The First Circuit Court of Appeals  is comprised of four states in the Northeastern portion of the United States, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico. In this federal district there are a total of 25 courthouses which fall into the First Circuit’s jurisdiction. These courthouses hear cases which fall under the jurisdiction of federal-level (non-state issues) or cases which are on appeal at the federal districts of each state in the circuit.

Aside from cases heard on appeal from each federal circuit-state (US Territory), certain cases might also be left to the federal circuit if a state or region doesn’t have proper jurisdiction to hear those cases. Possible reasons cases might go directly to the appellate level include: cases where a state-court doesn’t have personal or subject-matter jurisdiction over the parties, criminal cases, or other “special” cases, which bypass the lower level state courts, and are initially heard at the appellate level.

The United States Court of Appeals in the First Circuit is the federal-court system which has appellate jurisdiction over cases which are heard in the 5-federal districts. The main courthouse is the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse, in Boston, Massachusetts. Cases are heard in the courthouse one week out of each month of the year, except for one month (either July or August) when the courthouse is closed.

One week in March or November, the main federal circuit court sits in  Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse, which is in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Certain times of the year, cases are heard in one of the other 23-courthouses, which fall under the First Circuit-jurisdictional power to hear those cases.

The First Circuit is the smallest of the Federal US Circuit Courts. It currently has six active judges along with three senior judges presiding over cases which go through the federal circuit. Seats in the federal circuit are appointed in the order which judges were appointed to the federal system, and numbered in order the vacancies were filled. Jeffrey R. Howard is currently the chief justice in the First Circuit.

Notable First Circuit cases include Glik v. Cunniffe (2011), where the court decided a private-citizen had the right to record public officials in a public forum.

The National Law Review covers bankruptcy, civil lawsuits, criminal cases at the federal level, and general news-coverage which goes through the court-system. There are legal articles on judge appointments, appeals, and emerging news in the circuit court system published on The National Law Review Website.