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United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Overview

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts:

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

The Ninth Circuit was created by the 25th United States Congress through passage of the Eighth and Ninth Circuits Act of 1837, and also has appellate jurisdiction over the territorial courts for the District of Guam and the District of the Northern Mariana Islands. Additionally, it sometimes handles appeals that originate from American Samoa, which has no district court and partially relies on the District of Hawaii for its federal cases.

The Ninth Circuit is the largest of the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, covering a total of nine states and two territories and with 29 active judgeships. The court's regular meeting places are Seattle (at the William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse), Portland (at the Pioneer Courthouse), San Francisco (at the James R. Browning United States Court of Appeals Building), and Pasadena (at the Richard H. Chambers United States Court of Appeals).

Panels of the court occasionally travel to hear cases in other locations within the circuit. Although the judges travel around the circuit, the court arranges its hearings so that cases from the northern region of the circuit are heard in Seattle or Portland, cases from southern California and Arizona are heard in Pasadena, and cases from northern California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific territories are heard in San Francisco. Additionally, the court holds yearly sittings in Anchorage and Honolulu. For lawyers who must come and present their cases to the court in person, this administrative grouping of cases helps to reduce the time and cost of travel. Ninth Circuit judges are also appointed by the United States Secretary of the Interior to serve as temporary acting Associate Justices for non-federal appellate sessions at the High Court of American Samoa in Fagatogo.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

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These preliminaries being concluded, the cases are called on. If it is a day for private cases, the private litigants are called. Four cases are taken in each of the categories defined in the law, and the litigants swear to confine their speeches to the point at issue. If it is a day for public causes, the public litigants are called, and only one case is tried. Water-clocks are provided, having small supply-tubes…
Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution
States what United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is.
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He would have men in the first place seek justice from their friends and neighbours, because, as he truly remarks, they know best the questions at issue; these are called in another passage arbiters rather than judges. But if they cannot settle the matter, it is to be referred to the courts of the tribes, and a higher penalty is to be paid by the party who is unsuccessful in the suit. There is a further appeal…
Plato, Laws
States what United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is.
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Again; the court of Orleans or Maine commands, by subpoenas, the attendance of all the judges of the Supreme Court. Would they abandon their posts as judges, and the interests of millions committed to them, to serve the purposes of a single individual? The leading principle of our constitution is the independence of the legislature, executive, and judiciary, of each other, and none are more jealous of this than the…
Thomas Jefferson, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4
Close in meaning to United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; the term itself is not named.
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