How many judges hear each case in US District Court?

Answer 1

Only one. The US District Courts are the trial courts for cases of general jurisdiction in the federal court system. Cases are either tried by jury (jury trial) or by a single judge (bench trial).

Answer 2

Under most circumstances, appeals in the "intermediate appellate courts," such as the US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts or the State Appellate Courts, impanel three judges to review each case on appeal. The judges rotate and are assigned cases randomly, so they don't work with the same colleagues each time.

In the federal court system, important Circuit cases are sometimes heard en banc, meaning heard by all the judges of that particular Circuit (the number of judges in each Circuit varies; there may be seven to eleven judges sitting en banc).

Answer 3

According to the 2009 Annual Report of the Director for Judicial Business of the US Courts, there are 678 authorized seats for judges in the US District Courts; there are also an addition 523 full-time magistrates who are hired by the District Court judges to serve eight-year terms.

District Court Judges

US District Courts (judges)......................678

US District Courts (magistrates)*.............523 FT/48 PT = 24 FTE

Approximate total...............................1,201

* Magistrates occupy a lower judicial role than judges in US District Courts. District Court Judges appoint magistrates to eight-year terms; they do not hold lifetime appointments like other Article III judges.

US District Courts have one judge per case.

General Information

US District Courts are the point of entry to the federal judicial system for most cases of general jurisdiction. The District Courts are trial courts, meaning the judge or jury act as "triers of fact." They review evidence and listen to testimony and arguments in a criminal or civil trial in an attempt to determine whether the prosecution (or plaintiff) has proven his or her case to the degree required by the type of trial being heard. In criminal cases, the prosecution must convince the judge or jury that the evidence proves guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." The standard of proof is lower in a civil case, where the plaintiff is only required to demonstrate that the accusation is "more likely than not."

Answer 4

The US District Courts have only one judge for each case. Under the Sixth Amendment, a defendant has the right to request a jury trial in criminal cases where the penalty may include six months or more incarceration.

Under the Seventh Amendment, federal courts also provide for trial by jury in certain civil cases, as outlined in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Answer 5

US District Courts are the general jurisdiction trial courts of the federal judiciary. They have only one judge presiding over each case.