In 1891, Congress created a separate tier of appellate circuit courts which eliminated the necessity of Supreme Court justices traveling to hear cases in different circuits, which was called circuit riding. Since 1891, the structure of the federal courts has remained relatively unchanged.rticle III did not cover how the court system would be developed, so the First Congress created the Judiciary Act of 1789 to establish the federal judiciary. 1  The Judiciary Act 1789 established the federal court system separate from individual state courts.