Who is in the mood for some light-hearted judicial administration this evening? Well then. I give you something on one of my favorite topics – *where* the federal courts of appeals hear cases… (1 / 10)

You might not have given much thought to where the courts of appeals hold argument. Some simply seem obvious – the DC Circuit hears cases in DC! The 1st Circuit hears cases in Boston! But it turns out that it’s a little more complicated (and far more interesting) than that…(2)

First, did you know that the circuits are *required* to hold court in some places by statute?! That’s right – 28 U.S. Code sec. 48 provides the “terms of court,” which include where the courts of appeals “shall hold regular sessions.” (Mind-blowing, right?) (3/10)

Some seem obvious (again, the DC Circuit hears cases in DC). Some are less so. The 4th Circuit hears cases in Richmond…and Asheville ? The 11th Circuit in Atlanta…Jacksonville and Montgomery (but not Miami )? (4/10)

It’s also super interesting that some have only 1 location (the 2d Cir has New York , the 6th has Cincinnati, the 7th has Chicago ) but others have far more (the 5th has New Orleans, Forth Worth, and Jackson, the 8th has St. Louis, Kanasas City, Omaha, and St. Paul) (5/10)

But 2nd, did you know that the courts of appeals sometimes hold sittings outside of these locations…like at law schools?! That’s right! The DC Circuit has heard argument in all the DC law schools, the 1st heard argument not long ago at Roger Williams and the U of Maine…(6/10)

The 4th Circuit has visited the @Charleston_Law, @UVALaw, @unc_law, and @DukeLaw - the list goes on and on! (7/10)

Now in addition to being the perfect tidbit to share at a cocktail party , knowing where courts sit brings us to interesting normative questions: When there are special sittings, should we draw the judges from that part of the circuit? Should the cases be from that state? (8)

Are there any biases to worry about? If so, how do we weigh them against, say, saving the parties (and judges!) the cost of traveling out of state? How do we balance having judges out of the courtroom (with all its pomp) and giving law students access to argument? (9/10)

I plan to delve into these questions more in a paper (which I hope @proffontana will write with me). In the meantime, I will end with this – the next time a case comes down, in addition to thinking about what it decides, you can think of *where* it was decided….(10/10 - fin!)