The United States Circuit Court of Appeals.

93

65. Organization and general jurisdiction. This court was organized to relieve the Supreme Court of the United States of the great pressure of business which had accumulated before that tribunal, and its object was to divide or distribute the appellate power between the Supreme Court and the circuit court of appeals. This was accomplished by the Act of March 3, 1891.92 All the practice provisions of this act were codified in the Judicial Code of 1911.9 The court is held by three circuit judges, by two circuit judges and one district judge, or by one circuit judge and two district judges. Its decisions are reported in the Federal Reporter and the Circuit Court of Appeals Reports. There are nine of these courts, one in each circuit. The Act of 1891 abolished the appellate jurisdiction of the then existing circuit court, and transferred that power of review partly to the court of appeals and partly to the Supreme Court. No district judge or circuit judge who has taken part in the trial in the court below can sit in the court of appeals in that particular case. This court has no original jurisdiction. It may, however, issue writs of mandamus, prohibition, and other writs whenever necessary in the exercise of its appellate powers. It cannot issue a writ of certiorari or habeas corpus as an original or independent proceeding where no appeal or writ of error in the case has been taken.95

94

92 26 Stats. at Large, p. 826; 4 Fed. Stats. Ann. 395.

93 Judicial Code, §§ 116-135.

94 McClellan v. Carland, 217 U. S. 268, 30 Sup. Ct. 501, 54 L. Ed. 762. 95 Whitney v. Dick, 202 U. S. 132, 26 Sup. Ct. 584, 50 L. Ed. 963.

66. Review over district courts.-Substantially every case decided by the district courts, including the district courts for Hawaii, Alaska, and the United States court for China, without regard to the amount in controversy, is subject to review by appeal, writ of error, or in some other form, by the circuit court of appeals." The court of appeals also has the power in any case pending before it or in which it has rendered a decision to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus, and scire facias (order to show cause) for the purpose of aiding or enforcing its appellate power." There are a few cases, however, in the district courts over which the power of review is given entirely to the Supreme Court. This is true of final decrees in prize cases and cases which turn exclusively upon the question of jurisdiction, constitutional law, or the construction or enforcement of a treaty. If no other question is involved the only appellate power is in the Supreme Court, and the circuit court of appeals has no jurisdiction whatever; but if other questions relating to the merits of the case are also determined along with such jurisdictional, constitutional, or treaty questions, then an appeal or writ of error will lie to the circuit court of appeals, whose duty it then is to decide the whole case, including the questions last referred to.98 In such cases the court of appeals may certify such constitutional, treaty, or jurisdictional questions to the Supreme Court, or may go

96 Judicial Code, §§ 128-131, 134.

97 Judicial Code, § 262.

98 United States v. Jahn, 155 U. S. 109, 15 Sup. Ct. 39, 39 L. Ed. 87; MacFadden v. United States, 213 U. S. 288, 29 Sup. Ct. 490, 53 L. Ed. 801.

on and decide the whole case, including such special questions."9

Review of habeas corpus cases. If a habeas corpus proceeding involves a question of jurisdiction or of constitutional or treaty law, not involved with other questions also at the same time decided, the right of review is wholly in the Supreme Court of the United States, and not in the court of appeals. Thus, if the habeas corpus is issued on the ground that the prisoner is detained without due process of law an appeal can only be heard in the Supreme Court.2

In the case of Tucker v. Alexandroff3 the question of the construction of a treaty with Russia was involved, and the case instead of being taken to the Supreme Court was carried to the circuit court of appeals, and its ruling reversed on a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court. Whenever a petitioner in habeas corpus alleges that his imprisonment is in violation of the federal Constitution an appeal lies directly to the Supreme Court.*

67. When decision final and when not.—In the case of decisions made final by the court of appeals act, no further review can be had as a matter of right, but the defeated party may always petition the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. On the other hand, in cases not made final a writ of error or appeal lies to the Supreme Court within one year

99 American Sugar Refining Co. v. New Orleans, 181 U. S. 277, 21 Sup. Ct. 646, 45 L. Ed. 859.

1 Ex parte Lennon, 150 U. S. 393, 14 Sup. Ct. 123, 37 L. Ed. 1120.

2 Same.

3 183 U. S. 424, 22 Sup. Ct. 195, 46 L. Ed. 264.

4 Dimmick v. Tompkins, 194 U. S. 540, 24 Sup. Ct. 780, 48 L. Ed. 1110.

after final judgment, if the case involves $1,000 or more. The decisions of this court are made final in all cases where the jurisdiction is dependent entirely on diverse citizenship, cases between aliens and citizens, and patent, copyright, internal revenue, tariff, postal, criminal, and admiralty cases. In other cases the decision is not final, and is subject to review in the Supreme Court, as already stated." If the jurisdiction of the district court under review in the court of appeals was invoked not only upon diverse citizenship or alienage and citizenship, but also on the ground of a federal question, the decision is not final.R

68. Appeals from injunction and receiver orders. -If a preliminary injunction in an equity case in the district court is granted, continued, refused, or dissolved, or an application to dissolve is refused, or an order appointing a receiver is made, an appeal may be taken to the court of appeals within thirty days, and the appellate court may either confine its attention to the propriety of granting or refusing the order appealed from, or decide the whole merits of the case in its discretion."

69. Review over territorial courts.-It was provided by § 15 of the Appellate Courts Act of March 3, 1891, that the circuit court of appeals should have the same power of review over the judgments, orders,

8

5 Judicial Code, § 128.

Bagley v. General Fire Extinguisher Co., 212 U. S. 477, 29 Sup. Ct. 341, 53 L. Ed. 605.

7 Judicial Code, § 129; Chapman v. Yellow Poplar Lumber Co., 143 Fed. 201, 74 C. C. A. 331.

8 26 Stats. at Large, p. 830.

and decrees of the supreme courts of the territories as they have over the judgments of the district courts. The only territory now existing having a supreme court is Hawaii, from whose supreme court writs of error and appeals lie directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. § 15 of the Appellate Courts Act has not been expressly repealed, but seems to be impliedly superseded by the Judicial Code.

70. Review of proceedings in bankruptcy.-The court of appeals may entertain an appeal from the bankruptcy court in case of a judgment adjudging or refusing to adjudge the defendant a bankrupt, from a judgment granting or denying a discharge, and from a judgment allowing or rejecting a debt or claim of $500 or over. A like appeal lies to the Supreme Court of Hawaii from the court of bankruptcy there sitting. Appeal must be taken within ten days after judgment.10 This is the appellate, as distinguished from the revisory, power.

Supervisory jurisdiction in bankruptcy. Any person aggrieved by a ruling on a matter of law arising in a bankruptcy proceeding may file a petition in the proper circuit court of appeals, asking for a revision and correction of the matter. The court of appeals thereupon directs what notice shall be given the adverse parties, and what portion of the record in the bankruptcy court shall be certified to it for examination. The bankrupt act does not limit the time within which such petition is to be filed, but it

9 Judicial Code, § 246.

10 Bankruptcy Act, § 25a.