Also known as: circuits · circuit court · judicial circuit · circuitry
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial division in which hearings occur at several locations, as a result of which judges often travel to different locations. One of the thirteen regional divisions of the United States courts of appeals into which the country is organized for appellate review.
Connor Clark faced trial on charges involving a minor victim. The circuit court permitted the child's testimony via one-way closed-circuit television after finding trauma would result from in-person appearance. The reviewing court upheld the procedure because oath, cross-examination, and demeanor observation preserved reliability.
Cobalt Energy sued a manufacturer after its device injured a patient. The Eleventh Circuit applied the learned intermediary doctrine and held that the duty to warn ran only to the prescribing physician. The plaintiff failed to show that a better warning would have changed the physician's decision.
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Clifford Cox sued Erie Railroad after suffering injuries on its tracks in Pennsylvania. The circuit court applied general common law rather than Pennsylvania decisions. The Supreme Court later required federal courts to follow state substantive law in diversity cases.
Charlotte Chung and her spouse sought recognition of their out-of-state marriage in a state that prohibited same-sex unions. The circuit court upheld the state ban. The Supreme Court reversed, requiring every state to license and recognize such marriages under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Caleb Chang offered expert evidence linking a drug to birth defects. The circuit court applied the Frye general-acceptance test and excluded the testimony. The Supreme Court replaced that standard with a reliability inquiry under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
Christine Castro received a signed commission as justice of the peace but the Secretary of State refused delivery. The circuit court initially considered the mandamus petition. The Supreme Court established that federal courts may review executive refusals to perform legal duties.
Thirteen regional circuits comprise the United States courts of appeals. Each circuit hears appeals from the district courts located within its geographic boundaries.
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A case reaches a particular circuit when an appeal is taken from a district court decision within that circuit's geographic area. The circuit court then applies the law of the states within its region and federal law to review the lower court ruling.
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Circuit judges sit in several cities within their division so that litigants need not travel to a single central courthouse. This arrangement allows the court to conduct hearings at different locations throughout the circuit.
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…view is not novel. In 1792 an act directing the Secretary at War to place on the pension list disabled officers reported by the circuit courts was deemed unconstitutional so far as it imposed duties on the courts, and after a repeal Congress provided a different mode and enacted that the Secretary of War in conjunction with…