The federal government has 663 federal judgeships located in 94 judicial districts in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Each state has at least one judicial district, but some states have as many as four. Judges are nominated and appointed by the president of the United States for life, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and can be removed only by impeachment. In practice, the senior U.S. senator from that state makes the recommendation for the appointment if he or she belongs to the president’s political party.
Also under the federal system are the U.S. magistrate courts, established primarily to relieve district court judges of heavy caseloads. They are presided over by U.S. magistrates and have limited authority, such as trying minor offenses and misdemeanor cases in which the possible penalty is incarceration for one year or less. They are also empowered to hold bail hearings, issue warrants, review habeas corpus petitions, and hold pretrial conferences in civil and criminal cases.
Unlike other federal court judges, whose offices are created by Article III (the Judiciary Article) of the Constitution, the offices of federal magistrates were created by the Congress of the United States. Magistrates are appointed by federal court judges in that district and are not guaranteed life tenure. U.S. magistrate courts do not constitute a separate court in the federal courts system. Instead, they are part of the Federal District Court system.