United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit

This page is about a former federal court. For a list of active courts, see: United States federal courts.

The United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit were a collection of circuit courts, united inasmuch as they all had the same Supreme Court justice serving on their bench. From 1802-1869, that was the only thing uniting these courts. From 1869-1891, as per the Judiciary Act of 1869, each of the nine circuits then in existence had a judge appointed to it to hear the cases of the various circuit courts, in conjunction with the district court judges and the Supreme Court justice assigned to that circuit. From 1891-1911, as per the Evarts Act of 1891 which first established the present system of circuit courts of appeals, a fourth tier of federal courts was instituted, and the circuit courts became less and less important. They were finally abolished by the Judicial Code of 1911.

Judiciary Act of 1801

The Judiciary Act of 1801 was the first time when numbered circuits were instituted. This act drastically altered the federal judiciary, but numbered circuits were one of few provisions of the act which remained after the repeal of the act and the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1802. Under the 1801 act, the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit (1801-1802) had three judges appointed to it, and they heard appeals from the Districts of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.

Judges, 1801-1802

There were three judges appointed to the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit from 1801 to its abolition in 1802.

• Egbert Benson
• Samuel Hitchcock
• Oliver Wolcott

Judiciary Act of 1802

Under this act, the system of six numbered circuits was retained, but the sixteen judges who had been appointed under the Judiciary Act of 1801 were all out of a job, and the circuit courts were again to be held by the district judge of the district corresponding to the circuit, the Supreme Court justice assigned to ride the circuit, or both. For example, a case in the Circuit Court for the District of New York could be heard by the judge of the District Court for the District of New York or by the Supreme Court justice assigned to ride the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit.

Judiciary Act of 1869

An act passed in 1869 provided for each of the nine circuits then in existence to have a circuit judge appointed to it. It is commonly held that the practice of circuit-riding fell into disuse some years before the passage of this act, but this act was the first legislation which spelled the beginning of the end of the circuit-riding era. Technically, even under this act, Supreme Court justices still had a circuit-riding responsibility, but it was often not practiced, especially by those Supreme Court justices assigned to remote circuits, and most of the circuit court rulings in this era came from the circuit court judge appointed to each district as per the act of 1869, and/or the district court judge of each respective district.

Evarts Act of 1891

22 years later, the Evarts Act added a 4th tier to the federal judiciary by establishing courts of appeals in each circuit. As part of this act, the circuit court judges who had been appointed under the act of 1869 were reassigned to their respective courts of appeals. For example, in the second circuit, Emile Henry Lacombe and William James Wallace, who were the judges of the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit in 1891, were reassigned to the new United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, becoming the first judges of that court. Under this act, as under the Judiciary Act of 1802, the circuit courts in each district were held by the district judge of that district or the Supreme Court justice assigned to ride that circuit. All appellate jurisdiction which had previously belonged to the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit now belonged to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, but the circuit courts retained the same original jurisdiction which was first given to them by the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Judicial Code of 1911

The Judicial Code of 1911 abolished the entire circuit court system. The limited jurisdiction which the circuit courts had retained under the Evarts Act was transferred to the district courts. For the first time, America had three completely distinct tiers in the federal judiciary; all cases started in the district courts, and the appeals proceeded through the courts of appeals to the Supreme Court.

Judges of the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit

The 22 years from 1869-1891 was the only period during which the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit had a judge appointed exclusively to serve them. Five judges, as follows, served the second circuit during that period:

• Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff (1869-1875)
• Alexander Smith Johnson (1875-1878)
• Samuel Blatchford (1878-1882)
• William James Wallace (1882-1891)
• Emile Henry Lacombe (1887-1891)

Constituent Circuits of the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit

As has been explained to some extent above, Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit is a designation referring to the federal judicial circuits in several states. The following circuits, then, comprised the Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit, each during the years in parentheses:

• United States Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut (1802-1911)
• United States Circuit Court for the District of New York (1802-1814)
• United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of New York (1865-1911)
• United States Circuit Court for the Northern District of New York (1837-1911)
• United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York (1814-1911)
• United States Circuit Court for the Western District of New York (1900-1911)
• United States Circuit Court for the District of Vermont (1802-1911)