Compendium

Federal Statutes & US Court System Catalog

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Federal Statutes & US Court System Catalog

A breadth-first catalog of the US federal court system, the United States Code (USC) by title, the major civil-rights and business statutes, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and the four sets of Federal Rules. This is a reference: an agent that needs to know “what circuit hears patent appeals” or “what USC title governs ERISA” should land here first.

1. The US court system

1.1 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)

  • Composition: 9 justices, lifetime tenure subject to “good behavior” (impeachment).
  • Current bench (2026 term):
    • John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice (since 2005, nominated by Bush)
    • Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice (since 1991, Bush 41)
    • Samuel A. Alito Jr. (since 2006, Bush 43)
    • Sonia Sotomayor (since 2009, Obama)
    • Elena Kagan (since 2010, Obama)
    • Neil M. Gorsuch (since 2017, Trump)
    • Brett M. Kavanaugh (since 2018, Trump)
    • Amy Coney Barrett (since 2020, Trump)
    • Ketanji Brown Jackson (since 2022, Biden)
  • Workload: receives ~7,000–8,000 cert petitions per term; grants and decides on the merits roughly 60–75 cases per term (declining over the last three decades).
  • Cert pool: shared law clerk pool reviewing petitions; Justice Alito and (historically) Justice Gorsuch declined to participate, doing in-chambers review.
  • Term: OT = “October Term”; opens first Monday in October, runs until the end of June or early July, when the major decisions of the term are released.
  • Opinion types: majority (binding precedent), concurrence, dissent; per curiam (unsigned, often summary reversals); plurality (when no single rationale commands five votes).
  • Shadow docket / emergency applications: stays, injunctions, and vacaturs decided on the “emergency” docket without full briefing or oral argument; volume and significance has grown sharply since 2017.

1.2 Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals

Thirteen circuits, intermediate appellate review. Cases typically heard by 3-judge panels; en banc review by the full court (or, for the Ninth Circuit, an 11-judge “limited en banc”) is rare.

CircuitStates / SubjectHQNotes
1stME, MA, NH, RI, PRBostonSmallest by judges
2ndCT, NY, VTNew YorkFinancial-law hub (Wall Street appeals)
3rdDE, NJ, PA, VIPhiladelphiaHeavy bankruptcy + corporate (DE incorporations)
4thMD, NC, SC, VA, WVRichmond
5thLA, MS, TXNew OrleansConservative-leaning; oil + gas + admin law
6thKY, MI, OH, TNCincinnati
7thIL, IN, WIChicagoEasterbrook + Posner historical legacy
8thAR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SDSt. Louis
9thAK, AZ, CA, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, MP, OR, WASan FranciscoLargest — ~30 active judges; CA-heavy docket
10thCO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WYDenver
11thAL, FL, GAAtlanta(Split from 5th in 1981)
DCDistrict of ColumbiaWashingtonAdministrative-law specialty — most federal agency appeals route here
FederalPatents + Court of Federal Claims + Court of International Trade + ITC + MSPBWashingtonNational subject-matter jurisdiction; sole appellate court for patents under 28 USC §1295

1.3 US District Courts

  • 94 districts (each state has 1–4; DC, PR, Guam, NMI, VI also).
  • District judges (Article III, lifetime); magistrate judges (statutory under 28 USC §631, 8-year terms, handle pretrial matters + misdemeanor trials + consent civil trials).
  • Trial-level court for federal civil and criminal cases, jury and bench.

1.4 Specialized federal courts

  • Court of International Trade (CIT) — New York; jurisdiction over customs and international-trade disputes; appeals to Federal Circuit.
  • Court of Federal Claims (CFC) — DC; money claims against the US (contract, takings, tax refund, vaccine). Article I status (judges serve 15-year terms).
  • US Tax Court — DC + traveling; pre-payment review of IRS deficiencies; Article I. Most tax litigation flows here; appeals go to the regional circuit where the taxpayer resides.
  • Bankruptcy Courts — units of the district courts; jurisdiction under 28 USC §157. Bankruptcy judges serve 14-year terms.
  • Immigration Courts — administered by EOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review (DOJ); not Article III; immigration judges are DOJ employees. Appeals go to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), then the regional Court of Appeals.

1.5 State courts (overview)

Most states have a three-level system: trial court → intermediate appellate court → state supreme court. New York is an exception: the trial court is the “Supreme Court,” the intermediate is the “Appellate Division,” and the highest court is the New York Court of Appeals. Some states (e.g., Texas, Oklahoma) split criminal and civil highest courts (Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vs Texas Supreme Court).

