The Act reduced the number of seats on the Supreme Court from 6 to 5, effective upon the next vacancy in the Court. No such vacancy occurred during the brief period the Act was in effect, so the size of the Court remained unchanged. The Act also created 16 new judgeships that John Adams rapidly began to fill in the last weeks of his presidency. These judges came to be known as the "Midnight Judges. ''
who appointed the midnight judges leading to an important controversy over the courts
John Adams