§ 134. — Tenure and residence of district judges.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC134]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART I--ORGANIZATION OF COURTS
CHAPTER 5--DISTRICT COURTS
Sec. 134. Tenure and residence of district judges
(a) The district judges shall hold office during good behavior.
(b) Each district judge, except in the District of Columbia, the
Southern District of New York, and the Eastern District of New York,
shall reside in the district or one of the districts for which he is
appointed. Each district judge of the Southern District of New York and
the Eastern District of New York may reside within 20 miles of the
district to which he or she is appointed.
(c) If the public interest and the nature of the business of a
district court require that a district judge should maintain his abode
at or near a particular place for holding court in the district or
within a particular part of the district the judicial council of the
circuit may so declare and may make an appropriate order. If the
district judges of such a district are unable to agree as to which of
them shall maintain his abode at or near the place or within the area
specified in such an order the judicial council of the circuit may
decide which of them shall do so.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 896; Aug. 3, 1949, ch. 387,
Sec. 2(b)(1), 63 Stat. 495; Feb. 10, 1954, ch. 6, Sec. 2(b)(13)(a), 68
Stat. 12; Pub. L. 86-3, Sec. 9(c), Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 8; Pub. L.
87-36, Sec. 2(e)(3), May 19, 1961, 75 Stat. 83; Pub. L. 89-571, Sec. 1,
Sept. 12, 1966, 80 Stat. 764; Pub. L. 92-208, Sec. 3(e), Dec. 18, 1971,
85 Stat. 742; Pub. L. 104-317, title VI, Sec. 607, Oct. 19, 1996, 110
Stat. 3860.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 1 and section 863 of title
48, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Territories and Insular Possessions (Apr. 12,
1900, ch. 191, Sec. 34, 31 Stat. 84; Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, Sec. 1, 36
Stat. 1087; Jan. 7, 1913; ch. 6, 37 Stat. 648; July 30, 1914, ch. 216,
38 Stat. 580; Mar. 2, 1917, ch. 145, Sec. 41, 39 Stat. 965; Mar. 4,
1921, ch. 161, Sec. 1, 41 Stat. 1412; Sept. 14, 1922, ch. 306, Sec. 1,
42 Stat. 837; Mar. 26, 1938, ch. 51, Sec. 2, 52 Stat. 118).
Section consolidates the last paragraph of section 1 of title 28,
U.S.C., 1940 ed., with portions of section 863 of title 48, U.S.C., 1940
ed., with changes in phraseology necessary to effect consolidation.
Provisions of section 1 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., relating to
the number of judges in the various districts are incorporated in
section 133 of this title.
A portion of section 863 of title 48, U.S.C., 1940 ed., is retained
in said title 48. For remainder of section 863, see Distribution Table.
The exception in subsection (b) ``except in the District of
Columbia'' conforms with the recent decision in U.S. ex. rel. Laughlin
v. Eicher, 1944, 56 F.Supp. 972, holding that residence requirement of
section 1 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., did not apply to district
judges in the District of Columbia. (See reviser's note under section 44
of this title.)
The clause in said last paragraph of section 1 of title 28 providing
that any district judge, who violates the residence requirement, shall
be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, was omitted. This penalty
provision was attached to the residence requirement at the time of
compilation of the Revised Statutes of 1878, although it is apparent
that Congress only intended that the penalty should be invoked upon the
unauthorized practice of law. See U.S. ex. rel. Laughlin v. Eicher,
supra, in which an outline of the history of said section 1 of title 28
is given.
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104-317 inserted ``the Southern District
of New York, and the Eastern District of New York,'' after ``the
District of Columbia,'' and inserted ``Each district judge of the
Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York may
reside within 20 miles of the district to which he or she is
appointed.'' at end.
1971--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 92-208 struck out provision requiring
that one of the district judges for the Eastern District of Louisiana
reside in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
1966--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89-571 struck out provisions which
excepted district judges in Puerto Rico from tenure during good behavior
and which instead set eight-year terms for them to be served until their
successors were appointed and qualified.
1961--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 87-36 required the residence of one of
the district judges for the Eastern District of Louisiana to be in East
Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
1959--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86-3 struck out provisions which limited
district judges in Hawaii to a term of six years.
1954--Subsecs. (a) and (b) reenacted without change by act Feb. 10,
1954.
Subsec. (c). Act Feb. 10, 1954, substituted entirely new provisions
giving the judicial council of the circuit the authority to determine
residence of district judges when it is in the public interest and the
nature of the business of the district court necessitates the presence
of a judge at or near a particular place for holding court in the
district or within a particular part of the district, for former
provisions relating to residence of one of the district judges for the
District of Kansas.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Act Feb. 10, 1954, struck out subsecs. (d) and
(e) which related to residence of one of the district judges for the
Southern District of California and one of the district judges for the
Southern District of Texas.
1949--Subsecs. (c) to (e). Act Aug. 3, 1949, added subsecs. (c) to
(e).
Effective Date of 1971 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 92-208 effective 120 days after Dec. 18, 1971,
see section 3(f) of Pub. L. 92-208, set out as a note under section 98
of this title.
Effective Date of 1959 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 86-3 effective on admission of Hawaii into the
Union, see Effective Date of 1959 Amendment note set out under section
133 of this title. Admission of Hawaii into the Union was accomplished
Aug. 21, 1959, upon issuance of Proc. No. 3309, Aug. 21, 1959, 25 F.R.
6868, 73 Stat. c74, as required by sections 1 and 7(c) of Pub. L. 86-3,
Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 4, set out as notes preceding section 491 of
Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.
Tenure and Salary Rights of Judges in Puerto Rico in Office on September
12, 1966
Section 4 of Pub. L. 89-571 provided that: ``The amendments made by
this section to sections 134 and 373 of title 28, United States Code,
shall not affect the tenure of office or right to continue to receive
salary after resignation, retirement, or failure of reappointment of any
district judge for the district of Puerto Rico who is in office on the
date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 12, 1966].''
Applicability of Orders Under 1954 Amendment
Section 2(b)(13)(b) of act Feb. 10, 1954, provided: ``Orders made by
the judicial councils of the circuits under the second sentence of
subsection (c) of section 134 of Title 28, as amended by this section,
determining that a specified district judge shall maintain his abode at
or near a place or within an area which the council has theretofore
designated for the abode of a district judge under the first sentence of
such subsection, shall be applicable only to district judges appointed
after the enactment of this act [Feb. 10, 1954].''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 992 of this title.
