Creation of the Eleventh Circuit
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was created in 1981. The decision to create a new Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was contentious, with the debate over the reorganization of the Fifth Circuit lasting nearly two decades. The question of creating a new circuit first arose in the early 1960s as the Southern states contained within the Fifth Circuit underwent major changes including rapid population growth and regional industrialization and specialization. Both of these factors led to an increase in the Fifth Circuit's caseload, necessitating the addition of more judges to the Court.During this time, the Fifth Circuit also became known for their jurisprudence on cases pertaining to desegregation and voting rights for African Americans. This led to opposition from groups who believed the Fifth Circuit judges were inappropriately untilising judicial activism to advance civil rights. These groups wanted to divide the court, and create a new Eleventh Circuit in order to decrease the Fifth Circuit judges’ power to advance civil rights cases from the bench. While more liberal judges on the court, like Chief Justice Tuttle, did not necessarily favor a split, they believed that more judges were necessary for the court to function properly. By 1963, in a 7-2 vote, the judges of the Fifth Circuit voted in favor of reorganization, if dividing the circuit was the only way to add judges to the court. However, legislation creating the Eleventh Circuit was still not passed for another 17 years. In this duration, the 1966 Omnibus Act provided some relief to overwhelmed Fifth Circuit judges by placing temporary judges on the Court to hand their overwhelming caseload. Two months prior to the passage of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act, the judges of the Fifth Court exercised the power granted to them through the Omnibus Judgeship Act, dividing the Fifth Circuit into two units; one consisting of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi and the other Florida, Georgia and Alabama. After Congress voted unanimously to pass the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act on October 14, 1980, this second unit was set to become the Eleventh Circuit the following year. On October 1, 1981, when the Fifth Circuit was officially split, the Eleventh Circuit was formed by 12 Fifth Circuit Judges who left the Fifth to create the new Eleventh Circuit. Today, the Eleventh Circuit Historical Society, which was first established in 1983 and is not officially connected to the Eleventh Circuit Court, records the history of the court and collects material articles related to Eleventh Circuit court and its judges. Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor serves as an honorary chairman of the Society. == The Court Today ==
The Court Today
Judges on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals hear most cases in three-judge panels, however cases with significant policy implications may be heard en banc by all active judges. The Eleventh Circuit Court has not been expanded since its creation when 12 seats from the Fifth Circuit were reassigned to the Eleventh Circuit. It is the only United States Circuit Court of Appeals without additional seats created since its inception. As of February 2026, five active judges are appointees of democratic presidents. Seven active judges have been appointed by republican presidents, and six justices alone appointed by President Trump. Since 2008, the University of Miami has published an annual updated review of the Eleventh Circuit’s Juris Prudence, providing guidance to litogators who practice within the Eleventh Circuit and providing critical analysis of the Circuit Court’s decisions. == Current composition of the court ==