Thread by @marinklevy

Who is in the mood for a little judicial administration history? Everyone? Just as I suspected.

In light of the new bill to expand SCOTUS, a *big* thread on the relationship between the # of Supreme Court seats and the # of circuits. (⚖️🧵) (1/x)

Once upon a time, in 1789, Congress said "let there be courts." And so it came to be that we had 6 Supreme Court Justices and 3 Circuits – the Eastern, Middle, and Southern. (And then Congress rested. 💤) (2/x)

Now you might be thinking to yourself, 6 does not equal 3. 🙅‍♀️ To you I say, patience, my pet.

As you know, back in the bad old days of the federal courts, the Justices had to ride Circuit – and so 2 justices were assigned to each Circuit. But that math soon changed.... (3/x)

In 1801, Congress enacted the infamous Judiciary Act of 1801. (👻) Among other things, the Act expanded the 3 circuits to 6. (It also renamed the circuits from their geographical designations, e.g., the Eastern Circuit, to numerical designations, e.g., the First Circuit.) (4)

Now I know, I know - the 1801 Act was repealed in March 1802. 🫂 BUT an act passed the next month that preserved the increase in the number of circuits from 3 to 6. And so, the # of Supreme Court seats = the # of Circuits.

And we're just getting started. (5/x)

Now I know what you’re thinking – the Sweet 6 didn’t last long because the Supreme Court was expanded to 7 in 1807. And you’re right! (Gold star for you 🌟) But guess what – so did the number of Circuits! (6/x)

In 1807 we get a little something called the 7th Circuit, which comprised the two districts of Tennessee, and the districts of Kentucky and Ohio.

So for those of us keeping track at home (everyone), we’re up to 7 Justices and 7 Circuits. (7/x)

But the fun doesn’t stop there! In 1837, the Supreme Court was taken up to 9 seats . . . and the number of Circuits was increased to 9 as well! The 8th Circuit was created out of the two districts of Tennessee and the districts of Kentucky and Missouri . . . (8/x)

And not wanting to be left out of the fun, the 9th Circuit was created out of the two districts of Alabama, Arkansas, the Eastern District of Louisiana, and the two districts of Mississippi. (Seriously, the *9th* Circuit y'all.) (9/x)

Now you may be thinking, this run has to come to an end at some point! Oh but we haven’t reached it yet . . . Congress gives SCOTUS a 10th seat in 1863 at the same time it gives us the 10th Circuit! (Made up of the 2 districts of California and the District of Oregon.) (10/x)

But don't get too attached - in 1866 the 10th Circuit lost the 2 districts of California and Oregon (all transferred to the 9th Circuit), and ceased to be a circuit . . . just when one seat was removed from the Supreme Court! (11/x)

The Judiciary Act of 1869 (aka the Circuit Judges Act of 1869) formally returned the number of SCOTUS seats to 9 – and that is where it has remained.

But the number of Circuits? Not so much . . . (12/x)

We stayed at 9 Circuits for a few decades. And then in 1891, when the Evarts Act created the new circuit courts of appeals (😇), we got 9 of them - one for each of the then-existing Circuits.

But the perfect relationship between Seats & Circuits didn’t survive much longer...

Only 2 years after the Evarts Act, Congress added what would eventually be called the D.C. Circuit. The (new) 10th and 11th Circuits were later created in 1929 and 1980, respectively. And let's not forget the Federal Circuit, which followed in 1982. (Seats 9 / Circuits 13)

So holding aside the merits of the bill to expand the Court, one rheotircal device will surely be that we are bringing the # of Seats and # of Circuits back in line once again. (And poor John Roberts won’t have to be the Circuit Justice of the DC *and* Fed Circuits any longer.)

But let’s engage in a little foreshadowing. The 9th Circuit has 29 authorized judgeships and there is talk again of splitting it. Holding aside the merits of that proposal, we may not remain at 13 Circuits forever . . . Stay tuned! (Fin)

#appellatetwitter #JudicialHistory❤️