 Article III of the United States Constitution specifies that " [ t ] he judicial Power of the United States , shall be vested in one supreme Court , and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish . " In 1789 , Congress created the first system of intermediate appellate courts , known as federal circuit courts , which had appellate jurisdiction over certain matters decided by District Courts . These federal circuit courts consisted of two justices from the Supreme Court of the United States and one district court judge . In 1891 , Congress created the existing system of United States courts of appeals , which hear appeals from United States district courts within limited geographic areas . For example , the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hears appeals originating from United States district courts in Louisiana , Mississippi , and Texas . Decisions in circuit courts are usually made by rotating three @-@ judge panels chosen from judges sitting within that circuit , and circuit courts also occasionally decide cases en banc . 
