In the United States, circuit riding was the practice of a judge, sometimes referred to as a circuit rider, traveling to a judicial district (referred to as a circuit) to preside over court cases there.
A defining feature of American federal courts for over a century after the founding of the United States, circuit riding has since been mostly abolished. The term, however, lives on in the name "
circuit court", a colloquialism commonly used to refer to the
United States courts of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals f ...
.
History
Shortly after the ratification of the
United States Constitution in 1788,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
passed the
Judiciary Act of 1789, creating the
U.S. circuit courts. These circuit courts did not have appointed judges; rather, two
Supreme Court Justices and the state district judge would preside over cases. This created the practice of circuit riding, wherein Supreme Court justices would travel to designated meeting places in their assigned circuit to hear cases.
Circuit riding in the early United States was often an arduous process, requiring long travel on horseback or carriage over harsh terrain, months-long extended stays away from home, and difficulties in acquiring lodging (Congress did not provide accommodations).
Circuit riding temporarily ceased in 1801, when the
Federalist majority in Congress established new circuit courts that were staffed with Federalist-appointed judges. The next year this reorganization was repealed, and circuit riding resumed under the original circuit court structure. In 1891, Congress passed the
Judiciary Act of 1891
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 ...
, creating the
United States courts of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals f ...
, which assumed most of the routine functions of the circuit courts, significantly curtailing the need for circuit riding. The circuit courts continued to exist (in significantly reduced form) until January 1, 1912, when Congress abolished them under the
Judicial Code of 1911, eliminating the practice of circuit riding.
See also
*
Assizes — a type of judicial courts, to which circuit riding often applied
*
Itinerant court
An itinerant court was a migratory form of government, common in European kingdoms in the Early Middle Ages.
It was an alternative to having a capital city, a permanent political centre from which a kingdom is governed. Especially medieval Wester ...
— older, similar concept for royalty and governments
References
Courts
Types of travel
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