2. United States Code (USC) — selected titles

The USC is the codification of general and permanent federal statutes, organized into 54 titles. Acts of Congress are published first as Public Laws (Pub L 118-23 etc.) and at Large (Stat.) before codification.

Title 7 — Agriculture

  • Farm Bill (most recent: Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Pub L 115-334); the 2018 bill expired in 2023, was extended through 2024, and reauthorization remained delayed as of mid-2026.
  • Crop insurance, USDA programs, SNAP (formerly food stamps).

Title 8 — Aliens and Nationality

  • Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, Pub L 82-414; the master immigration statute, heavily amended.
  • Hart-Celler Act 1965 (abolished national-origin quotas); IRCA 1986 (employer sanctions, amnesty); IIRIRA 1996 (expedited removal, inadmissibility); REAL ID 2005.

Title 11 — Bankruptcy

  • Bankruptcy Code of 1978, Pub L 95-598; chapters: 7 (liquidation), 9 (municipal), 11 (reorganization), 12 (family farmer/fisherman), 13 (individual repayment plan), 15 (cross-border).
  • BAPCPA 2005 (Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act) — tightened means-testing for Chapter 7 individuals.

Title 15 — Commerce and Trade

  • Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 — §1 (restraints of trade) + §2 (monopolization), 15 USC §§1–7.
  • Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 — §12–§27, including §7 (merger review).
  • FTC Act of 1914 — Federal Trade Commission, “unfair methods of competition” plus consumer protection.
  • CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 — commercial-email regulation.
  • Securities laws (1933, 1934 Acts) — see Title 15 USC §77, §78 below.

Title 17 — Copyright

  • Copyright Act of 1976, Pub L 94-553 — modern framework; copyrightability, fair use (§107), exclusive rights (§106), duration (§§302–305 — life + 70 since the Sonny Bono Act 1998).
  • Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 — §512 safe harbor, §1201 anti-circumvention.

Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

  • Federal criminal code: §§1–6005; substantive offenses (mail/wire fraud §§1341/1343; RICO §§1961–1968; CFAA §1030; ITAR/AECA companion; obstruction §1503/1505/1512; perjury §1621/1623).
  • Sentencing (US Sentencing Guidelines, made advisory in United States v Booker, 543 US 220 (2005)).

Title 19 — Customs Duties

  • Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 — raised tariffs sharply; historical baseline.
  • Trade Act of 1974 — Section 301 (USTR unfair-trade investigations), Section 201 (safeguards), Section 232 (national-security tariffs in Title 19 USC §1862).

Title 20 — Education

  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965; reauthorized as Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, Pub L 114-95 (replacing No Child Left Behind 2001).
  • IDEA — Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1990, prior to that EHA 1975).
  • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — sex discrimination in federally-funded education, 20 USC §1681.

Title 21 — Food and Drugs

  • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) of 1938, Pub L 75-717; foundation for FDA regulation.
  • Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, 21 USC §801–§971 — Schedules I (no medical use, high abuse: heroin, LSD, marijuana federal), II (high abuse, medical use: oxycodone, methamphetamine), III, IV, V.

Title 25 — Indians

  • Tribal sovereignty framework.
  • Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) of 1968 — selectively applies Bill of Rights to tribal governments.
  • Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 — placement preferences for Indian children; upheld against Equal Protection challenge in Haaland v Brackeen, 599 US 255 (2023).

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code (IRC)

  • The federal tax code. Currently shaped by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, Pub L 115-97 (most individual provisions sunset 2025-12-31 absent congressional action).
  • Subchapters: A (income tax), B (estate + gift), C (employment), D (excise), F (procedure + administration).

Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

The “plumbing” of the federal court system:

  • §1331 — federal question jurisdiction.
  • §1332 — diversity jurisdiction (>$75,000 amount in controversy + complete diversity).
  • §1391 — venue.
  • §1404 / §1406 — transfer of venue.
  • §1441 / §1446 / §1447 — removal from state court.
  • §1407 — multidistrict litigation (JPML and pretrial consolidation).
  • §1291 — appeal of final decisions; §1292(b) — interlocutory appeals by certification.

