United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

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Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals
US-CourtOfAppeals-4thCircuit-Seal.png
Judgeships
Posts: 15
Judges: 15
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Albert Diaz
Active judges: Steven Agee, DeAndrea G. Benjamin, Nicole Berner, Albert Diaz, Roger Gregory, Pamela Harris, Toby Heytens, Allison Jones Rushing, Robert King, Paul Niemeyer, A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., Julius Richardson, Stephanie Thacker, J. Harvie Wilkinson, James Wynn

Senior judges:
Henry Floyd, Barbara Keenan, Diana Motz, William Traxler


The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Appeals are heard in the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Federal Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.

This page contains the following information on the Fourth Circuit.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the Fourth Circuit, out of the court's 15 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Ryan Y. Park

Joe Biden (D)

Amherst College, 2005

Harvard Law School, 2010


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

J. Harvie Wilkinson

Ronald Reagan (R)

August 13, 1984 -

Yale University, 1967

University of Virginia School of Law, 1972

Paul Niemeyer

George H.W. Bush (R)

August 7, 1990 -

Kenyon College, 1962

Notre Dame Law School, 1966

Robert King

Bill Clinton (D)

October 9, 1998 -

West Virginia University, 1961

West Virginia University College of Law, 1968

Roger Gregory

George W. Bush (R)

July 25, 2001 -

Virginia State University, 1975

University of Michigan Law School, 1978

Steven Agee

George W. Bush (R)

July 1, 2008 -

Bridgewater College, 1974

University of Virginia School of Law, 1977

James Wynn

Barack Obama (D)

August 10, 2010 -

University of North Carolina, 1975

Marquette University Law School, 1979

Albert Diaz

Barack Obama (D)

December 22, 2010 -

University of Pennsylvania, 1983

New York University School of Law, 1988

Stephanie Thacker

Barack Obama (D)

April 17, 2012 -

Marshall University, 1987

West Virginia University College of Law, 1990

Pamela Harris

Barack Obama (D)

July 29, 2014 -

Yale College, 1985

Yale Law School, 1990

Julius Richardson

Donald Trump (R)

August 20, 2018 -

Vanderbilt University, 1999

University of Chicago Law School, 2003

A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Donald Trump (R)

September 4, 2018 -

Rhodes College, 1986

University of South Carolina School of Law, 1989

Allison Jones Rushing

Donald Trump (R)

March 21, 2019 -

Wake Forest University, 2004

Duke University School of Law, 2007

Toby Heytens

Joe Biden (D)

November 2, 2021 -

Macalester College, 1997

University of Virginia School of Law, 2000

DeAndrea G. Benjamin

Joe Biden (D)

February 22, 2023 -

Winthrop University, 1994

University of South Carolina, 1997

Nicole Berner

Joe Biden (D)

March 19, 2024 -

University of California, Berkeley, 1988

University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 1996


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

Below is a display of the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 8
  • Republican appointed: 7

Senior judges

Senior status is a classification for federal judges at all levels who are semi-retired. Senior judges are Article III judges who, having met eligibility through age and service requirements, continue to serve on federal courts while typically hearing a reduced number of cases. Some senior judges, however, elect to retain a full caseload after taking senior status. According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, senior judges "typically handle about 15 percent of the federal courts' workload annually."[1] The date listed under assumed office in the table below reflects the date that the judge took senior status.

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

William Traxler

Bill Clinton (D)

August 31, 2018 -

Davidson College, 1970

University of South Carolina School of Law, 1973

Barbara Keenan

August 31, 2021 -

Cornell University, 1971

George Washington University Law Center, 1974

Henry Floyd

Barack Obama (D)

December 31, 2021 -

Wofford College, 1970

University of South Carolina School of Law, 1973

Diana Motz

September 30, 2022 -

Vassar College, 1965

University of Virginia School of Law, 1968


Senior judges by appointing political party

Below is a display of the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 4
  • Republican appointed: 2

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information on former judges, see former federal judges of the Fourth Circuit.

Jurisdiction

United States Court of Appeals for the 4th CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 4th CircuitUnited States District Court for the District of South CarolinaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of North CarolinaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of North CarolinaUnited States District Court for the Western District of North CarolinaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of VirginiaUnited States District Court for the Western District of VirginiaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of West VirginiaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of West VirginiaUnited States District Court for the District of MarylandUnited States District Court for the District of MarylandUnited States District Court for the District of ColumbiaUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia
Map of the Fourth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.


