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The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary



In the early years of the federal government, caseload in the district courts depended largely on the volume of admiralty suits in the region, and some courts heard few cases. District judges also served on the U.S. circuit court that met in their judicial district, and for much of the nineteenth century, district judges were likely to devote more time to their duties on the U.S. circuit courts than to the business of the U.S. district courts. Gradually over the nineteenth century, Congress expanded the jurisdiction of the district courts, especially in the area of non-capital criminal cases.


As new states entered the union, Congress created additional district courts that in their geographical outline remained within state boundaries, with two negligible exceptions. As early as the 1790s Congress divided some states into multiple districts, each with court staff and separate records of proceedings. Frequently, a single judge served more than one district within a state. The U.S. District Court for New York in 1812 became the first in the nation with two judgeships, but in 1814 Congress divided the state into two judicial districts, each with a single judge. Congress did not create another permanent second judgeship for a district court until 1903 when it authorized an additional judgeship for the Southern District of New York.

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