Site Content

The Judicial Branch is a separate and equal branch of the federal government. Its primary role is to ensure that laws and actions of the other two branches do not violate the Constitution. It also resolves disputes regarding federal laws.

The Fiscal Year 2022 requested budget for the Judicial Branch is $8.1B in discretionary funding and $756.5M in Mandatory appropriations for a total FY 2022 budget of $8.856B

The Supreme Court of the United States is composed of nine justices who were nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The purpose of the court is to provide a check on the powers of the Executive and Legislative branches, by ensuring that any executive actions or legislation are not in violation of the US Constitution.

There are 13 Appeals Courts organized to hear challenges to U.S. District Court decisions. The Court of Appeals takes up challenges to U.S. District Court decisions.

*Map of Circuits, judges, docket for each circuit

There are 94 courts in the U.S. District Court system. Each state has at least one. Washington DC and Puerto Rico each have one District Court. Three U.S. Territories (Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) each have one Territorial Court. District Court justices are appointed with lifetime tenure, while Territorial Court justices serve 10-year terms.

*Map of federal court districts, judges, salaries, budget, number of judges