Evarts Act

E42697

The Evarts Act was a landmark 1891 U.S. federal law that created the United States courts of appeals, significantly restructuring the federal judiciary and easing the Supreme Court’s caseload.

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Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute
judiciary reform law
affectedBody Supreme Court of the United States
appliesToJurisdiction federal court system of the United States
areaOfLaw federal courts
judicial administration
branchOfGovernmentImpacted judicial branch of the United States
chamberOfOrigin United States Senate
classification Judiciary Act of 1891
surface form: Judiciary Act
codifiedStructureOf intermediate federal appellate courts
country United States of America
surface form: United States
created United States courts of appeals
intermediate appellate courts in the federal judiciary
dateOfEnactment 1891-03-03
effect established a new tier in the federal court system
reduced direct appeals from federal trial courts to the Supreme Court
significantly eased the Supreme Court’s mandatory appellate docket
transferred much of the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction to the courts of appeals
enabled greater discretionary review by the Supreme Court through certiorari in later reforms
enactedInYear 1891
historicalSignificance foundation of the modern U.S. courts of appeals system
landmark reform of the federal judiciary
impactOnCaseFlow shifted most routine appeals to intermediate courts
introducedConcept circuit courts of appeals as separate from circuit courts
jurisdictionLevel federal
legalSystem common law system of the United States
legislativeBody United States Congress
namedAfter William M. Evarts
officialName Judiciary Act of 1891
partOf United States federal judiciary history
precededBy Judiciary Act of 1789
purpose to create the United States courts of appeals
to reduce the appellate caseload of the Supreme Court of the United States
to reorganize the federal judiciary
relatedTo Judiciary Act of 1789
Judiciary Act of 1869
shortName Evarts Act self-link
sponsor William M. Evarts
status in force in amended form
subjectMatter appellate jurisdiction
organization of federal courts
timePeriod late 19th century United States
typeOfReform structural reform of appellate jurisdiction