The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

over the district courts in the following

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

: * District of Maine *

District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The first court session was hel ...

* District of New Hampshire *

District of Puerto Rico The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.; es, Tribunal del Distrito de Puerto Rico) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is b ...

District of Rhode Island The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the ...

The court is based at the

John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, located on Fan Pier on the Boston, Mass ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, where the court usually sits for one week most months of the year; in one of July or August, it takes a summer break and does not sit. The First Circuit also sits for one week each March and November at the

Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse The Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse is a historic post office and courthouse located at Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is a courthouse for the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. It is also th ...

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios ( ...

, and occasionally sits at other locations within the circuit. With six active judges and four active senior judges, the First Circuit has the fewest judges of any of the thirteen United States courts of appeals. Since retiring from the United States Supreme Court, Associate Justice David Souter regularly sits on the First Circuit by designation.

Current composition of the court

Vacancies and pending nominations

List of former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

Notable decisions

*''

West v. Randall ''West v. Randall'' (29 F. Cas. 718 (R.I. 1820)) is one of the earliest class action lawsuits cases in the early United States under federal case law in which one individual was allowed to sue on behalf of a larger group. The decision was written ...

'' (1820), one of the first decisions setting precedent for class action suits

References

;Specific ;General :*

External links

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Recent opinions from Findlaw

First Circuit Court Records Finder
* {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit 1891 establishments in the United States Courts and tribunals established in 1891