The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the Federal judiciary of the United States. A court of appeals decides appeals from the district courts within its federal judicial circuit. In some cases it decides appeals from other designated federal courts and administrative agencies.

Background 
The United States courts of appeals are considered among the most powerful and influential courts in the United States. They have the ability to set legal precedent that affect millions of Americans. The United States courts of appeals have strong policy influence on U.S. law. The U.S. Supreme Court chooses to review less than 1% of the more than 10,000 cases filed with it annually. This means the United States courts of appeals makes the final decision in most federal cases. The Ninth Circuit in particular is very influential. It covers 20% of the American population.

There are currently 179 judges on the United States courts of appeals. These judges are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. They have lifetime tenure, earning an annual salary of $213,300. There are thirteen United States courts of appeals. There are other tribunals that have "Court of Appeals" in their titles, such as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. They hear appeals in court-martial cases. The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims reviews final decisions by the Board of Veterans' Appeals in the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Decisions of the United States courts of appeals have been published by the private company West Publishing in the Federal Reporter series since the courts were established. Only decisions that the courts choose for publication are included. The "unpublished" opinions (of all but the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits) are published separately in West's Federal Appendix. They are also available in on-line databases like LexisNexis or Westlaw. More recently, court decisions are also available electronically on the official court websites. However, there are also a few federal court decisions that are classified for national security reasons.

U.S. Courts of appeals 
There are eleven numbered circuits which are numbered one through eleven. The D.C. Circuit is the twelfth. The thirteenth court of appeals is the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It has nationwide jurisdiction over certain appeals based on their subject matter. All of the courts of appeals also hear appeals from some government agency decisions and rulemaking. The largest share of these cases heard by the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from specialized trial courts. These are primarily the United States Court of International Trade and the United States Court of Federal Claims. They also hear appeals from the district courts in patent cases and certain other specialized matters.

List of courts 
 United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1st Cir.), Boston, Massachusetts
  District of Maine
  District of Massachusetts
  District of New Hampshire
  District of Puerto Rico
  District of Rhode Island

 United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2nd Cir.), New York City, New York
 District of Connecticut
 Eastern District of New York
 Northern District of New York
 Southern District of New York
 Western District of New York
 District of Vermont

  United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit  (3rd Cir. ), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 District of Delaware
 District of New Jersey
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania
 Middle District of Pennsylvania
 Western District of Pennsylvania

 United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.), Richmond, Virginia
 District of Maryland
 Eastern District of North Carolina
 Middle District of North Carolina
 Western District of North Carolina
 District of South Carolina
 Eastern District of Virginia
 Western District of Virginia
 Northern District of West Virginia
 Southern District of West Virginia

 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.), New Orleans, Louisiana
 Eastern District of Louisiana
 Middle District of Louisiana
 Western District of Louisiana
 Northern District of Mississippi
 Southern District of Mississippi
 Eastern District of Texas
 Northern District of Texas
 Southern District of Texas
 Western District of Texas

 United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.),  Cincinnati, Ohio 
 Eastern District of Kentucky
 Western District of Kentucky
 Eastern District of Michigan
 Western District of Michigan
 Northern District of Ohio
 Southern District of Ohio
 Eastern District of Tennessee
 Middle District of Tennessee
 Western District of Tennessee

 United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Cir.), Chicago, Illinois
 Central District of Illinois
 Northern District of Illinois
 Southern District of Illinois
 Northern District of Indiana
 Southern District of Indiana
 Eastern District of Wisconsin
 Western District of Wisconsin

  United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit  (8th Cir.), St. Louis, Missouri
 Eastern District of Arkansas
 Western District of Arkansas
 Northern District of Iowa
 Southern District of Iowa
 District of Minnesota
 Eastern District of Missouri
 Western District of Missouri
 District of Nebraska
 District of North Dakota
 District of South Dakota

 United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.), San Francisco, California 
 District of Alaska
 District of Arizona
 Central District of California
 Eastern District of California
 Northern District of California
 Southern District of California
 District of Hawaii
 District of Idaho
 District of Montana
 District of Nevada
 District of Oregon
 Eastern District of Washington
 Western District of Washington
 District of Guam
 District of the Northern Mariana Islands

 United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.), Denver, Colorado
 District of Colorado
 District of Kansas
 District of New Mexico
 Eastern District of Oklahoma
 Northern District of Oklahoma
 Western District of Oklahoma
 District of Utah
 District of Wyoming

 United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (11th Cir.), Atlanta, Georgia
 Middle District of Alabama
 Northern District of Alabama
 Southern District of Alabama
 Middle District of Florida
 Northern District of Florida
 Southern District of Florida
 Middle District of Georgia
 Northern District of Georgia
 Southern District of Georgia

 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Fed. Cir.), may sit in any courthouse or law school
 Article I tribunals
 Article III tribunals
 Congressional Office of Compliance

 United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Cir.), Washington, D.C.
 United States District Court for the District of Columbia

References 

Courts (law)
Federal judiciary of the United States