What time is it, you ask? Why of course - it's the-history-of-judicial-administration o'clock!

A quick thread on circuits and districts (and how we almost wound up with the "district of Champlain" - who knew?!). (1/x)

Once upon a time, it was 1789. And in that year we were given the first Judiciary Act. And in that Act, we were given thirteen districts in what was then the eleven states of our nation. (2/x)

1 district was created in 9 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina), 2 districts were created in Massachusetts (the Maine District (cuz that's not confusing, right?) and the Massachusetts District)

and 2 districts were created in Virginia (the Virginia District and the Kentucky District (again, not confusing at all )). Sadly, no districts were created in North Carolina or Rhode Island, which had not then ratified the Constitution...(kinda seems fair). (4/x)

Okay, but the first Judiciary Act wasn't done with us yet. It then grouped 11 of these districts (all but the districts of Kentucky and Maine - ouch) into 3 circuits: the Eastern, Middle, and Southern. (5/x)

(And then don't worry - in 1790, North Carolina and Rhode Island got their districts, and the North Carolina District was placed in the Southern Circuit while the Rhode Island District was placed in the Eastern Circuit.) (6/x)

So you might be thinking, okay, all of this I vaguely knew or would have known if I had paid more attention in my fed courts class...but I came to this thread expecting to be dazzled by judicial administration...where are the jazz hands? Well, do I have a tidbit for you. (7/x)

As the great Russell Wheeler and Cynthia Harrison note in their history, "Creating the Federal Judicial System" for the FJC (I would sleep with it under my pillow if I could), "It seems axiomatic today that no district or circuit boundary should cross a state line..." (8/x)

*BUT IT ALMOST WASN'T THIS WAY* As Wheeler & Harrison note, in 1800, a "last-gasp Federalist bill to revamp the judicial system would have divided the US into 9 circuits and 29 districts, each with a distinctive name, and bearing no direct relation to state names or boundaries."

You're like, how distinctive are we talking about? "[I]n the northern part of what is now the 2d Circuit there would have been a district of Champlain, and in the western part of what is now the 4th would have been the district of Cumberland." (Of Cumberland!) *Jazz hands* (10/x)

Alas, this was not to be. Instead, as @steve_vladeck will tell you, in 1800 we get the infamous Judiciary Act of 1801 (aka the Midnight Judges Act). It did all kinds of things - including adding 6 districts (one of which was the "Albany District" split from the New York District)

And it expanded the 3 circuits to 6. Now we all know that we soon got the Repeal Act of 1802, but one provision of the 1801 Act that lives on - and survives to this day - is the renaming of the circuits from geographical designations (eg the "Eastern Circuit") to... (12/x)

...numerical designations (eg the "First Circuit"). There is much more to be said about the federal courts and their relationship with geography (giving a shout out to @proffontana right here), but I will end it there for now, with a final jazz hands to punctuate it! (13/13, fin)