| March 16, 1822 3 Stat. 653 | Congress organized Missouri as one judicial district and authorized one judgeship for the U.S. district court. The district court in Missouri, not being assigned to a judicial circuit, was granted the same jurisdiction as U.S. circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. |
| March 3, 1837 5 Stat. 176 | Congress repealed the circuit court jurisdiction of the district court for Missouri, assigned Missouri to the Eighth Circuit, and created the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Missouri. |
| March 3, 1857 11 Stat. 197 | Missouri divided into two judicial districts, the Eastern and the Western, with one judgeship authorized for each district. The district judge serving the District of Missouri was assigned to the Western District of Missouri. |
| July 15, 1862 12 Stat. 576 | Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Missouri to the Ninth Circuit. |
| July 23, 1866 14 Stat. 209 | Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Missouri to the Eighth Circuit. |
| September 14, 1922 42 Stat. 838 | One temporary judgeship authorized for each district. |
| August 19, 1935 49 Stat. 659 | Temporary judgeships authorized in 1922 made permanent. |
| June 22, 1936 49 Stat. 1804 | One judgeship authorized to serve both districts. |
| December 24, 1942 56 Stat. 1083 | One temporary judgeship authorized to serve both districts. |
| February 10, 1954 68 Stat. 8 | Temporary judgeship authorized in 1942 made permanent. |
| May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 | One additional judgeship authorized for the Western District. |
| June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 | One additional judgeship authorized for the Eastern District. |
| October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 | One additional judgeship authorized for the Eastern District and two for the Western District. |
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 | One additional judgeship authorized for the Eastern District. |
| December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 | One additional judgeship and one temporary judgeship authorized for the Eastern District. (Statutory provision authorizing temporary judgeship revised by 109 Stat. 635 and judgeship extended by 111 Stat. 1173 and 119 Stat. 2470.) |
Authorized Judgeships
Missouri District | Eastern District | Western District | Total Judgeships | |
1822 | 1 | 1 | ||
1857 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
1922 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
1936 | 3 | 3 | 5 | |
1942 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
1961 | 4 | 5 | 7 | |
1970 | 5 | 5 | 8 | |
1978 | 6 | 7 | 11 | |
1984 | 7 | 7 | 12 | |
1990 | 9 | 7 | 14 |