The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United Statesfederal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate jurisdiction over the United States district courts. The Judiciary Act of 1891 transferred their appellate jurisdiction to the newly created United States circuit courts of appeals, which are now known as the United States courts of appeals. On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911, the circuit courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. district courts. During the 100 years that the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court "rode circuit", many justices complained about the effort required. Riding circuit took a great deal of time and was both physically demanding and dangerous. However, "members of Congress held firm to the belief that circuit riding benefited the justices and the populace, and they turned a deaf ear to the corps of justices that desired to abolish the practice." The Judiciary Act of 1869 established a separate circuit court but the act required that Supreme Court justices had to ride circuit once every two years. However, this came to a final end in 1891 when the Circuit Courts of Appeals Act was passed.
Organization
Although the federal judicial districts were grouped into circuits, the circuit courts convened separately in each district and were designated by the name of the district, not by the name or number of the circuit. The designation of circuits served only for the purpose of designating the districts in which a particular Supreme Court Justice, and later a circuit judge, would sit on the circuit court. The circuit court districts were usually, but not always, the same as the districts established for the district courts. Each circuit court was composed initially of two Supreme Court justices and the district judge of the district, although in 1793 Congress provided that a quorum of one justice and one district judge could hold a court. After 1802, only one justice was assigned to each circuit, and a quorum could consist of a single justice or judge. This "circuit riding" arrangement meant that the Supreme Court justices spent the majority of the year traveling to each district within their circuit to conduct trials, and spent far less time assembled at the capital to hear appeals. The burden of circuit riding was somewhat alleviated by the appointment of circuit judges under the Circuit Judges Act of 1869, but not abolished until the creation of the intermediate courts of appeals in 1891. In 1801, Congress had already decided for the first time in its history to relieve the Supreme Court justices through the Judiciary Act of 1801, known as Midnight Judges Act, but that happened to be highly controversial, as it proceeded during the last days of John Adams's Federalist government and Adams nominated various new judges which should defend the Federalist agenda, before the oppositional Democratic-Republicans of Thomas Jefferson took over. Although Jefferson also nominated a few judges, the Act was repealed after only one year because Jefferson feared the judiciary to become too powerful. The Act had also created the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, a "circuit court" for the District of Columbia. This court had the same original jurisdiction and powers as the United States circuit courts but, unlike those courts, it continued to have its own judges even after the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801, and had appellate jurisdiction over justices of the peace and other "local" courts of the District. The District of Columbia was not enumerated among the federal "circuits" at the time. This court was abolished in 1863.
Judges
Although any district court judge could be authorized to act as a circuit judge, only fifty judges solely designated as circuit court judges were ever appointed. These can be broadly categorized into four groups:
Judges appointed pursuant to the Midnight Judges Act on or after February 20, 1801, and thereafter removed from office with the repeal of that Act on July 1, 1802.
Judges appointed to the D.C. Circuit, abolished on March 3, 1863
Judges appointed after 1869 pursuant to the Circuit Judges Act of 1869; those in office on June 16, 1891 were transferred to the newly created United States courts of appeals by operation of law, that is, without action on the part of the President.
One judge appointed to the California circuit, established in 1855 and abolished on March 3, 1863.
