In the Federal court system, the district courts are the "lowest" courts. Cases usually start in district court and are decided there. The circuit courts are courts of appeal. That means that you can appeal a district court's ruling to the circuit court (and then to the Supreme Court, if you still don't like the ruling). In that sense, the circuit courts are "higher" than the district courts.
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"On writ of certiorari to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit" means the US Supreme Court has issued a writ of certiorari, or an order for the named court to send the records of a particular case, to the Supreme Court because the Court has granted a petitioner's request for appeal.The Ninth Circuit is the appellate Circuit that reviews cases originating in District (trial) Courts for the following areas:District of AlaskaDistrict of ArizonaCentral District of CaliforniaEastern District of CaliforniaNorthern District of CaliforniaSouthern District of CaliforniaDistrict of HawaiiDistrict of IdahoDistrict of MontanaDistrict of NevadaDistrict of OregonEastern District of WashingtonWestern District of WashingtonDistrict Court of GuamUnited States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Supreme Court district courts Circuit Courts Court of Veterans' Appeals
On March 3, 1891, Congress passed the Evarts Act(Judiciary Act of 1891) that created nine US Circuit Court of Appeals for each of the established circuits. These intermediate appellate courts were designed to reduce the Supreme Court's burgeoning caseload.The Circuit Court of Appeals had appellate jurisdiction over cases from US District Court as well as from the original Circuit Courts (which had both original and appellate jurisdiction). The old Circuit Courts were gradually phased out, with most cases of original jurisdiction being assigned to US District Court and appellate jurisdiction being assigned to the Circuit Court of Appeals.Congress added the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1893.While the Evarts Act also limited the categories of cases that could be appealed the Supreme Court, the justices did not gain discretion over the cases it heard until 1925.In the Judicial Code of 1948, the name of the appellate courts was officially changed from US Circuit Court of Appeals to the US Courts of Appeals for the [designated] Circuit(e.g., US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, or US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit).
Courts of appeals review decisions made by lower courts and serve as a step between them and the next higher court, which is usually the supreme court at the state or federal level. They were created to promote efficiency and eliminate backlogs for higher courts.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sits below the United States Supreme Court but above the United States District Courts. It receives appeals relating to complaints regarding patent laws and other subjects.