
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 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.
