There are 31 judicial circuits with a total of 120 separate circuit courts. There are 13 appellate courts that sit below the U.S. Supreme Court, and they are called the U.S. Courts of Appeals. There are 12 regional circuits in the federal system, and each one has a court of appeals. The smallest court is the First Circuit with six judgeships, and the largest court is the Ninth Circuit, with 29 judgeships. These Courts represent the first level of appeal from federal trial court decisions. There are 13 judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals. A list of the states that compose each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 41. The 94 federal judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a court of appeals.

The 94 federal district courts are broken up into groups, or circuits. Courts of Appeals. Their task is strictly to determine whether the law has been applied correctly in lower court cases.

There are 13 Courts of Appeals in the federal judicial system, 12 Circuit Courts of Appeals plus one Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that handles patent and other complex appeals from around the country. Each of these appeals courts is made up of three judges and no jury.