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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Was the size of the Supreme Court originally proportional to the number of circuit courts?

By Allegra Taylor
YES

Although the Constitution established the Supreme Court, it was the Judiciary Act of 1789 that laid out the Court's organization, including that there would be six justices. The Act put the Supreme Court at the top of a three-tier system which included three circuit courts based on geographical regions. Originally, two justices were required to preside over each circuit court twice a year.

The Judiciary Act of 1802 increased the number of circuit courts to six, the same as the number of Supreme Court justices. As the population of the U.S. grew, the number of circuit courts increased accordingly through the first half of the 19th century.

In 1869, Congress set the number of justices at nine, one for each circuit. Since then, the number of circuit courts has increased to 13, but the number of seats on the Supreme Court has remained at nine.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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