The Judiciary Act of 1789 created courts whose structure survives today

Evidence

As its first order of business, Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the nation’s judicial system. Atop the structure was the Supreme Court, consisting of six justices. The Act also provided for two tiers of federal trial courts. The 13 district courts were each staffed with a single district judge. Although the number of district courts and judges has increased, this set of federal trial courts, organized along geographic lines that do not overlap state boundaries, has survived to the present day. Less familiar is the second set of trial courts created in 1789, the three circuit courts. These courts initially had no judges of their own. They operated in three-judge panels consisting, at least at the outset, of the district court judge for the district and two Supreme Court justices who “rode circuit” to hear cases. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 278

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Constitution left the federal courts’ structure to Congress by design — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 277; Congress created 94 federal district courts confined to single states. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 332; Congress eliminated the circuit courts and created the courts of appeals — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 456 (+5 more)