United States Federal Court

The United States Federal Court, officially the Federal Court of the United States, is an intermediate federal-level Court in the United States that tries cases arising under certain areas of Federal law. The Court also operates in an appellate role, hearing cases involving Federal questions on appeal from State supreme Courts, and effectively operating in the Territories as the territorial Supreme Court.

While established as a unitary court, the Federal Court is divided into fifty-eight divisions called “Circuits” –the divisions being conterminous with the fifty-eight States, Territories, and Districts of the United States– and in and for each of them sits a division of the Federal Court: Twenty-eight Circuits of the Federal Court are conterminous with the twenty-eight States, twenty-nine Circuits being conterminous with the twenty-seven Federal territories and the special territories of Columbia and Philadelphia, and one Circuit conterminous with the Fœderal Capital Territory. Each Circuit of the Federal Court sits as a court in its own right.

Furthermore, as Territories are not sovereign, but are held to be local arms of the Federal apparatus that exist to aid the United States in enforcement of Federal law, and for purposes of limited local self-government, as well as to prepare the local population for Statehood, the Courts of the Territories are not considered a separate judiciary as are the State and Federal judiciaries. Instead, the judiciaries of the Territories are held to be local outposts of the Federal judiciary, with the Federal Court sitting in and for each Territory operating effectively as the Territorial Supreme Court.

Membership
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Jurisdiction
The Federal Court has no inherent jurisdiction; instead, its authority stems entirely from statute. The Court’s original jurisdiction include matters arising from Federal legislation such as those relating to Federal taxation, interstate trade practices, intellectual property, naturalization and bankruptcy.

The Federal Court also has the power to interpret the Constitution.

Appeals from the Federal Court go directly to the US Supreme Court. However, the U.S. Supreme Court is not required to hear appeals (from any court), and only does so at its sole pleasure.

Circuits
Under section NUM, of the Judiciary Act of 1733, "[t]he federal Courts provided for in this section shall constitute a single Court, composed of all the duly elected or appointed judges in each of the States which may be included within the United States, and in like manner those in the Territory belonging to the United States.” In this sense, the single Federal Court of the United States of North Aegea is divided into fifty-eight divisions called “Circuits”, conterminous with the twenty-eight States, the twenty-nine Territories, and the Fœderal Capital Territory. Officially, in the States, each Circuit of the Federal Court is styled the "Federal Court of the United States in and for the State of (State)", and for the Territories and FCT, the Circuit of the Federal Court therein is styled, "Federal Court of the United States in and for (Territory/District)”. For example, the Federal Court circuit located in the State of Arizona is officially the, “Federal Court of the United States in and for the State of Arizona”, while the Federal Court circuit located in Virginia Territory is officially the, “Federal Court of the United States in and for the Territory of Virginia”; and the Federal Court circuit located in the Fœderal Capital Territory is officially the “Federal Court of the United States in and for the Fœderal Capital Territory”.

List
States (28)


 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Alabama
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Alaska
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Arizona
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Arkansas
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Florida
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Georgia
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Idaho
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Indiana
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Iowa
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Kansas
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Kentucky
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Louisiana
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Mississippi
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Missouri
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Montana
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Nebraska
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for New Mexico
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for North Carolina
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for North Dakota
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Ohio
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Oklahoma
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for South Carolina
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for South Dakota
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Tennessee
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Texas
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Utah
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for West Virginia
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Wyoming

Territories (29)


 * U.S. Federal Court in and for California Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Colorado Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Connecticut Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Delaware Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Hawaiʻi Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Illinois Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Maine Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Maryland Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Massachusetts Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Michigan Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Minnesota Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Nevada Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for New Hampshire Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for New Jersey Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for New York Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Oregon Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Pennsylvania Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Rhode Island Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Vermont Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Virginia Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Washington Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for Wisconsin Territory
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of Aegean Samoa
 * 🇬🇺 U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of Guam
 * 🇵🇷 U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of Puerto Rico
 * 🇲🇵 U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of the Northern Mariana Islands
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of Columbia
 * U.S. Federal Court in and for the Territory of Philadelphia

Districts (1)


 * U.S. Federal Court in and for the Fœderal Capital Territory