[C]ongress has the power to establish circuit and district courts in any and all the states, and confer on them . . . jurisdiction in cases coming within the constitution . . . . It falls within the express words of the constitution. ‘The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish.’ Article 3. . . . [T]he power to ordain and establish, carries with it the power to prescribe and regulate the modes of proceeding in such courts . . . ."
United States district courts
The trial courts of the federal court system. Congress and the Constitution limit these courts and within these limits, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases. This includes both civil and criminal matters. There are 94 federal judicial districts including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Three United States territories -- the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands -- have district courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy cases.
