United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is the federal appellate court that hears appeals from decisions of the federal trial courts, called district courts, in its fifteen judicial districts across the western United States and two Pacific island jurisdictions, along with appeals from certain federal agencies. Most appeals are heard by a panel of three judges. In some cases the court rehears a matter en banc, with eleven judges led by the Chief Judge. It has twenty-nine authorized judgeships and four main courthouses, in Pasadena, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, and it also sits in other federal courthouses and at law schools around the circuit. The Clerk's Office, which files and maintains court documents and handles the administrative work of processing cases, has its main office in San Francisco, in the James R. Browning Courthouse.