United States district court

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Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts
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Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity. There is a United States bankruptcy court in each U.S. district court. There is at least one courthouse in each federal judicial district, and some large districts have more than one. The formal name of a district court is, for example, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Insular areas other than Puerto Rico (and Palmyra Island, which is included in the District of Hawaii) are not federal judicial districts and therefore do not have a United States District Court, although several of these areas have a court called the "district court" that operates similarly to a United States District Court.

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Other federal trial courts

There are other federal trial courts that have nationwide jurisdiction over certain types of cases, but the district court also has concurrent jurisdiction over many of those cases, and the district court is the only one with jurisdiction over criminal cases and the only one where a trial can be to a jury instead of a judge. The Court of International Trade addresses cases involving international trade and customs issues. The United States Court of Federal Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over most claims for money damages against the United States, including disputes over federal contracts, unlawful takings of private property by the federal government, and suits for injury on federal property or by a federal employee. The United States Tax Court has jurisdiction over contested assessments of taxes.

U.S. district court judges

A judge of a United States District Court is officially titled a "United States District Judge." Other federal judges, including circuit judges and Supreme Court justices, can also sit in a district court upon assignment by the chief judge of the circuit or by the Chief Justice of the United States. The number of judges in each District Court (and the structure of the judicial system generally) is set by Congress. The President appoints all judges (subject to the approval of the Senate), so the nominees often belong to the same political party as the President, or share at least some of his convictions. In states represented by a senator of the president's party, the senator (or the more senior of them if both senators are of the president's party) has substantial input into the nominating process, and through a tradition known as "senatorial courtesy", can exercise an unofficial veto over a nominee obnoxious to the senator.

As Article III judges, federal district judges are appointed for life, and can be removed involuntarily only when they violate the standard of "good behavior". The sole method of involuntary removal of a judge is through impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives followed by a trial in the U.S. Senate, which requires a two-thirds vote to convict. Otherwise, a judge, even if he is convicted of a felony criminal offense by a jury, is entitled to hold office until he (or she) dies or retires.

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. Such "senior" judges are not counted in the quota of active judges for the district and do only whatever work they are assigned by the chief judge of the district, but they keep their offices (called "chambers") and staff, and many of them work full-time. A federal judge is addressed in writing as "The Honorable Jane Doe" or "Hon. Jane Doe" and in speech as "Judge" or "Judge Doe" or, when presiding in court, "Your Honor."

District judges usually concentrate on managing their court's overall caseload, supervising trials, and writing opinions in response to important motions like the motion for summary judgment. Since the 1960s, routine tasks like resolving discovery disputes have been offloaded to magistrate judges.

Federal magistrate judges are not Article III judges with guaranteed lifetime employment. Rather, they are hired and supervised by district judges like any other court employee, and they can be fired at any time for any rational reason (for example, if Congress cuts the judiciary's budget). Occasionally a capable magistrate judge will be nominated by the President to become a district judge, but magistrate judge is just one of the possible "stepping stones" to such an appointment.

Jurisdiction

To file a civil case (that is, "sue someone") in federal district court, a person must have a reason why a federal court, instead of a state court, should adjudicate the dispute. By law, the bases for federal jurisdiction (the power to hear and decide a case) are:

  • United States as a plaintiff;
  • United States (or in certain cases a federal officer or employee) as a defendant;
  • "Federal question jurisdiction," which means the complaint is based on a federal law (which may be the Constitution or a statute);
  • "Admiralty" or "maritime" jurisidiction, which, very generally, applies to and governs disputes which arise out of acts occurring at sea or in other "navigable waters" within the United States.
  • "Diversity of citizenship," which means the plaintiff, or person suing, and defendant (person being sued) live in different states and the "amount in controversy" is more than the statutory minimum, which is currently $75,000.00; and
  • "Alienage", which is a variant of diversity of citizenship, wherein one party is a US citizen and the other is a foreign national who does not reside in any state - alien residents of the U.S. are treated as citizens for purposes of diversity and alienage jurisdiction - and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00.

