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United States federal judicial district

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For purposes of the federal judicial system, Congress has divided the United States into judicial districts. There is at least one district in each state, and many states are divided into more than one. Some districts are further divided into divisions, and some districts and some divisions have more than one place where the federal district court holds trials. The breakdown of what is in each judicial district is at 28 U.S.C. [§ 81] – 28 U.S.C. [§ 131].

Federal judicial districts have also been established in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Courts in other insular areas are territorial courts under Article I of the Constitution, not United States district courts, although they have similar jurisdiction.

Only two districts have jurisdiction over areas outside the state in which the court sits:

  1. The District of Wyoming includes all of Yellowstone National Park, including areas in Montana and Idaho.
  2. The District of Hawaii includes Midway Island, Palmyra Island, and a number of other uninhabited Pacific island possessions of the United States.
Each district has its own United States district court (with a bankruptcy court under its authority), including judges, clerks, court reporters, and other support personnel, all employed by the judicial branch of the government and overseen by the Administrative Office of the Courts in Washington, D.C. There is also a United States Attorney in each district, who acts as the federal government's lawyer in the district, both prosecuting federal criminal cases and defending the government (and its employees) in civil suits against them; the U.S. Attorney is not employed by the judicial branch but by the U.S. Department of Justice, part of the executive branch. There is also a Federal Public Defender who represents people charged with federal crimes who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers; some FPDs cover more than one judicial district. Each district also has a United States Marshal who serves the court system.

The federal judicial districts and the places where the court "sits" (= holds trial) in each district are (places denoted in bold are those where the permanent headquarters of such court are located):

 

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