28 U.S.C. § 6
Section 6 · Records of former court of appeals
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 35 court decisions — leading case Harris Truck Lines, Inc. v. Cherry Meat Packers, Inc. (1962)
Most recently applied in Island Industries, Inc. v. Sigma Corporation (June 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The records and proceedings of the court of appeals, appointed previous to the adoption of the Constitution, shall be kept until deposited with the National Archives of the United States in the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court, who shall furnish copies thereof to any person requiring and paying for them, in the manner provided by law for giving copies of the records and proceedings of the Supreme Court. Such copies shall have the same faith and credit as proceedings of the Supreme Court.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §329 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §222, 36 Stat. 1153).
In a letter dated August 8, 1944, the clerk of the Supreme Court advised that many of the early records mentioned in this section were destroyed by fire. Others are on file in the Clerk's office.
Minor changes in phraseology were made.
Amendments
1951—Act Oct. 25, 1951, inserted “until deposited with the National Archives of the United States” in first sentence.
Cross References
Management and disposition of records, see sections 2101 et seq., 2301 et seq., 2501 et seq., 2901 et seq., 3101 et seq., and 3301 et seq. of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents.