United States circuit courts (old trial-level circuit courts)

E400164

The United States circuit courts were early federal trial courts that operated from the Judiciary Act of 1789 until their jurisdiction was transferred to the newly created district and appellate courts in the early 20th century.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal court
former federal trial court system
abolishedBy Judicial Code of 1911
abolitionEffectiveDate January 1, 1912
appliedLaw United States federal law
diversity jurisdiction cases under federal statutes
composedOf United States Supreme Court justices riding circuit
United States federal judges
surface form: United States district judges
country United States of America
surface form: United States
createdFor to provide federal trial-level courts in each circuit
distinctFrom United States courts of appeals
modern United States circuit courts of appeals
effectOfEvartsAct creation of United States circuit courts of appeals and transfer of most appellate jurisdiction
endTime 1912
establishedBy Judiciary Act of 1789
followedBy modern system of United States district courts and courts of appeals
function limited appellate review of district court decisions
trial-level adjudication of federal cases
governingStatute Judiciary Act of 1789
subsequent federal judiciary acts of the 19th century
hadAppellateJurisdiction appeals from some decisions of United States district courts
hadOriginalJurisdiction important federal criminal prosecutions
many major civil cases under federal law
hasJurisdictionOver appeals from United States district courts (in certain periods)
diversity of citizenship cases
federal question cases
major federal criminal cases
historicalPeriod early United States federal judiciary
jurisdictionTransferredTo United States courts of appeals
United States district courts
languageOfCourt English
legalSystem common law
location federal judicial circuits of the United States
operatedIn 19th century United States
early 20th century United States
partOf federal judiciary of the United States
precededBy ad hoc federal courts under the Articles of Confederation (in function)
reasonForAbolition consolidation of federal trial jurisdiction in district courts
creation of separate intermediate appellate courts
relatedEvent Evarts Act
surface form: Evarts Act of 1891
replacedBy United States courts of appeals
expanded jurisdiction of United States district courts
staffedBy Supreme Court justices sitting on circuit
local United States district judges
startTime 1789
status defunct
usedCircuitRiding yes

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Public Law 61-475 abolished United States circuit courts (old trial-level circuit courts)
United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania partOf United States circuit courts (old trial-level circuit courts)
this entity surface form: United States circuit court system (pre-1912)