The American Government
The Judicial Branch of
Government
- The United States Supreme Court 9
- The United States Appellate Court 13
- The United States Trial Courts 94
- Total 116The United States Supreme Court
The judicial Power of the
United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such
inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. -Article III, Section 1, The Constitution of the United
States.
In the federal court system
the Supreme Court has final appellate jurisdiction over all courts in
the United States.
The United States Supreme
Court has nine (9) sitting Judges nominated by the President of the
United States and confirmed by the Senate.
The United States
Appellate Court
Notice that, according to
the Constitution, Congress creates courts.
By implication, Congress
also has the power to reorganize and even dismantle the court system.
This clause provides one of many examples of the checks and balances
in the Constitution, but it also reveals the Founders' intent to
grant greater powers to the legislative branch than to the judicial.
The fact that most of the
basic court structure has changed little since it was created by the
Judiciary Act of 1789 is an indication that Congress does not readily
use this power. The relative independence of the court system, as
well as the evolutionary power of the judicial branch, has been
generally respected by members of subsequent Congresses.
The federal court system is
divided into 12 geographic circuits. For example, Circuit One
includes the New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, and
Massachusetts. Circuit Nine includes seven states in the far western
part of the country. Originally, each state in each circuit was to
have one district court, where all federal cases from the state
originated.
There are twelve (12)
regional circuit Court of Appeals and one (1) US court of appeals for
the Federal Circuit.
The United States Trial
Courts
Over time, as the population
grew, additional district courts were added. Today, a total of 94
district courts exist; they are staffed by more than 600 judges. Some
circuits have more than others, based on population, but each circuit
still has only one court of appeals. Cases not settled in the courts
of appeal may be appealed further, but only to the Supreme Court.