Thread by @marinklevy

Do you remember when Juliet asks aloud, "What's in a name?" Clearly she was talking about the DC Circuit's many stylings over the years... (mini ⚖️🧵, 1/x)

In 1801 we see the creation of the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, thanks to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801. (Since we are talking about names, I have to confess that I love the name of that Act.) (2/x)

Now quick frolic – (I promise it will be fun) – the first three judges appointed to that court were Thomas Johnson (who refused to serve – the nerve!), James Marshall (brother of everyone’s favorite Chief Justice) and William Cranch (Supreme Court Reporter extraordinaire)! (3/x)

Now back to the DC Circuit, or what have you . . . in 1863 Congress abolished the circuit court (!) and established a new court, the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. (4/x)

Then in 1893, Congress created a court styled the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. Notice that “Circuit” is nowhere in its title. (In 1922, though, the Supreme Court, in a case called Swift & Co. stated that this court *was* a U.S. circuit court of appeals.) (5/x)

In 1934, It was renamed the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. And in 1948, it was renamed – again – this time to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia *Circuit.* (6/x)

But of course, today, we affectionately refer to it by its nickname, the DC Circuit. And once again, all's well that ends well with judicial administration history.

#JudicialFunFactOfTheDay #TheMoreYouKnowAboutCourts
@CircuitHistory

And for anyone who now can't get enough of judicial administration history and the DC Circuit, I commend to you this charming essay on the subject, by none other than Chief Justice Roberts: virginialawreview.org/sites/virginia…