The Fourth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts is the circuit justice for the Fourth Circuit.

The court hears appeals from the United States district courts in:

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year Appeals Filed Appeals Terminated Pending Appeals Terminations on the Merits (per Active Judge) Procedural Terminations (per Active Judge) Total Written Decisions (per Active Judge) Number of Judgeships Number of Sitting Senior Judges Number of Vacant Judgeship Months Median Time From Filing Notice of Appeal to Disposition
2010 4,784 4,757 3,104 644 206 224 15 1 33 10
2011 4,637 5,165 2,577 755 182 250 15 1 18 8
2012 5,125 5,329 2,375 799 55 260 15 1 4 5
2013 4,969 5,013 2,326 725 50 234 15 1 0 5
2014 4,727 4,843 2,224 698 55 231 15 2 5 5
2015 4,831 4,541 2,514 606 46 198 15 2 0 5
2016 6,227 6,240 2,501 942 52 305 15 2 0 4
2017 4,319 4,532 2,285 629 60 201 15 1 0 6
2018 4,363 4,168 2,480 530 50 165 15 1 1 5
2019 4,768 4,226 3,022 523 50 161 15 3 0 6
2020 4,408 4,124 3,306 519 47 163 15 4 0 7
2021 4,198 4,339 3,167 541 41 167 15 3 2 8
2022 3,827 3,981 3,011 517 40 163 15 4 9 8
2023 3,647 3,858 2,800 504 44 160 15 4 15 9
Average 4,631 4,651 2,692 638 70 206 15 2 6 6

History

Court history

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was originally the United States Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit and cases were heard by a district court judge and the Supreme Court justice appointed to the district. In 1869, a judgeship was created for each of the existing nine circuits allowing the circuit court to hear cases without a justice.[7][8]

The Fourth Circuit was created by the Evarts Act of 1891. The court served as a trial and appeals court until 1912 when its original jurisdiction was removed by the Judicial Code of 1911 and it became solely an appellate court.[9]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Fourth Circuit:[8]

Year Statute Total Seats
March 3, 1891 26 Stat. 826 2
September 14, 1922 42 Stat. 837 3
May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 5
March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 7
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 10
July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 11
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 15

Reversal rate

See also: SCOTUS case reversal rates (2007 - Present)

Since 2007, SCOTUS has released opinions in 1,250 cases. Of those, it reversed a lower court decision 891 times (71.3 percent) while affirming a lower court decision 347 times (27.8 percent).

In that time period, SCOTUS has decided 58 cases originating from the Fourth Circuit, affirming in 22 cases and reversing in 36 cases, for a reversal rate of 62.1 percent. As of the end of the 2023 term, of the Article III circuits—the ordinal circuits, the D.C. Circuit, and the Federal Circuit—the court with the lowest rate of overturned decisions is the Fourth Circuit at 62.1 percent.


Noteworthy cases

The following are noteworthy cases heard before this court. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us. To read opinions published by this court, click here.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court

This section focuses on cases the U.S. Supreme Court heard that originated in this court. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us.

2024-2025 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2024-2025

The following case was scheduled for argument before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2024-2025 term.

2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 4th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Lackey v. Stinnie TBD TBD TBD

2023-2024 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2023-2024

The following cases were heard for argument before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2023-2024 term.

2023-2024 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 4th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc. Sonia Sotomayor reversed and remanded 8-0[18]

2022-2023 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2022-2023

The following cases were heard before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2022-2023 term.

2022-2023 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 4th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Dupree v. Younger Amy Coney Barrett vacated and remanded 9-0
Pugin v. Garland Brett Kavanaugh reversed and remanded 6-3
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina John Roberts reversed 6-3

2021-2022 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2021-2022

The following cases were heard before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2021-2022 term.

2021-2022 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 4th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Cochran v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore
(Consolidated with American Medical Association v. Cochran and Oregon v. Cochran)[19]
N/A Dismissed N/A
United States v. Taylor Neil Gorsuch affirmed 7-2
Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP Neil Gorsuch reversed 8-1
Siegel v. Fitzgerald Sonia Sotomayor Reversed and remanded 9-0

2020-2021 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021

The following cases were heard before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2020-2021 term.

