Current United States federal appellate court
Established | June 16, 1891 |
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Judges | 16 |
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Circuit Justice | Brett Kavanaugh |
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Chief Judge | Jeffrey Sutton |
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www.ca6.uscourts.gov |
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
The court is composed of sixteen judges and is based at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is one of 13 United States courts of appeals.
The United States federal courts were divided into six circuits in 1801, but a circuit court of appeals was not established until the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1891.[1]
William Howard Taft, the only person ever to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the United States, once served on the Sixth Circuit. Four other judges of the Sixth Circuit have been elevated to serve on the Supreme Court, the last being Potter Stewart in 1958.
Current composition of the Court
As of July 20, 2023[update]:
# | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by |
Active | Chief | Senior |
62 | Chief Judge | Jeffrey Sutton | Columbus, OH | 1960 | 2003–present | 2021–present | — | G.W. Bush |
56 | Circuit Judge | Karen Nelson Moore | Cleveland, OH | 1948 | 1995–present | — | — | Clinton |
58 | Circuit Judge | Eric L. Clay | Detroit, MI | 1948 | 1997–present | — | — | Clinton |
60 | Circuit Judge | Julia Smith Gibbons | Memphis, TN | 1950 | 2002–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
65 | Circuit Judge | Richard Allen Griffin | Traverse City, MI | 1952 | 2005–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
67 | Circuit Judge | Raymond Kethledge | Ann Arbor, MI | 1966 | 2008–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
69 | Circuit Judge | Jane Branstetter Stranch | Nashville, TN | 1953 | 2010–present | — | — | Obama |
71 | Circuit Judge | Amul Thapar | Covington, KY | 1969 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
72 | Circuit Judge | John K. Bush | Louisville, KY | 1964 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
73 | Circuit Judge | Joan Larsen | Ann Arbor, MI | 1968 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
74 | Circuit Judge | John Nalbandian | Cincinnati, OH | 1969 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
75 | Circuit Judge | Chad Readler | Columbus, OH | 1972 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
76 | Circuit Judge | Eric E. Murphy | Columbus, OH | 1979 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
77 | Circuit Judge | Stephanie D. Davis | Detroit, MI | 1967 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
78 | Circuit Judge | Andre Mathis | Memphis, TN | 1980 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
79 | Circuit Judge | Rachel Bloomekatz | Columbus, OH | 1982 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
47 | Senior Circuit Judge | Ralph B. Guy Jr. | Ann Arbor, MI | 1929 | 1985–1994 | — | 1994–present | Reagan |
49 | Senior Circuit Judge | James L. Ryan | inactive | 1932 | 1985–2000 | — | 2000–present | Reagan |
50 | Senior Circuit Judge | Danny Julian Boggs | Louisville, KY | 1944 | 1986–2017 | 2003–2009 | 2017–present | Reagan |
51 | Senior Circuit Judge | Alan Eugene Norris | Columbus, OH | 1935 | 1986–2001 | — | 2001–present | Reagan |
52 | Senior Circuit Judge | Richard Fred Suhrheinrich | Lansing, MI | 1936 | 1990–2001 | — | 2001–present | G.H.W. Bush |
53 | Senior Circuit Judge | Eugene Edward Siler Jr. | London, KY | 1936 | 1991–2001 | — | 2001–present | G.H.W. Bush |
54 | Senior Circuit Judge | Alice M. Batchelder | Medina, OH | 1944 | 1991–2019 | 2009–2014 | 2019–present | G.H.W. Bush |
55 | Senior Circuit Judge | Martha Craig Daughtrey | Nashville, TN | 1942 | 1993–2009 | — | 2009–present | Clinton |
57 | Senior Circuit Judge | R. Guy Cole Jr. | Columbus, OH | 1951 | 1995–2023 | 2014–2021 | 2023–present | Clinton |
59 | Senior Circuit Judge | Ronald Lee Gilman | Memphis, TN | 1942 | 1997–2010 | — | 2010–present | Clinton |
61 | Senior Circuit Judge | John M. Rogers | Lexington, KY | 1948 | 2002–2018 | — | 2018–present | G.W. Bush |
63 | Senior Circuit Judge | Deborah L. Cook | Akron, OH | 1952 | 2003–2019 | — | 2019–present | G.W. Bush |
64 | Senior Circuit Judge | David McKeague | Lansing, MI | 1946 | 2005–2017 | — | 2017–present | G.W. Bush |
68 | Senior Circuit Judge | Helene White | Detroit, MI | 1954 | 2008–2022 | — | 2022–present | G.W. Bush |
Vacancies and pending nominations
Chief judges
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.[7]
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.[8]
Succession of seats
The court has 16 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 8 | Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 | McCree | MI | 1966–1977 | Keith | MI | 1977–1995 | Griffin | MI | 2005–present | |
| Seat 10 | Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 | Kennedy | MI | 1979–1999 | Neilson | MI | 2005–2006 | White | MI | 2008–2022 | Davis | MI | 2022–present | | Seat 11 | Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 | B. Martin, Jr. | KY | 1979–2013 | Thapar | KY | 2017–present | | Seat 12 | Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 | Milburn | TN | 1984–1996 | Gilman | TN | 1997–2010 | Donald | TN | 2011–2022 | Mathis | TN | 2022–present | |
Seat 13 | Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 | Nelson | OH | 1985–1999 | Sutton | OH | 2003–present | | Seat 14 | Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 | Guy, Jr. | MI | 1985–1994 | Clay | MI | 1997–present | | Seat 15 | Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 | Boggs | KY | 1986–2017 | Bush | KY | 2017–present | | Seat 16 | Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 | Daughtrey | TN | 1993–2009 | Stranch | TN | 2010–present | |
Case law
See also
Notes
- ^ M. Neil Reed, Tom Vanderloo, and Stephanie Woebkenberg, "A History of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit: Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee", The Federal Lawyer (August 2016), p. 34-38.
- ^ "Biden gains 6th Circuit vacancy to fill as Gibbons takes senior status". Reuters. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ Raymond, Nate (January 29, 2024). "6th Circuit's Stranch to take senior status, creating court vacancy". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024.
- ^ Jackson was appointed to as a circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit in 1886 by Grover Cleveland. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
- ^ Mack did not have a permanent seat on this court. Instead, he was appointed to the ill-fated United States Commerce Court in 1911 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. Mack was assigned to the Seventh Circuit immediately prior to his assignment to the Sixth Circuit.
- ^ Edwards was nominated for a seat on the Sixth Circuit by President Kennedy, but he was confirmed after Kennedy's assassination and was appointed to the Sixth Circuit by (i.e., received his commission from) President Johnson.
- ^ 28 U.S.C. § 45
- ^ 62 Stat. 871, 72 Stat. 497, 96 Stat. 51
- ^ Rogers v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 230 F.3d 868 (6th Cir. 2000).
References
- "Standard Search". Federal Law Clerk Information System. Archived from the original on October 21, 2005. Retrieved June 26, 2005.
- primary but incomplete source for the duty stations
- "Instructions for Judicial Directory". Website of the University of Texas Law School. Archived from the original on November 11, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2005.
- secondary source for the duty stations
- data is current to 2002
- "U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit". Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on January 1, 2005. Retrieved June 26, 2005.
- source for the state, lifetime, term of active judgeship, term of chief judgeship, term of senior judgeship, appointer, termination reason, and seat information
- "Susan Bieke Neilson: She had a passion for justice". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 14, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2006.
- obituary for death of Susan Bieke Neilson
External links
Wikisource has original works on the topic: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Recent opinions from FindLaw
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