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• 

  Supreme Court's October term 2016

  Check out this term's cases.

• 

  Supreme Court vacancy 2017

  Read more about the Supreme Court nomination.

• 

  Judicial vacancies during President Trump's first term

  Check out our analysis of how many court vacancies President Trump could fill in his first term.

History of the federal courts

The only court created by Article III of the United States Constitution was the Supreme Court of the United States. "Inferior courts," per Article III, were created by the United States Congress, starting with the Judiciary Act of 1789. For an overview of how the structure and jurisdiction of the federal courts have changed since inception, see United States court reorganization legislation.

Types of federal courts

• The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the nation and leads the judicial branch of the federal government.
• The United States Courts of Appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the nation. There are thirteen of these courts.
• The United States District Courts are the trial courts of the federal courts. This level of court is composed of ninety-four different courts.
• The United States Bankruptcy Courts handle matters of bankruptcy across the nation. Courts correspond with the jurisdiction of the United States District Courts.
• There are seven courts of subject-matter jurisdiction in the federal court system. For a summary of these courts, see Federal subject-matter jurisdiction courts.

Federal Circuit Courts by District

For more details about the courts, click on the relevant district in the map.

Supreme Court cases
October 2016 term

January sitting

January 9, 2017

• Nelson v. Colorado
• Lewis v. Clarke

January 10, 2017

• Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman
• Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. v. Haeger

January 11, 2017

• Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District

January 17, 2017

• Lynch v. Dimaya
• Midland Funding v. Johnson

January 18, 2017

• Lee v. Tam
• Ziglar v. Abbasi/Ashcroft v. Abbasi/Hasty v. Abbasi (consolidated)

February sitting

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

• Hernandez v. Mesa
• McLane Company v. EEOC

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

• Kindred Nursing Centers v. Clark

Monday, February 27, 2017

• Packingham v. North Carolina
• Esquivel-Santana v. Sessions

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

• Dean v. United States

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

• Coventry Health Care of Missouri v. Nevils

News headlines

• Supreme Court vacancy, 2017: An overview, Jan 30, 2017
• The Federal Vacancy Count 1/25/2017, Jan 25, 2017
• Federal Vacancy Warning System, Jan 20, 2011

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