United States, Courts as Defined by the Constitution - International Institute

U.S. Constitution
First, let’s revisit Article III of the United States Constitution which provided for a separate federal judicial power:

Judicial Courts
As one of the first acts of Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the judicial courts in the United States. In all, there were 30 sections to this Judiciary act, and as such, was quite extensive in its coverage. It provided for:


 * a Supreme Court consisting of a chief justice and five associate justices and when they would meet;


 * the United States to be divided into 13 districts;


 * a District Court within each of the 13 districts with a District Judge. Each district had set dates and locations defined in which to conduct business;


 * eleven of the districts (excepting Maine and Kentucky) to be divided into three districts. The three districts were named the eastern, the middle and the southern circuit. It also established that two courts would be held annually (called Circuit Courts);


 * holding special sessions for criminal cases; and


 * the Supreme Court and the District Courts to appoint their own clerks and marshals.

With the circuit courts, circuit riding was common in the states and was appealing to Congress because it saved the money that a separate corps of judges would require; it exposed the Supreme Court justices to the state laws that they would interpret when sitting on the Supreme Court; and the justices whose were exposed to the legal practices in the nation.

The Judiciary Act of 1801, An Act to provide for the more convenient organization of the Courts of the United States, was passed in February 1801. It was soon repealed and in April of 1802 the Judiciary Act of 1802, an Act to amend the Judicial System of the United States, was passed.

With the exception of passing acts to create additional circuits, the judicial system, as setup, remained basically the same until the Evarts Act of 1891. This was an Act to establish circuit courts of appeals and to defined and regulate in certain cases the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States, and for other purposes, and was passed in March 1891. This act was important because it established courts of appeal which significantly reduced the case load of the Supreme Court.

With the Judicial Act of 1911, an Act to codify, revise, and amend the laws relating to the judiciary, Congress abolished the circuit courts and removed the need for circuit riding. This established a single type of trial court.

Federal Courts
Federal courts usually hear only cases in which the United States is a party (participant). This includes:


 * cases involving violations of the Constitution;
 * cases involving federal laws, property, or officials (will include tax evasion, postal records, liquor sales during prohibition, etc.);
 * cases involving maritime incidents;
 * cases involving foreign diplomats;
 * and some special cases (including bankruptcy cases, cases concerning incidents at sea, cases based on state laws that involve parties from different states, etc.).