Definition

1. Noun:
   • A federal appellate court in the United States: A "circuit court of appeals" is one of the thirteen intermediate appellate courts in the federal judiciary of the United States. Each court hears appeals from the district courts located within its designated geographic area, known as a "circuit."

Usage

• The term is used as a proper noun to refer to a specific court within the U.S. federal judicial system.
• It is often preceded by the number or name of the specific circuit (e.g., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The case was appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • A ruling from a circuit court of appeals can be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Advanced Usage

• "to sit on a circuit court of appeals": To serve as a judge for one of these courts.
  • After her confirmation, she will sit on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Variants and Related Words

• Circuit Court: In some contexts, this can be a historical or state-level trial court, but in the federal system, it is synonymous with "circuit court of appeals."
• Court of Appeals: A more general term for an appellate court; in the U.S. federal context, it is often used interchangeably with "circuit court of appeals."
• Federal Circuit Court of Appeals: A specific reference to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which has nationwide jurisdiction over specific types of cases (e.g., patent law), rather than a geographic circuit.

Synonyms

• Appellate court: A court that hears appeals from lower courts.
• Federal court of appeals: A more descriptive synonym emphasizing its federal jurisdiction.

Related Phrases

• "to appeal to a circuit court": To take a case from a district court to a circuit court of appeals for review.
  • The defendant decided to appeal to the circuit court.
• "circuit split": A situation where different circuit courts of appeals have issued conflicting rulings on the same legal issue.
  • The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case to resolve the circuit split.

Noun

1. one of the twelve federal United States courts of appeals that cover a group of states known as a `circuit'