UNITED STATES COURTS. Except in the case of impeachments the judicial power of the United States is vested by the con stitution iu a supreme court and such other inferior courts as may be from time to time established by congress.. All the judges are appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the senate, to hold office dur ing good behavior, and their compensation cannot be diminished during their terms of office. The juuges, other than those of the supreme court, are circuit judges and dis trict judges. The circuit judges compose the circuit courts of appeals and the district judges hold the district courts, and also at times sit in the circuit courts of appeal. See infra. For a detailed statement of the terri torial boundaries of the several districts and divisions of districts, see the Judicial Code of March 3, 1911, oh. 5 ; U. S. Comp. St. 1911, p. 156; and various special acts.
Except in a few cases especially provided for, there is a district judge for each district, of which he must be a resident. In Barrett v. U. S., 169 U. S. 218, 18 Sup. Ct. 327, 42 L. Ed. 723, Fuller, C. J., reviews the legisla tion creating the judicial districts of the United States from the commencement of the government up to that date, 1898. The districts are grouped into nine circuits as follows: 1. Maine, New Hampshire, Massa chusetts, Rhode Island. 2. Vermont,'Connec tient, New York. 3. Pennsylvania, New Jer sey, Delaware. 4. Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina. 5. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Lou isiana, Texas (and including appeals from the Canal Zone). 6. Kentucky, Ohio, Michi gan, Tennessee. 7. Indiana, Illinois, Wis consin. 8. Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyo ming, Utah, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ar kansas, New Mexico. 9. California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Ari zona, Hawaii, and Alaska, to which also the United States court in China is assigned for the purpose of appeals. There are four cir cuit judges in the second, seventh, and eighth, two in the fourth circuit, and three in each of the other circuits. They receive a
salary of $7,000 a year, each, and must re side in the circuit. One member of the Su preme Court is allotted to each circuit by order of the supreme court; he is known as the circuit justice, and is competent to sit in the Circuit Court of Appeals of that circuit. When be does, so, he shall preside. He haS no distinct commission as circuit judge, and none is required; Stuart v. Laird, 1 Cra. (U. S.) 308, 2 L. Ed. 115.
The judicial power under the constitution (art. III, § 2) shall extend to: 1. Cases in law and equity arising under the federal constitution, laws, or treaties. 2. Those af fecting ambassadors and other public minis ters and consuls. 3. Admiralty and mari time cases. 4. Controversies to which the United States is a party. 5. Those between two or more states. 6. Or between a state and citizens of another state. (By the 11th amendment this grant of power was so lim ited as not .to permit a state to be sued by citizens of another state, but a state may sue citizens of another state.) 7. Or between citi zens, of different states. 8. Or between citi zens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states. 9. Or between a state or its citizens and foreign states, citi zens, or subjects.
This article, conferring jurisdiction on the federal courts, "imports an absolute grant of judicial power"; Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 1 Wheat. (U. S.) 331, 4 L. Ed. 97.
The nature of the federal government which distributes the functions of govern ment between two powers, each being sover eign within its sphere, but operating within the same territorial jurisdiction and upon the same persons and property, makes neces sary the adjustment of two classes of inde pendent tribunals with great care, both in legislation and the administration of justice, to avoid conflicts of jurisdiction. That such have occurred is true, but their rare occur rence in more than a century bears testi mony as well to the tact and discretion of the judiciary, federal and state, as to the perfection of the system which they admin ister under the constitution.