The file FG 52 contains correspondence and memoranda regarding the circuit courts of appeals within the Judicial Branch. The United States is divided into ten circuits and the District of Columbia, which is considered its own circuit. The courts of appeals are intermediate appellate courts created to relieve the Supreme Court of considering all appeals in cases originally decided by the Federal trial courts. They are empowered to review decisions of the district courts and to review and enforce orders of many Federal administrative bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.
The material in FG 52 is sorted chronologically by two year periods (e.g., 1969-1970, 1971-1972, etc.) and is sorted within these periods by circuit. The circuit number appears immediately after the "#" in the folder title. Note that for the periods 1969-1970 and 1973-1974, the material in FG 52 was placed in a single folder which has been given the designation FG 52/#[1-10]. The material in FG 52/A, however, was placed in separate folders for each circuit throughout the files. The designation FG 52/FG 106 has been given to material relating to the circuit comprising the District of Columbia.
Also contained in FG 52 is the subseries FG 52-1, which deals with a proposed reorganization of the circuit court system. The reorganization under consideration would have split the ninth circuit into two parts. The states of Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, and part of northern California, as well as the territory of Guam would have remained as the ninth circuit while Arizona, Nevada, and southern California would have comprised a new twelfth circuit.
Principal correspondents in FG 52 include the President, Attorneys General John N. Mitchell and William Saxbe, Harry Flemming, Special Assistant to the President, and other White House staff members.
The Executive folders consist largely of White House internal memoranda and letters from judges on subjects of concern to the various circuits. The General folders are made up of letters from members of the general public, most of which suggest potential candidates for vacancies on the various circuits.
On the folders, the terms Executive and General are used in the titles to indicate separation of documents according to source and handling. "Executive" items include communication among national, foreign, and state and local governments and their agencies, members of Congress, and selected prominent correspondents. "General" designates communications between Government officials and private citizens, institutions, and private interest groups. Where "/A" follows a numeric file designation, it indicates files relating to appointments, nominations, and resignations within that organization.
Some of the files related to FG 52 include:
White House Central Files: Subject Files
FG 17 Department of Justice
FG 51 Supreme Court of the United States
JL Judicial-Legal Matters
FG 52
This category contains letters and memoranda relating to the eleven judicial circuits of the United States. These documents focus largely on the appointments and retirements of judges within the individual circuits.
FG 52/#/A
This category contains letters relating to the appointments, nominations, and resignations of the various judges of the particular circuits.
FG 52-1
This category contains correspondence, reports, and Congressional testimony from members of the Circuit Court Reorganization Commission.
FG 52-1/A
This category is concerned with Executive Orders, transmittal letters, and correspondence relating to the appointments, nominations, and resignations of the Circuit Court Reorganization Commission.
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