28 U.S.C. § 41: Number and composition of circuits

The thirteen judicial circuits of the United States are constituted as follows: Circuits Composition District of Columbia District of Columbia. First Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island. Second Connecticut, New York, Vermont. Third Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virgin Islands. Fourth Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia. Fifth District of the Canal Zone, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas. Sixth Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee. Seventh Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin. Eighth Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota. Ninth Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, Hawaii. Tenth Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming. Eleventh Alabama, Florida, Georgia. Federal All Federal judicial districts. is in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas is assigned as a circuit judge of the new fifth circuit; and is in Alabama, Florida, or Georgia is assigned as a circuit judge of the eleventh circuit. Each judge who is a senior judge of the former fifth circuit on the day before the effective date of this Act [ Oct. 1, 1981 ] may elect to be assigned to the new fifth circuit or to the eleventh circuit and shall notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts of such election. who is assigned under section 5 of this Act; or who elects to be assigned under section 6 of this Act; The eleventh circuit is authorized to hold terms or sessions of court at New Orleans, Louisiana, until such time as adequate facilities for such court are provided in Atlanta, Georgia. If the matter has been submitted for decision, further proceedings in respect of the matter shall be had in the same manner and with the same effect as if this Act [amending sections 41, 44, and 48 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] had not been enacted. If the matter has not been submitted for decision, the appeal or proceeding, together with the original papers, printed records, and record entries duly certified, shall, by appropriate orders, be transferred to the court to which it would have gone had this Act been in full force and effect at the time such appeal was taken or other proceeding commenced, and further proceedings in respect of the case shall be had in the same manner and with the same effect as if the appeal or other proceeding had been filed in such court. A petition for rehearing or a petition for rehearing en banc in a matter decided before the effective date of this Act [ Oct. 1, 1981 ], or submitted before the effective date of this Act and decided on or after the effective date as provided in paragraph (1) of this section, shall be treated in the same manner and with the same effect as though this Act had not been enacted. If a petition for rehearing en banc is granted, the matter shall be reheard by a court comprised as though this Act had not been enacted. ‘former fifth circuit’ means the fifth judicial circuit of the United States as in existence on the day before the effective date of this Act [ Oct. 1, 1981 ]; the term ‘new fifth circuit’ means the fifth judicial circuit of the United States established by the amendment made by section 2(2) of this Act [amending item relating to the fifth circuit in this section]; and the term ‘eleventh circuit’ means the eleventh judicial circuit of the United States established by the amendment made by section 2(3) of this Act [adding item relating to the eleventh circuit in this section].”