Prize courts were common in the 17th through 19th centuries, during times of American or European naval warfare. The United States in 1780 established the Federal Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture to hear appeals of prize cases from state prize courts; this court was ended in 1787, after conclusion of the war. Under current U.S. law, pursuant to , the district courts have exclusive jurisdiction in prize cases. Due to changes in the nature of naval warfare, no prize cases have been heard since the statutes were adopted in 1956.
