For those who can remember, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit once was considered the most illustrious court in the nation. Led by its famous ”Four”—Elbert Tuttle, John Minor Wisdom, John Brown, and Richard Rives—the court was at the vortex of the modern revolution in civil rights, deciding landmark cases on school desegregation, voting rights, jury selection, and public accommodations.
However, under the Fifth Circuit Reorganization Act of 1981, the court’s identity changed. It was divided into two new circuits: the Fifth Circuit, comprising Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi; and the Eleventh Circuit, comprising Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
