§ 50. Enumeration of the federal courts. By the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress established the circuit and district courts, and these, with the Supreme Court, constituted the judicial system of the United States until 1855, when the Court of Claims was added. The circuit courts of appeals and the temporary court of private land claims were added in 1891, and the court of customs appeals in 1909. The commerce court was added by the Act of June 18, 1910, but was abolished by the Act of October 29, 1913. The circuit courts were abolished by the Act of March 3, 1911. The American Bar Association has urged the establishment of a court of patent appeals, but no such court has yet been established.12

The federal judicial system as at present constituted comprises the following courts of general jurisdiction: (1) The district courts, of which there is one for each judicial district. These are the trial courts. (2) The circuit courts of appeals, of which there is one for each of the nine circuits. (3) The Supreme Court. To these may be added the two courts of special jurisdiction, namely, the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs Appeals.

There are also other courts and quasi-courts established by Congress under other sections of the Constitution than those relating to the judicial power, such as the territorial and insular courts, the courts of the District of Columbia, the Interstate Commerce Commission, etc. These do not belong to the judicial system of the United States established under the provisions relating to the establishment of federal courts.

12-The text of the proposed act establishing the court of patent appeals will be found in the report of

the meeting of the American Bar Association in 1909 (vol. 34, p. 537).

CHAPTER VI

THE INFERIOR FEDERAL COURTS

§ 51. The former circuit courts.

§ 52. The district courts-Organization and terms. § 53. Jurisdiction of district courts.

54. Appeals from the district courts.

§ 55. The circuit courts of appeals-Establishment. § 56. Organization and terms.

§ 57. Jurisdiction-In general.

§ 58. Final jurisdiction.

§ 59. Appeals from the circuit courts of appeals.

§ 51. The former circuit courts. Until the taking effect in 1912 of the Judicial Code the principal trial courts in the federal system were the circuit courts, which had been established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. There was a circuit court, as well as a district court, for each judicial district, though occasionally one circuit court served for two districts. The circuit courts were originally held by the district judges and the justices of the Supreme Court, there being no circuit judges prior to the Act of 1869 making provision for their appointment. A member of the Supreme Court holding a circuit court was known as a "circuit justice." In practice the circuit court was usually held by a district judge.

The circuit court was the trial court of general jurisdiction, the jurisdiction of the district court being largely special, though extending to several important subjects, such as admiralty and bankruptcy, of which the district court had exclusive jurisdiction.1

After the establishment by the Act of 1891 of the circuit 1-As to the former circuit court see U. S. Rev. St. § 629; 25 Stat. L. 434; 4 Fed. St. Ann. 265-311.

courts of appeals, the circuit court was a court of original jurisdiction only. Prior to that act it had jurisdiction of appeals in certain cases from the district court.

The circuit courts were abolished by the Judicial Code of 1911, so that the only trial courts of general jurisdiction are the district courts.

§ 52. The district courts-Organization and terms. There is a district court for each judicial district. In each district, with a few exceptions, there is a district judge who constitutes the district court for that district. In some instances one judge acts for two districts, and sometimes there are two judges for a single district. A district judge is required to reside in the district for which he is appointed. The salary of the district judges is six thousand dollars a year. A circuit judge may be designated and appointed to hold a district court whenever the public interest may require.

The times and places of holding district courts are appointed by law. There are usually two terms a year, with such special terms as business may require.

The provisions relating to the organization and terms of the district courts comprise Chapter I of the Judicial Code.

§ 53. Jurisdiction of district courts. The jurisdiction of the district courts is defined in Chapter II of the Judicial Code, the full text of which will be found elsewhere in this book. As the district courts are now the only trial courts of general jurisdiction in the federal system, the jurisdiction extends to all matters of federal cognizance not within the jurisdiction of the several courts of special jurisdiction, that is, the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs Appeals.

With the exception of a few cases of no general interest, the jurisdiction of the district courts is wholly original. This original jurisdiction is set out in twenty-five para

graphs of Section 24 of the Judicial Code, the first two paragraphs, which define the general jurisdiction of the courts, being as follows:

"Sec. 24. The district courts shall have orginal jurisdiction as follows:

"First. Of all suits of a civil nature, at common law or in equity, brought by the United States, or by any officer thereof authorized by law to sue, or between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants from different states; or, where the matter in controversy exceeds, exclusive of interest and costs, the sum or value of three thousand dollars, and (a) arises under the Constitution or laws of the United States, or treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority, or (b) is between citizens of different states, or (c) is between citizens of a state and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.

"No district court shall have cognizance of any suit (except upon foreign bills of exchange) to recover upon any promissory note or other chose in action in favor of any assignee, or of any subsequent holder if such instrument be payable to bearer and be not made by any corporation, unless such suit might have been prosecuted in such court to recover upon said note or other chose in action if no assignment had been made; provided, however, that the foregoing provision as to the sum or value of the matter in controversy shall not be construed to apply to any of the cases mentioned in the succeeding paragraphs of this section.

"Second. Of all crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority of the United States."

The remaining paragraphs of this section confer jurisdiction of particular matters, the cases of most general interest being, admiralty and maritime cases; cases arising under the revenue laws, the postal laws, the patent and copyright laws; laws regulating interstate commerce suits against national banks; bankruptcy proceedings;

and suits against trusts, monopolies, and unlawful combinations.

§ 54. Appeals from the district courts. All cases tried in the district courts may be reviewed by the circuit courts of appeals or by the Supreme Court, "unless otherwise provided by law." A very few cases of special importance may be taken directly to the Supreme Court,2 and the circuit court of appeals has appellate jurisdiction of all other cases "unless otherwise provided by law.'

§ 55. The circuit courts of appeals-Establishment. Under the Judiciary Act appeals lay in certain cases from the district to the circuit courts and from both of these courts to the Supreme Court. By increasing the number of inferior courts it was easy for Congress to provide for the increase in judicial business, but with such increase in the number of inferior courts followed a corresponding increase in the amount of the appellate business of the Supreme Court, which was the court of last resort. The consequence was that the Supreme Court was overwhelmed with the number of appeals taken, and was not able to dispose of them with reasonable promptness, it taking about four years to hear a case appealed from the circuit court. To meet this situation Congress established by the act of March 3, 1891, known as the Evarts Act, nine circuit courts of appeals, there being one for each circuit. The statute took away the appellate jurisdiction of the circuit court and transferred much of the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to the new courts of appeals, it being supposed that this would effectually relieve the Supreme Court."

2-Judicial Code, § 238. See post,

§ 66.

3-Judicial Code, § 128.

4-As to the increase of the business of the Supreme Court, see Carson, History of Supreme Court, 318,

5-For text of the act, see 26 Stat. L. 826; 4 Fed. St. Ann. 395; 31 C. C. A. XXIX; 90 Fed. XXIX; 150 Fed. V.