United States district court
United States district courts nearly never existed. During the ratification debates, Edward Carrington wrote to James Madison arguing that the federal judiciary should be limited to the Supreme Court alone. State courts, Carrington proposed, could serve as federal tribunals without their judges becoming federal officers. Alexander Hamilton also took up the question in Federalist No. 81.
The first Congress did not accept Carrington's position. It passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, creating a network of trial courts that remains the foundation of the federal judiciary today. That act opened thirteen courts among the eleven states that had ratified the Constitution at that point.
The Philippines, once a U.S. possession, were never included in this system at all.
Ninety-four federal judicial districts now span the country, including 89 within the fifty states. When North Carolina and Rhode Island each ratified the Constitution, Congress created a district for each. The system grew as new states joined and larger districts were subdivided.
Each state holds between one and four judicial districts. States with two use either a north-south or east-west designation. Most three-district states include a Middle District, but Illinois uses a Central District instead. Oklahoma's three districts carry Northern, Western, and Eastern labels.
New York and Texas each have four districts, using every directional label. California also has four but omits a Western District, substituting a Central District. Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester County fall within the Southern District of New York. Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County belong to the Eastern District. New York suburbs in Connecticut fall under the District of Connecticut, and those in New Jersey under the District of New Jersey.
The Central District of California is the largest by population, encompassing all five counties of Greater Los Angeles. The Southern District of New York and the Central District of California each have 28 judges, the highest count of any district in the country.
Twelve district judges have been impeached by the House of Representatives in United States history. Seven were removed following conviction in the Senate, a process requiring a two-thirds vote. That impeachment sequence is the only constitutional method for removing a district judge involuntarily.
District judges are Article III judges serving for life under the standard of "good behavior." A felony conviction does not automatically end a judge's tenure. A convicted judge may remain in office until retirement or death. As of 2010, there were 678 authorized district court judgeships across the country.
The president nominates district judges, subject to Senate confirmation. Nominees often share at least some of the president's convictions. In states where a senator belongs to the president's party, that senator can exercise an unofficial veto through a tradition called senatorial courtesy. If both senators are from the president's party, the more senior of the two holds that influence.
A judge who reaches age 65, or becomes disabled, may retire or take senior status. Senior judges are not counted toward the district's active judgeships but keep their chambers and staff. Many continue working at full capacity on whatever the chief judge assigns.
Federal magistrate judges serve eight-year terms, appointed by the district court rather than by the president. Terms may be renewed without limit. Since the 1960s, district judges have been able to refer routine tasks to magistrates, including discovery disputes. With the consent of all parties, a magistrate can assume complete jurisdiction over a case and conduct the trial.
Congress must first authorize the subject matter of a case before a district court can hear it. This limits federal courts in ways that most state courts are not. State courts exercise general jurisdiction; federal district courts may only act within the categories Congress has defined.
Those categories include civil claims arising under the Constitution, federal statutes, or treaties; disputes between citizens of different states or between a citizen and a foreign national; admiralty and maritime cases; criminal prosecutions brought by the United States; and civil suits in which the United States is a party.
For most of these categories, a plaintiff may choose to file in state court instead. A defendant may then "remove" the case to federal court if federal jurisdiction would also have applied originally. The opposing party can ask the district court to "remand" the case back to the state system if removal was improper.
Patent and copyright infringement cases may only be heard in federal district courts. State courts have no authority over them. Civilian criminal prosecutions by the federal government are also exclusive to the district courts.
Fifty-six of the 94 district courts require attorneys to hold a bar license in the state where the court sits. The other 39 extend admission to certain lawyers from other states under varying conditions. Only 13 districts extend admission to attorneys from any U.S. state. The Southern District of Ohio, the Northern District of Florida, and the District of Puerto Rico each require a separate bar examination in federal law.
The Eastern District of Texas receives the most patent lawsuits of any district in the country, ranking as the busiest patent litigation court nearly every year.
Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands each have a territorial court that exercises the same jurisdiction as a mainland district court. Their judges serve ten-year terms rather than lifetime appointments. That difference places them in the category of Article IV courts rather than Article III courts.
American Samoa has no district court of any kind. Its federal cases are sent to either the District of Columbia or the District of Hawaii.
The United States District Court for the Canal Zone was abolished on the 31st of March 1982, as part of the process of returning the Canal Zone to Panama. Cases then pending were transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.
The United States District Court for the District of Potomac existed from 1801 to 1802. It was the first district court to cross state lines, encompassing the District of Columbia alongside parts of Maryland and Virginia. The United States Court for China operated from 1906 to 1943, with jurisdiction over American citizens living in China.
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Common questions
What are United States district courts?
United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There are 94 of them, including 89 within the fifty states and courts in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. They are courts of limited jurisdiction, hearing only the categories of cases Congress has authorized by statute.
How are United States district court judges appointed and confirmed?
United States district court judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They hold lifetime appointments under Article III of the Constitution and can only be removed through impeachment by the House followed by conviction in the Senate by a two-thirds vote. In states where a senator belongs to the president's party, that senator can exercise an unofficial veto over nominees through a tradition called senatorial courtesy; when both senators belong to the president's party, the more senior senator holds that influence.
What types of cases do United States district courts have exclusive jurisdiction over?
Federal district courts have exclusive jurisdiction over patent and copyright infringement cases, meaning state courts cannot hear them. They are also the only courts with jurisdiction over civilian criminal prosecutions brought by the federal government.
What was the United States Court for China and when did it operate?
The United States Court for China was a federal court that operated from 1906 to 1943. It functioned as a district court with jurisdiction over American citizens living in China.
How many United States district court judges have been impeached?
Twelve United States district court judges have been impeached by the House of Representatives. Seven of those twelve were removed from office after conviction in the Senate, a process that requires a two-thirds vote.
How do territorial courts in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands differ from United States district courts?
The territorial courts in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands are Article IV courts rather than Article III courts. Their judges serve ten-year terms rather than lifetime appointments, which distinguishes them constitutionally from mainland federal district court judges.
All sources
18 references cited across the entry
- 1BookOne Supreme Court: Supremacy, Inferiority, and the Judicial Department of the United StatesJames Pfander — Oxford University Press — 2009
- 2BookAmerican Civil Procedure: A Guide to Civil Adjudication in US CourtsJohn B. Oakley et al. — Kluwer Law International — 2009
- 3An Introduction for Judges and Judicial Administrators in Other CountriesArticle III Judges Division — Administrative Office of the United States Courts — 2001-08-01
- 4Territorial CourtsFederal Judicial Center
- 5American Samoa: Issues Associated with Some Federal Court OptionsU.S. Government Accountability Office — September 18, 2008
- 6BookThe American Colonial State in the Philippines: Global PerspectivesJulian Go — Duke University Press — 2003
- 12Attorney Admission Practices in the U.S. Federal CourtsJohn Okray — The Federal Lawyer — September 2016
- 15Border Crackdown Jams US Federal CourtsMay 7, 2007
- 16NewsWhat's Clogging the Courts? Ask America's Busiest JudgeRussell Goldman — ABC News — July 23, 2008
- 17Third Quarter TrendsOwen Byrd — Lex Machina — October 11, 2016
- 18BookHistory of the Bench and Bar of Southern CaliforniaRodman Willoughby — 1909