Thus, not every legal dispute can be litigated in federal court, hence the expression "make a federal case out of it."

Federal district courts often decide claims based on state law. Sometimes this is because only state law claims were pleaded and the only basis for federal jurisdiction is diversity of citizenship or alienage. Other times, even though there is a federal question in the case, the plaintiff has also pleaded state law claims as well, which the federal courts have the discretion to hear through supplemental jurisdiction. Either way, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that in such situations, the district courts must resolve state law claims by applying the law of the state in which they sit. They cannot make up and apply general federal common law (which was the old rule).

Although in matters of civil law there are often parallel federal and state laws, providing an aggrieved party with a choice of venue, there are some matters which may only be adjudicated in the Federal courts; these include most intellectual property questions and matters related to international relations. In some situations, Federal law provides both for the exclusive jurisdiction of Federal courts and for the immunity of the defendant from the power of those courts. One example of this is patent-infringement claims against a state government: only the Federal courts may hear patent cases, but the states have sovereign immunity from such suits under the Eleventh Amendement. Although a state may choose to waive its immunity in such a case and allow it to proceed to trial, if it does not do so, the plaintiff has no recourse. This doctrine was reaffirmed in a United States Supreme Court case, Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank, 527 U.S. 627 (1999).

District courts also have limited jurisdiction as an appellate court, reviewing decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board and of United States bankruptcy courts.

Attorneys

In order to serve as counsel in a case filed in a district court, the attorney must be admitted to the bar of that court. The United States does not have a separate bar examination for federal practice (except with respect to patent law). Admission to the bar of a district court is generally granted as a matter of course to any attorney who is admitted to practice law in the state where the district court sits. The attorney submits his application with a nominal 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 district.

Appeals

A formal ruling by a district court in either a civil or a criminal case can be appealed to the United States court of appeals in the federal judicial circuit that court is in, except that some district court rulings involving patents and claims against the United States must be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Busiest district courts

Not surprisingly, the busiest and largest district courts are the ones that serve the three largest cities in the United States: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Respectively, they are the district courts for the Southern District of New York, the Central District of California, and the Northern District of Illinois.

Together, these three courts have the most judges, personnel, and facilities, and publish a large portion of the opinions reported in the Federal Supplement.

The Central District of California is the largest federal district by population, since it encompasses practically all of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, while the City of New York is divided between the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and many New York suburbs are covered by district courts in New Jersey and Connecticut.

List of U.S. District Courts

  1. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
  2. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
  3. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
  4. U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
  5. U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
  6. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
  7. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
  8. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  9. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  10. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  11. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  12. U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  13. U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
  14. U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
  15. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  16. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  17. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  18. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  19. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
  20. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  21. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
  22. U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
  23. U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho
  24. U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  25. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  26. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  27. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  28. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
  29. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
  30. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
  31. U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
  32. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
  33. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
  34. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
  35. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
  36. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
  37. U.S. District Court for the District of Maine
  38. U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
  39. U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  40. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  41. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
  42. U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
  43. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
  44. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
  45. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
  46. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
  47. U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
  48. U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska
  49. U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
  50. U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire
  51. U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  52. U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
  53. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  54. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
  55. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  56. U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
  57. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
  58. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
  59. U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
  60. U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
  61. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
  62. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
  63. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
  64. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
  65. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
  66. U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
  67. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  68. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  69. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
  70. U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
  71. U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
  72. U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
  73. U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
  74. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
  75. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
  76. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
  77. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  78. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  79. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  80. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
  81. U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
  82. U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont
  83. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  84. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
  85. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  86. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  87. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  88. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
  89. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  90. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
  91. U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming

Extinct district courts

Most extinct district courts have disappeared by being divided into smaller districts. The following courts were subdivided out of existence:

On rare occasions, an extinct district court was extinguished by merging it with other district courts. In every case, this has restored a district court which had been subdivided:

There are a few additional extinct district courts which don't fall into either of the above two patterns.

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