United States courts of appeals

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 The "unpublished" opinions (of all but the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits) are published separately in West's _Federal Appendix_.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