Current composition of the court
β»
As of March 19, 2024:
#
|
Title
|
Judge
|
Duty station
|
Born
|
Term of service
|
Appointed by
|
Active
|
Chief
|
Senior
|
48
|
Chief Judge
|
Albert Diaz
|
Charlotte, NC
|
1960
|
2010βpresent
|
2023βpresent
|
β
|
Obama
|
30
|
Circuit Judge
|
J. Harvie Wilkinson III
|
Charlottesville, VA
|
1944
|
1984βpresent
|
1996β2003
|
β
|
Reagan
|
33
|
Circuit Judge
|
Paul V. Niemeyer
|
Baltimore, MD
|
1941
|
1990βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
G.H.W. Bush
|
40
|
Circuit Judge
|
Robert Bruce King
|
Charleston, WV
|
1940
|
1998βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Clinton
|
41
|
Circuit Judge
|
Roger Gregory
|
Richmond, VA
|
1953
|
2000βpresent
|
2016β2023
|
β
|
Clinton / G.W. Bush
|
44
|
Circuit Judge
|
G. Steven Agee
|
Salem, VA
|
1952
|
2008βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
G.W. Bush
|
47
|
Circuit Judge
|
James Andrew Wynn
|
Raleigh, NC
|
1954
|
2010βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Obama
|
50
|
Circuit Judge
|
Stephanie Thacker
|
Charleston, WV
|
1965
|
2012βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Obama
|
51
|
Circuit Judge
|
Pamela Harris
|
Bethesda, MD
|
1962
|
2014βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Obama
|
52
|
Circuit Judge
|
Julius N. Richardson
|
Columbia, SC
|
1976
|
2018βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Trump
|
53
|
Circuit Judge
|
A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.
|
Greenville, SC
|
1964
|
2018βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Trump
|
54
|
Circuit Judge
|
Allison Jones Rushing
|
Asheville, NC
|
1982
|
2019βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Trump
|
55
|
Circuit Judge
|
Toby J. Heytens
|
Alexandria, VA
|
1975
|
2021βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Biden
|
56
|
Circuit Judge
|
DeAndrea G. Benjamin
|
Columbia, SC
|
1972
|
2023βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Biden
|
57
|
Circuit Judge
|
Nicole Berner
|
Baltimore, MD
|
1965
|
2024βpresent
|
β
|
β
|
Biden
|
38
|
Senior Circuit Judge
|
Diana Gribbon Motz
|
Baltimore, MD
|
1943
|
1994β2022
|
β
|
2022βpresent
|
Clinton
|
39
|
Senior Circuit Judge
|
William Byrd Traxler Jr.
|
Greenville, SC
|
1948
|
1998β2018
|
2009β2016
|
2018βpresent
|
Clinton
|
46
|
Senior Circuit Judge
|
Barbara Milano Keenan
|
Alexandria, VA
|
1950
|
2010β2021
|
β
|
2021βpresent
|
Obama
|
49
|
Senior Circuit Judge
|
Henry F. Floyd
|
Spartanburg, SC
|
1947
|
2011β2021
|
β
|
2021βpresent
|
Obama
|
Vacancies and pending nominationsβ»
List of former judgesβ»
Chief judgesβ»
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respectββto their circuits. And preside over any panel on which they serve, unless the circuit justice (the Supreme Court justice responsible for the circuit) is also on the "panel." Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominatedββto be, chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the circuit judges.
To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges, with seniority determined first by commission date, then by age. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years. Or until age 70, whichever occurs first. If no judge qualifies to be chief, the youngest judge over the age of 65 who has served on the court for at least one year shall act as chief until another judge qualifies. If no judge has served on the court for more than a year, the most senior judge shall act as chief. Judges can forfeit. Or resign their chief judgeship/acting chief judgeship while retaining their active status as a circuit judge.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
Succession of seatsβ»
The court has fifteen seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were initially filled. Judges who assume senior status enter a kind of retirement in which they remain on the bench. But vacate their seats, thus allowing the U.S. President to appoint new judges to fill their seats.
|
Seat 6
|
Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
|
Winter |
MD |
1966β1990
|
Niemeyer |
MD |
1990βpresent
|
|
|
|
Seat 8
|
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
|
Murnaghan, Jr. |
MD |
1979β2000
|
Davis |
MD |
2009β2014
|
Harris |
MD |
2014βpresent
|
|
Seat 9
|
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
|
Sprouse |
WV |
1979β1992
|
Michael |
WV |
1993β2011
|
Thacker |
WV |
2012βpresent
|
|
Seat 10
|
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
|
Ervin III |
NC |
1980β1999
|
Duncan |
NC |
2003β2019
|
Rushing |
NC |
2019βpresent
|
|
Seat 11
|
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
|
Sneeden |
NC |
1984β1986
|
Wilkins |
SC |
1986β2007
|
Diaz |
NC |
2010βpresent
|
|
Seat 12
|
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
|
Hamilton |
SC |
1991β1999
|
Shedd |
SC |
2002β2018
|
Richardson |
SC |
2018βpresent
|
|
Seat 13
|
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
|
Luttig |
VA |
1991β2006
|
Agee |
VA |
2008βpresent
|
|
Seat 14
|
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
|
Motz |
MD |
1994β2022
|
Berner |
MD |
2024βpresent
|
|
Seat 15
|
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
|
Gregory |
VA |
2000βpresent
|
|
Practice in the 4th Circuitβ»
From 2000 to 2008, the Court had the highest rate of non-publication (92%) on the Federal Circuit.
The Chief Justice is always assigned to the Fourth Circuit as the circuit justice, due to Richmond's close proximity to Washington, D.C.
The Fourth Circuit is considered an extremely collegial court. By tradition, the judges of the Fourth Circuit come down from the bench following each oral argument to greet the lawyers.
See alsoβ»
Notesβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit". Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ "Fourth Circuit Judges". Official website of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Future Judicial Vacancies | United States Courts". www.uscourts.gov.
- ^ Bond was appointed as a circuit judge for the Fourth Circuit in 1870 by Ulysses S. Grant. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
- ^ Knapp did not have a permanent seat on this court. Instead, he was appointed to the ill-fated United States Commerce Court in 1910 by William Howard Taft. Aside from their duties on the Commerce Court, the judges of the Commerce Court also acted as at-large appellate judges, able to be assigned by the Chief Justice of the United States to whichever circuit most needed help. Knapp was assigned to the Second Circuit upon his commission. And then to the Fourth Circuit in 1916.
- ^ Recess appointment, confirmed by the United States Senate at a later date.
- ^ 28 U.S.C. Β§ 45
- ^ 62 Stat. 871, 72 Stat. 497, 96 Stat. 51
- ^ Aaron S. Bayer (August 24, 2009), Unpublished Appellate Opinions Are Still Commonplace, The National Law Journal
- ^ Roberts, John G. (2006). "What Makes the D.C. Circuit Different?: A Historical View". Virginia Law Review. 92 (3): 375β389. ISSN 0042-6601. JSTOR 4144947.
- ^ Sontag, Deborah (2003-03-09). "The Power of the Fourth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
External linksβ»
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Courts of appeals | |
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District courts |
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Specialty courts | |
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Territorial courts | |
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Extinct courts | |
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Note | |
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37Β°32β²16β³N 77Β°26β²05β³W / 37.53769Β°N 77.43481Β°W / 37.53769; -77.43481