employees to carry out the work of the court.

The clerk's duties are prescribed by the statute, by the court's customs and practices, and by policy established by the Judicial Conference of the United States.

To be eligible to serve as a clerk, a person must have a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible administrative experience in public service or business that provides a thorough understanding of organizational, procedural, and human aspects of managing an organization, and at least 3 of the 10 years must have been in a position of substantial management responsibility.

An attorney may substitute the active practice of law on a year-for-year basis for the management or administrative experience requirement.

Local practice varies as to whether the oath is given in writing or in open court before a judge of the district.

[22] Pro hac vice admission is also available in most federal district courts on a case-by-case basis.

The following courts were subdivided out of existence: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.