The courts
court of appeals
The intermediate federal appellate court. Thirteen circuits review district court decisions in three-judge panels, on the record, without new evidence.
In full
Eleven numbered circuits cover regions, the D.C. Circuit hears much of the challenge to federal agency action, and the Federal Circuit takes patent and certain claims cases nationwide. A circuit's published decisions bind every district court within it, so the same federal statute can mean different things in different parts of the country until the Supreme Court resolves the split.
Also written as: circuit court
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.