There are 94 active United States district and territorial courts. Each of the 50 states has between one and four district courts, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico each has a district court.
The insular areas of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands each has one territorial court; these courts are called "district courts" and exercise the same jurisdiction as district courts, but differ from district courts in that territorial courts are Article IV courts, with judges who serve ten-year terms rather than the lifetime tenure of judges of Article III courts, such as the district court judges. American Samoa does not have a district court or a federal territorial court, and so federal matters there are sent to either the District of Columbia or Hawaii.https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1124T GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office. AMERICAN SAMOA: Issues Associated with Some Federal Court Options. September 18, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
Definition
The district courts were established by Congress under Article III of the United States Constitution. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court. Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the 13 courts of appeals, organized geographically. The number of district courts in a court of appeals' circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on the number of states in the region and the number of districts in each state. The formal naming convention for the district courts is "United States District Court for" followed by the district name. Each district court has one or more meeting places at which it holds hearings and conducts business. Many federal courthouses are named after notable judges, such as the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City or the Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse in Birmingham. The largest courthouse is the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse, which serves the Eastern District of Missouri.
The largest courts by number of judges are the Central District of California and the Southern District of New York, each with 28 judgeships. The smallest are the District for the Northern Mariana Islands and the District of Guam, with one judgeship each.
Active courts
Key CitationThe abbreviation used to refer to court decisions.EstablishedThe date the district court was established as a court or the date it was subdivided from a larger district.JudgesThe number of judgeships authorized for the district.Meeting placesThe number of locations at which the court hears cases.CountiesThe number of counties or parishes in a state from which the court hears cases. Region Citation Court ofAppeals Established Judges Meetingplaces Counties Chief judge N.D. Ala. 1824 8 8 31 M.D. Ala. 1839 3 3 23 S.D. Ala. 1824 3 2 13 D. Alaska 1958 3 5 All D. Ariz. 1910 13 6 All E.D. Ark. 1851 5 3 42 W.D. Ark. 1851 3 6 34 C.D. Cal. 1966 28 4 7 E.D. Cal. 1966 6 3 34 N.D. Cal. 1886 14 4 15 S.D. Cal. 1850 13 1 2 D. Col. or D. Colo. 1876 7 8 All D. Conn. 1789 8 5 All D. Del. 1789 4 1 All D.D.C. D.C. 1863 15 1 N/A N.D. Fla. or N.D. Fl. 1847 4 6 23 M.D. Fla. or M.D. Fl. 1962 15 8 35 S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl. 1847 18 5 9 N.D. Ga. 1848 11 4 46 M.D. Ga. 1926 4 7 70 S.D. Ga. 1848 3 6 43 D. Guam 1951 1 1 N/A D. Haw. 1959 4 1 All D. Idaho 1890 2 4 All N.D. Ill. 1855 23 4 18 C.D. Ill. 1978 4 6 46 S.D. Ill. 1855 4 4 38 N.D. Ind. 1928 5 4 32 S.D. Ind. 1928 5 5 60 N.D. Iowa 1882 2 6 52 S.D. Iowa 1882 3 6 47 D. Kan. 1861 6 9 All E.D. Ky. 1901 6 9 67 W.D. Ky. 1901 5 4 53 E.D. La. 1849 12 2 13 M.D. La. 1971 3 1 9 W.D. La. 1881 7 6 42 D. Me. 1789 3 2 All D. Md. 1789 10 4 All D. Mass. 1789 13 4 All E.D. Mich. 1863 15 5 34 W.D. Mich. 1863 4 6 49 D. Minn. 1858 7 6 All N.D. Miss. 1838 3 7 37 S.D. Miss. 1838 6 7 45 E.D. Mo. 1857 9 3 49 W.D. Mo. 1857 7 5 66 D. Mont. 1889 3 11 All D. Neb. 1867 3 3 All D. Nev. 1865 7 6 All D.N.H. 1789 3 2 