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(Not American) What does 9th circuit or some circuit court mean? It some name of a specific court, just not the place name? Or is it special kind of court an

(Not American) What does 9th circuit or some circuit court mean? It some name of a specific court, just not the place name? Or is it special kind of court and “9” is some sort of level? Importance or hierarchy related? Escalation level? (Assuming your SC eventually is also at the top like in India)

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mayneack 1mo ago
9th is a region (includes California) circuit is a level (appeals court right below Supreme)
thoughtpeddler 1mo ago
From my hazy recollection from law school, the US appeals courts are called "circuits" because back in the day, they weren't actual buildings but rather judges that would go around town-to-town within their jurisdiction in a horse-drawn carriage 'in a circuit' (that corresponded to a certain geographic area). The name just stuck even after they were permanently enshrined into physical structures (each corresponding to a given region).
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apples_oranges 1mo ago
I see a lot of questions here that can be googled or asked with AI chat. Good question, but I also think, why didn’t that person just find out themselves? It’s so easy..
- jubilanti 1mo ago
  This person isn't actually asking a question, they're performing ignorance as a protest to HN's U.S centricness.
- crossroadsguy 1mo ago
  I think I could have done that. Just like you and I could have received this news on Twitter or on Google News. Maybe Reddit? Or we could have asked an AI chat/agent, "Give me news for today." But here we are, aren't we? And I learned an interesting tidbit from one of the commenters here.
tsimionescu 1mo ago
As I understand it, each state has a certain federal appeals court that it belongs to - and these federal appeals courts are numbered. The 9th circuit is the highest appeals court responsible for all federal suits coming from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. They are higher than any other court in those states in matters of federal law (state law is separate), with only the (federal) Supreme Court being above them - but the Supreme Court is not a regular court, they have discretion on what suits to hear (whereas the appeals courts have to hear any suit that gets lawfully appealed in their jurisdiction). Other appeals courts have jurisdiction over other areas of the country - and there is no question of level between them, as they have completely separate jurisdictions. It's important also that every circuit court is beholden to its own precedent, and every court below them is beholden to the precedent set by their appeals court. But courts in other areas of the country are not - it's perfectly legal (though not extremely common) for one appeals court to decide one way and another to decide a different way on the same matter of Federal law. Unless the SC intervenes, the appeals court of your particular jurisdiction is the ultimate authority on how that federal law is to be interpreted in your jurisdiction. So, the fact that the 9th circuit decided that Kalshi is a gambling site and not a commodity futures trading platform means that they have to be treated this way by all federal and state agencies in California, Arizona, etc; but they could still be recognized as falling under CFTC rules in Texas or New York, as the 9th circuit decision is not applicable in those jurisdictions.

deleted 1mo ago

[deleted]

mayneack 1mo ago

9th is a region (includes California) circuit is a level (appeals court right below Supreme)

thoughtpeddler 1mo ago

From my hazy recollection from law school, the US appeals courts are called "circuits" because back in the day, they weren't actual buildings but rather judges that would go around town-to-town within their jurisdiction in a horse-drawn carriage 'in a circuit' (that corresponded to a certain geographic area). The name just stuck even after they were permanently enshrined into physical structures (each corresponding to a given region).

deleted 1mo ago

[deleted]

apples_oranges 1mo ago

I see a lot of questions here that can be googled or asked with AI chat. Good question, but I also think, why didn’t that person just find out themselves? It’s so easy..

jubilanti 1mo ago
This person isn't actually asking a question, they're performing ignorance as a protest to HN's U.S centricness.
crossroadsguy 1mo ago
I think I could have done that. Just like you and I could have received this news on Twitter or on Google News. Maybe Reddit? Or we could have asked an AI chat/agent, "Give me news for today." But here we are, aren't we? And I learned an interesting tidbit from one of the commenters here.

tsimionescu 1mo ago

As I understand it, each state has a certain federal appeals court that it belongs to - and these federal appeals courts are numbered. The 9th circuit is the highest appeals court responsible for all federal suits coming from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. They are higher than any other court in those states in matters of federal law (state law is separate), with only the (federal) Supreme Court being above them - but the Supreme Court is not a regular court, they have discretion on what suits to hear (whereas the appeals courts have to hear any suit that gets lawfully appealed in their jurisdiction). Other appeals courts have jurisdiction over other areas of the country - and there is no question of level between them, as they have completely separate jurisdictions. It's important also that every circuit court is beholden to its own precedent, and every court below them is beholden to the precedent set by their appeals court. But courts in other areas of the country are not - it's perfectly legal (though not extremely common) for one appeals court to decide one way and another to decide a different way on the same matter of Federal law. Unless the SC intervenes, the appeals court of your particular jurisdiction is the ultimate authority on how that federal law is to be interpreted in your jurisdiction. So, the fact that the 9th circuit decided that Kalshi is a gambling site and not a commodity futures trading platform means that they have to be treated this way by all federal and state agencies in California, Arizona, etc; but they could still be recognized as falling under CFTC rules in Texas or New York, as the 9th circuit decision is not applicable in those jurisdictions.