United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

The **United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit** is one of the 13 appeals courts in the United States's federal court system.  In case citations, the Court's name is abbreviated "**1st Cir.**"

## The 1st Circuit

The Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit is the appeals court that has jurisdiction, or legal power, to review cases decided by less powerful courts in the 1st Circuit.  These less powerful courts are called United States district courts.  They are federal trial courts.  If someone wants to appeal a decision that one of these courts made, they would have to appeal to the Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.

These are the United States District Courts that are in the 1st Circuit:
- District of Maine
- District of Massachusetts
- District of New Hampshire
- District of Puerto Rico
- District of Rhode Island

## About the Court

The Court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts.

The First Circuit is the smallest of the thirteen United States courts of appeals.  As of 2016, the Court has six full-time judges and six judges on senior status.  Senior status is like being partly retired.  Three of the Senior Judges do not hear any cases.  The others may hear cases if they choose to.

After he retired from the United States Supreme Court, the late Justice David Souter regularly sat on the First Circuit "by designation."  Sitting by designation means he acted as a visiting judge who comes to hear cases at the First Circuit, to add his knowledge and experience.

### Schedule

The Court usually "sits" (meets at the Courthouse and hears cases) for one week a month, eleven months per year.  Court sittings are held in the mornings, usually between 9:30 AM and 1:00 PM (EST).  For one month out of the year  either July or August  the Court takes a summer break and does not meet.

This is the Court's normal schedule:
- In every month except September and the Court's summer break month: The Court sits for one week each month, starting on the first Monday of the month
- In both March and November: The Court sits for an extra week at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
- In September: The Court starts on the Wednesday after Labor Day, sits for the three days in that week, and sits for all five days the next week

## History

On March 3, 1891, the United States Congress created the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.  Congress approved two judgeships for the Court (it allowed two judges to sit on the Court).

On January 28, 1915, Congress passed a law that added the District of Puerto Rico to the First Circuit.  The law said that the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit would hear appeals from Puerto Rico's district court.

Over time, Congress approved more full-time judgeships for the Court:

|Date Approved|Judgeships Approved|Total Judgeships|
| --- | --- | --- |
|March 3, 1891|2|2|
|January 21, 1905|1|3|
|October 20, 1978|1|4|
|July 10, 1984|2|6|

## Related pages

- Federal judiciary of the United States (the entire federal court system)
    - United States Supreme Court
        - United States courts of appeals
            - United States district courts

## Infobox (u.s. federal court)

- **court type**: circuit
- **court name**: United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- **abbreviation**: 1st Cir.
- **seal**: Seal of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.svg
- **seal size**: 150
- **map image name**: File:1st Circuit map.svg
- **courthouse**: John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse
- **location**: Boston, Massachusetts
- **appeals from**: District of Maine
- **appeals from1**: District of Massachusetts
- **appeals from2**: District of New Hampshire
- **appeals from3**: District of Puerto Rico
- **appeals from4**: District of Rhode Island
- **established**: June 16, 1891
- **circuit justice**: Stephen Breyer
- **chief**: Jeffrey R. Howard
- **judges assigned**: 6