United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitJudiciary

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal appellate court authorized under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, headquartered at the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco. Its judicial mandate is to hear appeals from federal district courts within nine western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) as well as the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Created by Congress on March 3, 1891, under the Evarts Act (Judiciary Act of 1891), the Ninth Circuit is historically and presently the largest of the thirteen federal courts of appeals by both geographic coverage and authorized judicial seats (29 active judgeships).