Title 29 — Labor

  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 — minimum wage, overtime, child labor; 29 USC §§201–219.
  • OSH Act of 1970 — workplace safety; OSHA.
  • National Labor Relations Act (NLRA / Wagner Act) of 1935 — private sector collective bargaining; amended by Taft-Hartley of 1947.
  • LMRDA (Landrum-Griffin) of 1959 — union internal governance.
  • FMLA of 1993 — 12 weeks unpaid leave for qualifying employers (50+ employees within 75 miles).
  • ADEA of 1967 — Age Discrimination in Employment Act (40+).
  • PWFA — Pregnant Workers Fairness Act 2022; reasonable accommodations.
  • ERISA of 1974 — Employee Retirement Income Security Act; pension and welfare plan regulation (preemption is famously broad).

Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable Waters

  • Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
  • Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 (formally Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments); 33 USC §1251 et seq. Section 404 (dredge + fill) and the “waters of the United States” question litigated through Sackett v EPA, 598 US 651 (2023).

Title 35 — Patents

  • Patent Act of 1952 (the 1952 Act codifying 35 USC §§1–390).
  • Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011, Pub L 112-29 — shifted from first-to-invent to first-inventor-to-file effective 2013-03-16; created post-grant proceedings (IPR, PGR, CBM through 2020).

Title 38 — Veterans

  • VA benefits and adjudication; PACT Act of 2022 expanded toxic exposure presumptions for post-9/11 veterans.

Title 42 — Public Health and Welfare

The largest USC title by content; nearly every social-welfare and public-health statute:

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub L 88-352 (42 USC §§2000a–2000h-6); Title II (public accommodations), Title VI (federal funding), Title VII (employment), Title IX of 1972 educational separately codified.
  • Social Security Act of 1935 (also various USC titles).
  • Medicare + Medicaid — Social Security Amendments of 1965, Pub L 89-97.
  • Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, Pub L 111-148.
  • Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970, 42 USC §§7401–7671q; Massachusetts v EPA (2007) authorized GHG regulation; the West Virginia v EPA decision (2022) and Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo (2024) reshaped the agency-deference baseline.
  • Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974.
  • EPCRA — Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 1986.
  • CERCLA / Superfund of 1980, Pub L 96-510 — strict, joint, and several liability for hazardous waste cleanup; PRPs (potentially responsible parties).
  • Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, 16 USC §1531 et seq (note: ESA actually sits in Title 16 Conservation, not 42 — but is functionally in this environmental cluster).
  • HIPAA of 1996 (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) — privacy and security rules under 45 CFR Parts 160 + 164.
  • HITECH Act of 2009 — strengthened HIPAA enforcement, breach notification.
  • STOCK Act of 2012 — Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge.

Title 47 — Telecommunications

  • Communications Act of 1934 — created the FCC.
  • Telecommunications Act of 1996 — broadcasting/cable deregulation, local-loop unbundling.
  • Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, codified at 47 USC §230 — intermediary immunity for online platforms; cases Gonzalez v Google and Twitter v Taamneh (2023) declined to narrow the doctrine.

Title 49 — Transportation

  • DOT umbrella; FAA, FHWA, FRA, PHMSA, NHTSA agency authorities.
  • SAFETEA-LU (2005), MAP-21 (2012), FAST Act (2015), and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law / IIJA of 2021, Pub L 117-58 — surface transportation reauthorizations.

Title 50 — War and National Defense

  • National Security Act of 1947 — created CIA, NSC, USAF.
  • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978; Section 702 reauthorization through April 2026 then extension.
  • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) + Privacy Act of 1974 — technically codified at 5 USC §552 + §552a (Title 5 Government Organization), but functionally national-security adjacent.

Title 52 — Voting and Elections

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965, 52 USC §§10301–10314.
    • §2 — discriminatory effect (still active).
    • §5 — preclearance for covered jurisdictions; coverage formula §4(b) struck down in Shelby County v Holder, 570 US 529 (2013), leaving §5 dormant absent new formula.
    • Allen v Milligan, 599 US 1 (2023) upheld §2 vote-dilution framework as applied to Alabama redistricting.
  • National Voter Registration Act (“Motor Voter”) of 1993.
  • Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 — voting-system standards, EAC.

3. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

The CFR is the codification of executive-agency regulations, organized into 50 titles loosely paralleling the USC. Updated annually on a rolling quarterly schedule. New regulations and proposed rules publish daily in the Federal Register (administered by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) within NARA).

