U.S. Appeals Court Judge Robert Smith Vance is assassinated by a mail bomb sent by Walter Leroy Moody, Jr.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

Middle District of Alabama

Northern District of Alabama

Southern District of Alabama

Middle District of Florida

Northern District of Florida

Southern District of Florida

Middle District of Georgia

Northern District of Georgia

Southern District of GeorgiaThese districts were originally part of the Fifth Circuit, but were split off to form the Eleventh Circuit effective October 1, 1981. For this reason, Fifth Circuit decisions from before this split are considered binding precedent in the Eleventh Circuit.The court is based at the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia. The building is named for Elbert Tuttle, who served as Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit in the 1960s and was known for issuing decisions which advanced the civil rights of African-Americans.

The Eleventh Circuit is one of the thirteen United States courts of appeals.