The justices of the Supreme Court wrote to George Washington in August 1792 in the hope that he would persuade Congress to ease the burden of circuit riding. “[T]he task of holding twenty-seven circuit courts a year,” wrote the justices, “in the different States, from New Hampshire to Georgia, besides two sessions of the Supreme Court at Philadelphia, in the two most severe seasons of the year, is a task which considering the extent of the United States, and the small number of Judges, is too burdensome.” In addition to emphasizing that some of them were not healthy or strong enough to endure such extensive travel, the justices pointed out that by serving on the circuit courts, they were frequently called upon to review in the Supreme Court cases they themselves had decided in the lower court – an arrangement that could present the appearance of injustice and damage public confidence in the federal judiciary. In the Judiciary Act of 1793, Congress responded to the justices’ concerns by reducing from two to one the number of justices designated to attend each session of a circuit court.
See also:
Spotlight on Judicial History: A Brief History of Circuit Riding