2020-2021 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 4th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Johnson v. Guzman Chavez Samuel Alito reversed 6-3
BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore Neil Gorsuch vacated and remanded 7-1
United States v. Gary Brett Kavanaugh reversed 8-1


2019-2020 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020

The following cases were heard before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2019-2020 term.

2019-2020 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 4th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Mathena v. Malvo NA Dismissed NA
Allen v. Cooper Elena Kagan affirmed 9-0
United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association Clarence Thomas reversed and remanded 7-2
United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V. Ruth Bader Ginsburg affirmed 8-1
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants Inc. Brett Kavanaugh affirmed 6-3

Federal courthouse

Lewis F. Powell, Jr. United States Courthouse

The Fourth Circuit is housed in the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. United States Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. The building, built from 1855 to 1858, originally served as Richmond's Custom House, Post Office, and Courthouse. It was built in the Italianate style, popular in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. The building was designed by Ammi B. Young, the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department and used iron beams and girders, a new concept in 1855. The main materials used in the construction of the building are steel, granite, and limestone. Additions to the building were added in 1889, 1912 and 1932.

When Richmond was named the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, the courthouse was used as offices for Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The courthouse was one of two buildings to survive in historic Richmond after the city was burned to the ground by the Confederate Army at the end of the war. After the Civil War, Davis was indicted for treason on the third floor of the building but was granted amnesty.

The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The Post Office had left the building by 1991 leaving the building to function solely in a judicial role. The courthouse was named in honor of Associate Justice Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993.[20]

About United States Courts of Appeal

The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. The court of appeals was originally created in 1891 and has grown to include thirteen courts.

A court of appeals decides appeals from any of the district courts that are in its federal judicial circuit. The appeals courts also can hear appeals from some administrative agencies. Decisions of the federal appeals courts can, in turn, be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

There are thirteen United States courts of appeals. In addition, there are other federal courts (such as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which hears appeals in court-martial cases) that have "Court of Appeals" in their titles.

The eleven "numbered" circuits and the D.C. Circuit are defined by geography. The thirteenth court of appeal is the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This court has nationwide jurisdiction over certain types of appeals based on what the underlying legal case is about.

All of the courts of appeals also hear appeals from some administrative agency decisions and rulemaking. The largest share of this type of case is heard by the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from specialized trial courts, primarily the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims, as well as appeals from the district courts in patent cases and certain other specialized matters.

Federal circuit court judges are appointed for life. They are paid approximately $179,500 annually. At the age of 65, a federal judge may choose to retire with his or her full salary. Judges may also choose to go on senior status at age 65, if they have served actively for 15 years.[21]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of appeals court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through November 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Trump had the most appeals court appointments with 53.


Judges by circuit

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each circuit and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies on a circuit and how many pending nominations for that circuit are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line. It is updated every Monday.



See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. United States Courts, "FAQs: Federal Judges: What is a senior judge?" accessed December 19, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. Federal Judicial Center, "The U.S. Circuit Courts and the Federal Judiciary," accessed June 9, 2021
  8. 8.0 8.1 Federal Judicial Center, "U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: Legislative History," accessed June 9, 2021
  9. Federal Judicial Center, "The U.S. Courts of Appeals and the Federal Judiciary," accessed June 9, 2021
  10. Governing, "Maryland's First-in-Nation Drug Price Regulations Ruled Unconstitutional," April 17, 2018
  11. United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, "Association for Accessible Medicines v. Frosh Opinion," April 13, 2018
  12. 12.0 12.1 United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, "Bostic v. Rainey," July 28, 2014
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Courthouse News Service, "Old NFL Ravens Logo Won't Cost Team Again," December 19, 2013
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Live 5 News, "Court: Occupy can sue Gov. Haley over arrests," December 16, 2013
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 National Law Journal, "Fourth Circuit Green-Lights Suit Over Occupy Arrests," December 16, 2013
  17. 17.0 17.1 The Post and Courier, "Occupy Columbia Settles Lawsuit with Gov. Nikki Haley," February 26, 2014
  18. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case.
  19. American Medical Association v. Cochran and Oregon v. Cochran originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Click here for updates on these cases.
  20. United States General Services Administration, "Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, Richmond, VA," accessed April 7, 2014
  21. United States Courts, "FAQs: Federal Judges," accessed May 5, 2021