Selected titles:

  • 7 — Agriculture
  • 12 — Banks and Banking
  • 14 — Aeronautics and Space
  • 17 — Commodity and Securities Exchanges
  • 21 — Food and Drugs (FDA)
  • 26 — Internal Revenue
  • 29 — Labor (OSHA, DOL)
  • 33 — Navigation (Coast Guard)
  • 37 — Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights (USPTO, Copyright Office)
  • 40 — Protection of Environment (EPA)
  • 45 — Public Welfare (HHS)
  • 47 — Telecommunication (FCC)
  • 49 — Transportation (DOT)
  • 50 — Wildlife and Fisheries (FWS, NOAA Fisheries)

4. Major civil-rights statutes

  • Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth Amendments (Reconstruction Amendments).
  • Civil Rights Act of 1866 — codified at 42 USC §§1981 (contracts), §1982 (property).
  • Enforcement Act / Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 — codified at 42 USC §1983 (state-actor liability for constitutional violations), §1985 (conspiracies).
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964:
    • Title II — public accommodations.
    • Title VI — federal funding recipients (no race/color/national-origin discrimination).
    • Title VII — employment.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 (above).
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968, Title VIII = Fair Housing Act.
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 — 40+ years.
  • Equal Pay Act of 1963.
  • Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (amended Title VII).
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 — Title I employment, Title II public services, Title III public accommodations, Title IV telecommunications.
  • Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008.
  • Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) of 2022 — reasonable accommodation for known limitations from pregnancy/childbirth.

5. Major business statutes

  • Securities Act of 1933 — 15 USC §77a et seq; registration of securities offerings, gun-jumping rules, Section 11 + 12(a)(2) civil liability for misstatements.
  • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 — 15 USC §78a et seq; secondary markets, periodic disclosure (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K), tender offers, proxies, Section 10(b) + Rule 10b-5 antifraud.
  • Investment Company Act of 1940 — mutual funds, ETFs (under exemptive orders), closed-end funds.
  • Investment Advisers Act of 1940 — registration of advisers >$110M AUM with SEC; lower threshold to state regulators.
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002, Pub L 107-204 — internal-control certification (§404), PCAOB creation, CEO/CFO certification (§302), audit-committee independence.
  • Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Pub L 111-203 — Volcker Rule, FSOC, OCC consolidation, Title VII OTC derivatives, CFPB creation.
  • JOBS Act of 2012 — emerging growth companies, Reg A+, crowdfunding (Reg CF), Reg D Rule 506(c).
  • Bipartisan Infrastructure Law / IIJA of 2021.
  • CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 — $52.7 billion in semiconductor manufacturing incentives plus expanded NSF/DOE research authorizations.
  • Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 — approximately $430 billion in climate, energy, and healthcare provisions, including ACA premium subsidy extensions and the Medicare drug-price negotiation framework.

6. Major regulatory statutes

  • Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of 1946 — 5 USC §§551–559 (rulemaking, adjudication), §§701–706 (judicial review). §706(2)(A) is the famous “arbitrary, capricious” standard.
  • NEPA — National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 USC §4321 et seq — EIS (environmental impact statement) requirement for major federal actions; CEQ (Council on Environmental Quality) regulations rescinded in 2025 following Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v Eagle County (2025).
  • Clean Air Act of 1970 (above, Title 42).
  • Clean Water Act of 1972 (above, Title 33).
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 — solid + hazardous waste management.
  • Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 — chemical regulation; amended 2016 by Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act.
  • Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 — 16 USC §1531 et seq.
  • CERCLA / Superfund of 1980 (above).
  • Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 — post-Exxon Valdez.
  • FIFRA — Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, amended numerous times.
  • EPCRA of 1986 — Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know.

7. Federal Rules

Four standalone sets, promulgated by SCOTUS under the Rules Enabling Act (28 USC §2072) on advice of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committees:

  • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) — adopted 1938. Pleadings
    • discovery + summary judgment + trial + post-trial. Famous rules:
    • Rule 8 — pleading standard (post-Twombly and Iqbal “plausibility”).
    • Rule 11 — sanctions for frivolous filings.
    • Rule 12(b)(6) — failure to state a claim.
    • Rule 23 — class actions.
    • Rule 26 — discovery scope; 2015 amendment added proportionality.
    • Rule 37 — discovery sanctions.
    • Rule 56 — summary judgment.
  • Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCrP) — adopted 1944. Rule 11 plea colloquies; Rule 16 discovery; Rule 41 search warrants; Rule 17 subpoenas.
  • Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) — adopted 1975, codified by Congress. Article IV relevance (Rules 401–403); Article VI witnesses; Article VIII hearsay (Rules 801 exclusions, 803/804 exceptions); Rule 702 expert testimony (post-Daubert and the 2023 amendment that emphasized gatekeeping).
  • Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) — adopted 1968.
  • Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure — adopted 1983.

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