Who is in the mood for a little judicial administration history tonight? I know I am! So let's talk about where the Ninth Circuit Came from... (1/x)

The Ninth Circuit was created in 1837 and was made up of...wait for it...Alabama, Arkansas, Eastern Louisiana, and the two districts of Mississippi. (We didn't see that coming now did we?) (2/x)

The Ninth Circuit then lost lost Alabama and the Eastern District of Louisiana to the Fifth Circuit (sad!) in 1842. (3/x)

This is where things get a little weird, I'm not going to lie. In 1855 we get a new circuit called "the Circuit Court of the United States for the districts of California" which included, unsurprisingly, the two districts of California. (4/x)

Still with me? In 1862 the Ninth Circuit lost Arkansas (to the Sixth) and Mississippi (to the Fifth) but was given Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri (all from the Eighth). (5/x)

And if that wasn't enough drama, in 1863, the Ninth Circuit *lost* the districts of California to the Tenth Circuit! But don't worry...it will all end well because...(6/x)

in 1866 the Ninth Circuit lost the districts of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri (all to the Eighth) but was happily reconstituted to comprise California and Oregon (both back from the Tenth) and Nevada. (7/x)

The happy family kept expanding - the Ninth Circuit grew to include Montana and Washington in 1889. Idaho soon followed. (8/x)

The Territories of Alaska and Hawaii joined in 1900, followed by Arizona in 1912, then the Territory of Guam in 1951, and the Territory of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1977. (Are you dazzled yet?) (9/x)

The only heartbreaking part of the story concerns the Tenth Circuit - after it lost California, Nevada, and Oregon to the Ninth, it was abolished in 1866! Why does Judicial Administration have to be so cruel? (10/x)

But not to worry! It was brought back to life in 1929, when it was given Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. (11/x)

And that, my friends, is the story of the Ninth Circuit (and a little something about the Tenth, while we were at it). (12/12 - fin)

#TheMoreYouKnowAboutCourts #ILoveJudicialAdministration