What is United States courts of appeals?
[[File:US Court of Appeals and District Court map.svg|thumb|400px|right|Map of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts]] The '''United States courts of appeals''' (or '''circuit courts''') are the [[Wikt:intermediate|intermediate]] [[appellate court]]s of the [[Federal judiciary of the United States]]. A court of appeals decides [[appeal]]s from the [[United States district court|district court]]s within its [[Circuit court|federal judicial circuit]]. In some cases it decides appeals from other designated federal courts and [[Government agency|administrative agencies]]. == Background == The United States courts of appeals are considered among the most [[Wikt:powerful|powerful]] and [[Wikt:influential|influential]] [[court]]s in the [[United States]]. They have the ability to set [[legal precedent]] that affect [[million]]s of [[Americans]]. The United States courts of appeals have strong [[Wikt:policy|policy]] influence on U.S. [[law]]. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] chooses to review less than 1% of the more than 10,000 [[legal case|cases]] filed with it [[Wikt:annual|annual]]ly. This means the United States courts of appeals makes the final decision in most federal cases. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit]] in particular is very influential. It covers 20% of the American [[population]]. There are currently 179 [[judge]]s on the United States courts of appeals.<ref name=Jenkins92>Jeffrey A. Jenkins, ''The American Courts: A Procedural Approach'' (Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers LLC, 2011), p. 92</ref> These judges are [[Wikt:nominate|nominate]]d by the [[President of the United States]] and [[wikt:confirm|confirm]]ed by the [[United States Senate]]. They have lifetime [[tenure]], earning an annual [[salary]] of $213,300.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-compensation | title=Judicial Compensation &#124; United States Courts }}</ref> There are thirteen United Stat