United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Location	Lewis F. Powell, Jr., United States Courthouse, Richmond, Virginia
Established	June 16, 1891

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

• District of Maryland
• Eastern District of North Carolina
• Middle District of North Carolina
• Western District of North Carolina
• District of South Carolina
• Eastern District of Virginia
• Western District of Virginia
• Northern District of West Virginia
• Southern District of West Virginia

Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Courthouse

The court is based at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr., United States Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. With 15 authorized judgeships, it is mid-sized among the 13 United States Courts of Appeals.

Current composition of the court

As of July 29, 2014, the active and senior judges on the court are as follows:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
38	Chief Judge	William Byrd Traxler, Jr.	Greenville, SC	1948	1998–present	2009–present	—	Clinton
29	Circuit Judge	J. Harvie Wilkinson III	Charlottesville, VA	1944	1984–present	1996–2003	—	Reagan
32	Circuit Judge	Paul V. Niemeyer	Baltimore, MD	1941	1990–present	—	—	G.H.W. Bush
37	Circuit Judge	Diana Gribbon Motz	Baltimore, MD	1943	1994–present	—	—	Clinton
39	Circuit Judge	Robert Bruce King	Charleston, WV	1940	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
40	Circuit Judge	Roger Gregory	Richmond, VA	1953	2000–present	—	—	Clinton/G.W. Bush
41	Circuit Judge	Dennis Shedd	Columbia, SC	1953	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
42	Circuit Judge	Allyson Kay Duncan	Raleigh, NC	1951	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
43	Circuit Judge	G. Steven Agee	Salem, VA	1952	2008–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
45	Circuit Judge	Barbara Milano Keenan	Alexandria, VA	1950	2010–present	—	—	Obama
46	Circuit Judge	James A. Wynn, Jr.	Raleigh, NC	1954	2010–present	—	—	Obama
47	Circuit Judge	Albert Diaz	Charlotte, NC	1960	2010–present	—	—	Obama
48	Circuit Judge	Henry Franklin Floyd	Pickens, SC	1947	2011–present	—	—	Obama
49	Circuit Judge	Stephanie Thacker	Charleston, WV	1965	2012–present	—	—	Obama
50	Circuit Judge	Pamela Harris	Greenbelt, MD	1962	2014–present	—	—	Obama
24	Senior Judge	James Dickson Phillips, Jr.	inactive	1922	1978–1994	—	1994–present	Carter
28	Senior Judge	Robert F. Chapman	inactive	1926	1981–1991	—	1991–present	Reagan
33	Senior Judge	Clyde H. Hamilton	Columbia, SC	1934	1991–1999	—	1999–present	G.H.W. Bush
44	Senior Judge	Andre M. Davis	Baltimore, MD	1949	2009–2014	—	2014–present	Obama

