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U.S. district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity. There is a United States bankruptcy court in each U.S. district court. There is at least one courthouse in each federal judicial district, and some large districts have more than one. The formal name of a district court is, for example, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

All United States district courts are named in the format "United States District Court for the XXXX District of XXXX," with the exception of the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

Other federal trial courts

There are other federal trial courts that have nationwide jurisdiction over certain types of cases, but the district court also has jurisdiction over most of those types of cases, and the district court is the only one with jurisdiction over criminal cases and the only one where a trial can be to a jury instead of just a judge. The Court of International Trade addresses cases involving international trade and customs issues. The United States Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over most claims for money damages against the United States, including disputes over federal contracts, unlawful takings of private property by the federal government, and suits for injury on federal property or by a federal employee. The United States Tax Court has jurisdiction over contested assessments of taxes.

U.S. district court judges

The number of judges in each district court (and the structure of the judicial system generally) is set by Congress, and the Senate has to approve each appointment of someone to be a judge; the President appoints all judges, so they virtually always belong to the same political party as the President. Judges are appointed for life, but a judge who has reached the age of 65 (or has become disabled) may retire or elect to go on "senior status" and keep working. Such "senior" judges are not counted in the quota of active judges for the district and do only whatever work they are assigned by the chief judge of the district, but they keep their offices (called "chambers") and staff, and many of them work full-time. A federal judge is addressed in writing as "The Honorable Jane Doe" or "Hon. Jane Doe" and in speech as "Judge" or "Judge Doe" or, in a courtroom, "Your Honor."

Jurisdiction

To file a civil case (that is, "sue someone") in federal district court, a person must have a reason why a federal court, instead of a state court, should adjudicate the dispute. By law, the bases for federal jurisdiction (the power to hear and decide a case) are:

• United States as a plaintiff;
• United States (or in certain cases a federal officer or employee) as a defendant;
• "Federal question," which means the complaint is based on a federal law (which may be the Constitution or a statute);
• "Admiralty" or "maritime" jurisidiction, which, very generally, applies to and governs disputes which arise out of acts occurring at sea or in other "navigable waters" within the United States.
• "Diversity of citizenship," which means the plaintiff, or person suing, and defendant (person being sued) live in different states and the "amount in controversy" is more than the statutory minimum, which is currently $75,000.00; and
• "Alienage", which is a variant of diversity of citizenship, wherein one party is a US citizen and the other is a foreign national who does not reside in any state - alien residents of the US are treated as citizens for purposes of diversity and alienage jurisdiction - and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00.

Thus, not every legal dispute can be litigated in federal court, hence the expression "make a federal case out of it."

Although in matters of civil law there are often parallel federal and state laws, providing an aggrieved party with a choice of venue, there are some matters which may only be adjudicated in the Federal courts; these include most intellectual property questions and matters related to international relations. In some situations, Federal law provides both for the exclusive jurisdiction of Federal courts and for the immunity of the defendant from the power of those courts. One example of this is patent-infringement claims against a state government: only the Federal courts may hear patent cases, but the states have sovereign immunity from such suits. Although a state may choose to waive its immunity in such a case and allow it to proceed to trial, if it does not do so, the plaintiff has no recourse. (This doctrine was reaffirmed in a pair of Supreme Court cases titled Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank.)

Appeals

A formal ruling by a district court in either a civil or a criminal case can be appealed to the United States court of appeals in the federal judicial circuit that court is in.

List of U.S. District Courts

1. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
2. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
3. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
4. U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
5. U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
6. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
7. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
8. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
9. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
10. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
11. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
12. U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
13. U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
14. U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
15. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
16. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
17. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
18. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
19. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
20. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
21. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
22. U.S. District Court for the District of Guam
23. U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
24. U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho
25. U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
26. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
27. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
28. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
29. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
30. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
31. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
32. U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
33. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
34. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
35. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
36. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
37. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
38. U.S. District Court for the District of Maine
39. U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
40. U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
41. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
42. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
43. U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
44. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
45. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
46. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
47. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
48. U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
49. U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska
50. U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
51. U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire
52. U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
53. U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
54. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
55. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
56. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
57. U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
58. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
59. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
60. U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
61. U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
62. U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
63. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
64. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
65. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
66. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
67. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
68. U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
69. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
70. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
71. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
72. U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
73. U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
74. U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
75. U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
76. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
77. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
78. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
79. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
80. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
81. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
82. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
83. U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
84. U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont
85. U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands
86. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
87. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
88. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
89. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
90. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
91. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
92. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
93. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
94. U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming

Extinct District Courts

These are generally courts which have been subdivided and therefore rendered extinct.

1. U.S. District Court for the District of Georgia
2. U.S. District Court for the District of Kentucky
3. U.S. District Court for the District of Michigan
4. U.S. District Court for the District of New York
5. U.S. District Court for the District of Pennsylvania