United States Statutes at Large/Volume 3/16th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 27
Chap. XXVII.—An Act establishing a circuit court within and for the district of Maine.
Act of March 3, 1801, ch. 32.
Act of March 8, 1802, ch. 8.
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, the 1st circuit.
Two courts in Maine.
At Portland.
At Wiscasset.
Court may be held by the judge attending.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the passing of this act, the districts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, shall constitute the first circuit; and in addition to the circuit courts now holden in said circuit, there shall be holden annually two circuit courts within and for said district of Maine, by the justice of the Supreme court residing in said circuit, and by the district judge of Maine, at the times and places following, viz: one session of said court shall commence and be holden at Portland, in said district, on the eighth day of May; and the other at Wiscasset, in said district, on the eighth day of October; and when either of said days shall happen to be Sunday, the session shall commence on the day next following; and when only one of the judges hereby directed to hold the said circuit courts shall be able to attend, such circuit courts may be held by the judge so attending.
Circuit court powers of district court repealed.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts, granting said district court of Maine the powers and jurisdiction of a circuit court of the United States, be, and the same are hereby repealed.
Circuit court of Maine may decide upon actions, &c. originated in the district court.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the circuit court by this act established in and for the district of Maine, shall have power to, and may, at its first session, take cognisance of, and proceed to act upon, hear, and decide, all actions, causes, pleas, processes, matters, and things which have originated in said district court, and which would, by law, be cognisable, and be heard and determined by the circuit court to be holden in the district of Massachusetts, if this act had never been made and passed.
Causes depending in the circuit court of Massachusetts, may be transferred to the circuit court of Maine.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That those causes which have originated as aforesaid, in said district court, and have been entered at the circuit court in the district of Massachusetts, and are now pending therein, on error, appeal, or otherwise, shall be transferred to the circuit court by this act established, and entered on the docket of the same at its first session, in order that the said causes may be heard and decided therein, in the manner provided by the third section of this act.
Approved, March 30, 1820.