List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Active	Chief	Senior	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Hugh Lennox Bond	MD	1828–1893	1891–1893	——	——	Grant	death
2	Nathan Goff, Jr.	WV	1843–1920	1892–1913	——	——	B. Harrison	resignation
3	Charles Henry Simonton	SC	1829–1904	1893–1904	——	——	Cleveland	death
4	Jeter Connelly Pritchard	NC/DC	1857–1921	1904–1921	——	——	T. Roosevelt	death
5	Charles Albert Woods	SC	1852–1925	1913–1925	——	——	Wilson	death
6	Edmund Waddill, Jr.	VA	1855–1931	1921–1931	——	——	Harding	death
7	John Carter Rose	MD	1861–1927	1922–1927	——	——	Harding	death
8	John J. Parker	NC	1885–1958	1925–1958	1948–1958	——	Coolidge	death
9	Elliott Northcott	WV	1869–1946	1927–1939	——	1939–1946	Coolidge	death
10	Morris Ames Soper	MD	1873–1963	1931–1955	——	1955–1963	Hoover	death
11	Armistead Mason Dobie	VA	1881–1962	1939–1956	——	1956–1962	F. Roosevelt	death
12	Simon E. Sobeloff	MD	1894–1973	1956–1970	1958–1964	1970–1973	Eisenhower	death
13	Clement Haynsworth	SC	1912–1989	1957–1981	1964–1981	1981–1989	Eisenhower	death
14	Herbert Stephenson Boreman	WV	1897–1982	1959–1971	——	1971–1982	Eisenhower	death
15	Albert V. Bryan Jr.	VA	1899–1984	1961–1972	——	1972–1984	Kennedy	death
16	J. Spencer Bell	NC	1906–1967	1961–1967	——	——	Kennedy	death
17	Harrison Lee Winter	MD	1921–1990	1966–1990	1981–1989	1990–1990	L. Johnson	death
18	James Braxton Craven, Jr.	NC	1918–1977	1966–1977	——	——	L. Johnson	death
19	John D. Butzner, Jr.	VA	1917–2006	1967–1982	——	1982–2006	L. Johnson	death
20	Donald Stuart Russell	SC	1906–1998	1971–1998	——	——	Nixon	death
21	John A. Field, Jr.	WV	1910–1995	1971–1976	——	1976–1995	Nixon	death
22	H. Emory Widener, Jr.	VA	1923–2007	1972–2007	——	2007	Nixon	death
23	Kenneth Keller Hall	WV	1918–1999	1976–1998	——	1998–1999	Ford	death
25	Francis Dominic Murnaghan, Jr.	MD	1920–2000	1979–2000	——	——	Carter	death
26	James Marshall Sprouse	WV	1923–2004	1979–1992	——	1992–1995	Carter	retirement
27	Samuel James Ervin III	NC	1926–1999	1980–1999	1989–1996	——	Carter	death
30	Emory M. Sneeden	DC	1927–1987	1984–1986	——	——	Reagan	resignation
31	William Walter Wilkins	SC	1942–	1986–2007	2003–2007	2007–2008	Reagan	retirement
34	J. Michael Luttig	VA	1954–	1991–2006	——	——	G.H.W. Bush	resignation
35	Karen J. Williams	SC	1951–2013	1992–2009	2007–2009	2009–2013	G.H.W. Bush	death
36	M. Blane Michael	WV	1943–2011	1993–2011	——	——	Clinton	death

Chief judges

Chief Judge Parker 1948–1958 Sobeloff 1958–1964 Haynsworth 1964–1981 Winter 1981–1989 Ervin 1989–1996 Wilkinson 1996–2003 Wilkins 2003–2007 Williams 2007–2009 Traxler 2009–

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to 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 nominated to 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 or 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 seats

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 1 Established on December 10, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 as a circuit judgeship for the Fourth Circuit Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Bond MD 1891–1893 Simonton SC 1893–1904 Pritchard DC 1904–1921 Waddill VA 1921–1931 Soper MD 1932–1955 Sobeloff MD 1956–1970 Russell SC 1971–1998 Traxler SC 1998–present

Seat 2 Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Goff WV 1892–1913 Woods SC 1913–1925 Parker NC 1925–1958 Boreman WV 1959–1971 Field WV 1971–1976 Hall WV 1976–1998 King WV 1998–present

Seat 3 Established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 Rose MD 1922–1927 Northcott WV 1927–1939 Dobie VA 1940–1956 Haynsworth SC 1957–1981 Chapman SC 1981–1991 Williams SC 1992–2009 Floyd SC 2011–present

Seat 4 Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Bryan VA 1961–1972 Widener VA 1972–2007 Keenan VA 2010–present

Seat 5 Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Bell NC 1961–1967 Butzner VA 1967–1982 Wilkinson VA 1984–present

Seat 6 Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Winter MD 1966–1990 Niemeyer MD 1990–present

Seat 7 Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Craven NC 1966–1977 Phillips NC 1978–1994 Wynn NC 2010–present

Seat 8 Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Murnaghan MD 1979–2000 Davis MD 2009–2014 Harris MD 2014–present

Seat 9 Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Sprouse WV 1979–1992 Michael WV 1993–2011 Thacker WV 2012–present

Seat 10 Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Ervin NC 1980–1999 Duncan NC 2003–present

Seat 11 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Sneeden NC 1984–1986 Wilkins SC 1986–2007 Diaz NC 2010–present

Seat 12 Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Hamilton SC 1991–1999 Shedd SC 2002–present

Seat 13 Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Luttig VA 1991–2006 Agee VA 2008–present

Seat 14 Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Motz MD 1994–present

Seat 15 Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Gregory VA 2000–present

Practice in the 4th Circuit

The Fourth is the most efficient circuit, taking an average of just over seven months to resolve each appeal. 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 advisory 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 also

• Federal judicial appointment history#Fourth Circuit
• Same-sex marriage in the Fourth Circuit

External links

• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Recent opinions from Findlaw