All D.N.J. 1789 17 6 All D.N.M. 1910 7 3 All E.D.N.Y. 1865 15 4 5 N.D.N.Y. 1814 5 8 32 S.D.N.Y. 1814 28 3 8 W.D.N.Y. 1900 4 5 17 E.D.N.C. 1872 4 7 44 M.D.N.C. 1927 4 3 24 W.D.N.C. 1872 5 5 32 D.N.D. 1890 2 4 All D.N. Mar. I. 1977 1 1 N/A N.D. Ohio 1855 11 5 40 S.D. Ohio 1855 8 5 48 E.D. Ok. or E.D. Okla. 1906 2 8 26 N.D. Ok. or N.D. Okla. 1925 4 5 11 W.D. Ok. or W.D. Okla. 1906 7 10 40 D. Or. or D. Ore. 1859 6 7 All E.D. Pa. 1818 22 5 9 M.D. Pa. 1901 6 5 33 W.D. Pa. 1818 10 3 25 D.P.R. 1966 7 3 All D.R.I. 1790 3 1 All D.S.C. 1789 10 11 All D.S.D. 1889 3 5 All E.D. Tenn. 1802 5 4 41 M.D. Tenn. 1839 4 3 32 W.D. Tenn. 1802 5 3 22 E.D. Tex. 1857 8 7 43 N.D. Tex. 1879 12 7 100 S.D. Tex. 1902 19 7 43 W.D. Tex. 1857 13 8 68 D. Utah 1894 5 4 All D. Vt. 1791 2 7 All D.V.I. 1936 2 2 N/A E.D. Va. 1819 11 4 63 W.D. Va. 1819 4 7 70 E.D. Wash. 1905 4 4 20 W.D. Wash. 1905 7 3 19 N.D. W. Va. 1901 3 5 32 S.D. W. Va. 1901 5 6 23 E.D. Wis. 1870 5 3 28 W.D. Wis. 1870 2 5 44 D. Wyo. 1890 3 6 All
Defunct courts
Note: Defunct courts do not include courts consisting of an entire state that were later subdivided.
NameRegion(s) Citation Established DisestablishedNorth Carolina—17941797North Carolina—17941797North Carolina—17941797New Jersey—18011802New Jersey—18011802Maryland, Virginia, DC—18011802Virginia—18011802North Carolina—18021872North Carolina—18021872North Carolina—18021872Louisiana—18041812IllinoisE.D. Ill.19051978China—19061943South CarolinaE.D.S.C.19111965South CarolinaW.D.S.C.19111965PanamaD.C.Z.19141982West BerlinD.Berlin19551990
Subdivided courts
Name Citation Established SubdividedDistrict of AlabamaD. Ala.April 21, 1820March 10, 1824District of ArkansasD. Ark.June 15, 1836March 3, 1851District of CaliforniaD. Cal.July 27, 1866California was originally established with two district courts on September 28, 1850; these districts were merged into a single District of California on July 27, 1866.August 5, 1886District of FloridaD. Fla.March 3, 1845February 23, 1847District of GeorgiaD. Ga.September 24, 1789August 11, 1848District of IllinoisD. Ill.March 3, 1819February 13, 1855District of IndianaD. Ind.March 3, 1817April 21, 1928District of IowaD. IowaMarch 3, 1845July 20, 1882District of KentuckyD. Ky.September 24, 1789March 8, 1802The District of Kentucky was abolished on February 13, 1801 by the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, and was restored with the repeal of this Act on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132. U.S. District Courts of Kentucky, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.February 13, 1801February 12, 1901District of LouisianaD. La.April 8, 1812February 13, 1845July 27, 1866March 3, 1823March 3, 1849March 3, 1881District of MichiganD. Mich.July 1, 1836February 24, 1863District of MississippiD. Miss.April 3, 1818June 18, 1838District of MissouriD. Mo.March 16, 1822March 3, 1857District of New YorkD.N.Y.September 24, 1789April 9, 1814District of North CarolinaD.N.C.June 4, 1790March 3, 1797June 9, 1794April 29, 1802District of OhioD. OhioFebruary 19, 1803February 10, 1855District of PennsylvaniaD. Pa.September 24, 1789April 20, 1818District of TennesseeD. Tenn.January 31, 1797March 8, 1802The District of Tennessee was abolished on February 13, 1801 by the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, and was restored with the repeal of this Act on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132. U.S. District Courts of Tennessee, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.February 13, 1801April 29, 1802District of TexasD. Tex.December 29, 1845February 21, 1857District of VirginiaD. Va.September 24, 1789March 8, 1802June 11, 1864February 13, 1801February 4, 1819February 3, 1871District of WashingtonD. Wash.April 5, 1890March 2, 1905District of West VirginiaD.W.Va.June 11, 1864January 22, 1901District of WisconsinD. Wis.May 29, 1848June 30, 1870
See also List of United States federal courthouses List of former United States district courts
Notes
References General
Specific
External links