History of Federal Judgeships

The History of Federal Judgeships focuses on appellate and district court judgeships, but also includes historical information on authorized judgeships for all courts and judgeship appointments by president since 1933. With the exception of judgeship appointments by president, information on this site changes infrequently. When changes do occur, the appropriate sections are updated.

Courts of Appeals
Authorized Judgeships (pdf)
Chronological History

District Courts
Authorized Judgeships (pdf)
Chronological History

Judgeships and Appointments
Authorized Judgeships (pdf)
Judgeship Appointments by President (pdf)

Source: U.S. Courts
http://www.uscourts.gov/history/contents.html

See also Gibson, James L. and Caldeira, Gregory A., "Knowing About Courts" (June 20, 2007).

In the abstract for this article, the author states: "Conventional wisdom holds that the American people are woefully ignorant about law and courts. In light of this ignorance, many question whether the public should play a role in the judicial process, as in whether legal actors should be accountable to the majority....The purpose of this paper is to revisit the question of how knowledgeable the American people are about the United States Supreme Court....[P]aying attention to courts not only provides citizens information, but it also exposes them to the powerful symbols of judicial legitimacy."