| September 28, 1850 9 Stat. 521 |
Congress organized California as two judicial districts and authorized one judgeship each for the U.S. district courts in the Northern and the Southern Districts. The district courts in California, not being assigned to a judicial circuit, were granted the same civil jurisdiction as U.S. circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. |
| August 31, 1852 10 Stat. 76, 84 |
Passed following the death of the judge for the Southern District, this act provided that the sitting judge for the Northern District of California also serve as the judge for the Southern District. |
| February 26, 1853 10 Stat. 161, 169 |
This act granted to the district courts in California the same criminal jurisdiction exercised by other district and circuit courts. |
| January 18, 1854 10 Stat. 265 |
Judgeship reauthorized for the Southern District. |
| March 2, 1855 10 Stat. 631 |
This act established the U.S. Circuit Court for the Districts of California and repealed the authority of the California district courts to exercise the trial jurisdiction of a U.S. circuit court, although they continued to exercise appellate jurisdiction in certain cases involving land claims. |
| March 3, 1863 12 Stat. 794 |
This act abolished the California Circuit, established a Tenth Circuit consisting of the judicial districts of California and Oregon, and eliminated the remaining appellate jurisdiction of the district courts of California. |
| July 23, 1866 14 Stat. 209 |
This act reorganized the federal judiciary into nine circuits and assigned the judicial districts of California to the Ninth Circuit. |
| July 27, 1866 14 Stat. 300 |
This act reorganized California as a single judicial district with one judgeship authorized for the district court. |
| August 5, 1886 24 Stat. 308 |
California again divided into the Northern and Southern Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each district. |
| March 2, 1907 34 Stat. 1253 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Northern District. |
| July 30, 1914 38 Stat. 580 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Southern District. |
| September 14, 1922 42 Stat. 837 |
One temporary judgeship authorized for both the Northern and Southern Districts. |
| March 3, 1927 44 Stat. 1372 |
Temporary judgeship in the Northern District made permanent. |
| July 27, 1930 46 Stat. 819 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Southern District. |
| August 2, 1935 49 Stat. 508 |
Two additional judgeships authorized for the Southern District. |
| August 19, 1935 49 Stat. 659 |
Temporary judgeship authorized for the Southern District in 1922 made permanent. |
| May 31, 1938 52 Stat. 584, 585 |
One additional judgeship authorized for both the Northern and Southern Districts. |
| May 24, 1940 54 Stat. 219, 220 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Southern District. |
| June 15, 1946 60 Stat. 260 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Northern District. |
| August 3, 1949 63 Stat. 493 |
Two additional judgeships authorized for both the Northern District and the Southern District. |
| February 10, 1954 68 Stat. 8 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Southern District. |
| May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 |
Two additional judgeships authorized for both the Northern District and the Southern District. |
| March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 |
The act established the Eastern and Central Districts of California. The act transferred to the Eastern District one judgeship from the Southern District and two from the Northern District. For the Central District, ten judgeships were transferred from the Southern District and three new judgeships were authorized. Two new judgeships were authorized for the Northern District. |
| June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 |
Two additional judgeships authorized for the Northern District, three for the Central District, and three for the Southern District. |
| October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 |
One additional judgeship authorized for the Northern District, three for the Eastern District, one for the Central District, and two for the Southern District. |
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 |
Five additional judgeships authorized for the Central District. |
| December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 |
Two additional judgeships authorized for the Northern District, five for the Central District, one for the Southern District, and one temporary judgeship for the Eastern District. (Statutory provision authorizing temporary judgeship in Eastern District revised by 109 Stat. 635 and judgeship extended by 111 Stat. 1173.) Under the terms of the act, a new judge is to be appointed to any court from which an active judge "assumes the duties of a full-time office of Federal judicial administration." If the judge assuming such a position returns as an active judge of the court, the first vacancy occurring thereafter will not be filled. This act thus provided for the appointment of an additional judge to the Northern District in 1999 and 2011, when sitting judges Fern Smith and Jeremy Fogel, respectively, became director of the Federal Judicial Center. |
| November 2, 2002 116 Stat. 1758 |
Five additional judgeships authorized for the Southern District and one temporary judgeship authorized for the Central District. (Judgeship for the Central District extended by 127 Stat. 418, 128 Stat. 203, 128 Stat. 2352, 129 Stat. 2443, 31 Stat. 347, 132 Stat. 556, 133 Stat. 159, 133 Stat. 2454, 134 Stat. 1401, 136 Stat. 262, 136 Stat 4672, and 138 Stat. 542.) |