when did the 5th circuit became the 11th circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit These districts were originally part of the Fifth Circuit, but were split off to form the Eleventh Circuit effective October 1, 1981.[1] For this reason, Fifth Circuit decisions from before this split are considered binding precedent in the Eleventh Circuit.[2][3]
Supreme Court of the United States Article III of the United States Constitution does not specify the number of justices. The Judiciary Act of 1789 called for the appointment of six "judges." Although an 1801 act would have reduced the size of the court to five members upon its next vacancy, an 1802 act promptly negated the 1801 act, legally restoring the court's size to six members before any such vacancy occurred. As the nation's boundaries grew, Congress added justices to correspond with the growing number of judicial circuits: seven in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863.[69]