The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in
case citation
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case c ...
s, 5th Cir.) is a
federal court with
appellate jurisdiction over the
district courts in the following
federal judicial districts:
*
Eastern District of Louisiana
*
Middle District of Louisiana
*
Western District of Louisiana
*
Northern District of Mississippi
*
Southern District of Mississippi
*
Eastern District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed t ...
*
Northern District of Texas
*
Southern District of Texas
*
Western District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has ju ...
The Fifth Circuit has 17 active judgeships, and is headquartered at the
John Minor Wisdom United States Court of Appeals Building in
, with the clerk's office located at the
F. Edward Hebert Federal Building in New Orleans.
Originally, the Fifth Circuit also included the federal district courts in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. In 1981, the district courts for those states were transferred to the newly created
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
History of the court
This court was created by the
Evarts Act
The Judiciary Act of 1891 ({{USStat, 26, 826), also known as the Evarts Act after its primary sponsor, Senator William M. Evarts, created the United States courts of appeals and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district ...
on June 16, 1891, which moved the circuit judges and appellate jurisdiction from the Circuit Courts of the Fifth Circuit to this court. At the time of its creation, the Fifth Circuit covered
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
.
On June 25, 1948, the
Panama Canal Zone was added to the Fifth Circuit by 62 Stat. 870. The Fifth Circuit gained appellate jurisdiction over the
United States District Court for the Canal Zone.
On October 1, 1981, under , the Fifth Circuit was split: Alabama, Georgia, and Florida were moved to the new
Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts:
* Middle District of Alabama
* Northern District of Alabama
* ...
.
On March 31, 1982, the Fifth Circuit lost jurisdiction over the Panama Canal Zone, which was transferred to Panamanian control.
The Fifth Circuit Four
During the late 1950s, Chief Judge
Elbert Tuttle
Elbert Parr Tuttle (July 17, 1897 – June 23, 1996) was the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1960 to 1967, when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advanc ...
and three of his colleagues (
John Minor Wisdom
John Minor Wisdom (May 17, 1905 – May 15, 1999), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a Republican from Louisiana, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during the 1950s and 1960s, when t ...
,
John Brown, and
Richard Rives) became known as the "
Fifth Circuit Four", or simply "The Four", for decisions crucial in advancing the
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s. In this, they were usually opposed by their fellow Fifth Circuit Judge,
Benjamin F. Cameron of Mississippi, until his death in 1964.
That Fascinating and Frenetic Fifth
" Time Magazine, 1964-12-04.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on August 29, 2005, devastating the city and slightly damaging the John Minor Wisdom Courthouse. All deadlines concerning filings were extended. The court temporarily relocated its administrative operations to Houston, and returned to normal operations in New Orleans in March 2007.
Current composition of the court
:
Vacancies and pending nominations
List of former judges
Chief judges
Succession of seats
See also
* Courts of Louisiana
Courts of Louisiana include:
;State courts of Louisiana
*Louisiana Supreme Court
**Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal (5 circuits)
*** Louisiana District Courts (42 districts)
;
;Federal courts located in Louisiana
*United States Court of Appe ...
* Courts of Mississippi
* Courts of Texas
* Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts#Fifth Circuit
* List of current United States Circuit Judges
References
*
External links
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Recent Fifth Circuit opinions from FindLaw
Criminal law opinions from the Fifth Circuit
Business litigation opinions from the Fifth Circuit
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
New Orleans
1891 establishments in the United States
Courts and tribunals established in 1891