The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. The court has appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: District of Connecticut, Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Western District of New York, District of Vermont
The Second Circuit has its clerk's office and hears oral arguments at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at 40 Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. Due to renovations at that building, from 2006 until early 2013, the court temporarily relocated to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse across Pearl Street from Foley Square, and certain court offices temporarily relocated to the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway.
Because the Second Circuit includes New York City, it has long been one of the largest and most influential American appellate courts, especially in matters of contract law, securities law, and antitrust law. Over the course of the twentieth century, it came to be considered one of the two most prestigious federal appellate courts, along with the District of Columbia Circuit Court.[2] Several notable judges have served on the Second Circuit, including three later named Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court: John Marshall Harlan II, Thurgood Marshall, and Sonia Sotomayor. Judge Learned Hand served on the court from 1924 to 1961, as did his cousin, Augustus Noble Hand, from 1927 until 1953. Judge Henry Friendly served from 1959 to 1986.
