United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

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The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

• District of Maine
• District of Massachusetts
• District of New Hampshire
• District of Puerto Rico
• District of Rhode Island

The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, but the court sits for two weeks each year in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and occasionally at other locations within the circuit.

With five active (six authorized) and four senior judges, the First Circuit is the smallest of the thirteen United States courts of appeals.

Despite its small size, the First Circuit has two alumni—David Souter and Stephen Breyer—who currently sit on the United States Supreme Court.

Contents 1 Current composition of the court 2 Pending nominations 3 List of former judges 4 Chief judges 5 Succession of seats 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links 10 Navigation

[edit] Current composition of the court

As of 2006, the judges on the court are:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
25	Chief Judge	Michael Boudin	Boston, MA	1939	1992–present	2001–present	—	G.H.W. Bush
21	Circuit Judge	Juan R. Torruella	San Juan, PR	1933	1984–present	1994–2001	—	Reagan
27	Circuit Judge	Sandra Lea Lynch	Boston, MA	1946	1995–present	—	—	Clinton
28	Circuit Judge	Kermit Victor Lipez	Portland, ME	1941	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
29	Circuit Judge	Jeffrey R. Howard	Concord, NH	1955	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
—	Circuit Judge	(vacant - seat 6)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)
18	Senior Circuit Judge	Levin Hicks Campbell	Boston, MA	1927	1972–1992	1983–1990	1992–present	Nixon
22	Senior Circuit Judge	Bruce Marshall Selya	Providence, RI	1934	1986–2006	(none)	2006–present	Reagan
23	Senior Circuit Judge	Conrad Keefe Cyr	Portland, ME	1931	1989–1997	(none)	1997–present	G.H.W. Bush
26	Senior Circuit Judge	Norman H. Stahl	Boston, MA	1931	1992–2001	(none)	2001–present	G.H.W. Bush

[edit] Pending nominations

• On December 6, 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Judge William E. Smith, of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, to fill a seat vacated by Judge Bruce M. Selya's assumption of senior status at the end of 2006.

[edit] List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Active service	Term as Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Colt, LeBaron B.LeBaron B. Colt	RI	1846–1924	1891–1913	(none)	(none)	[1]	resignation
2	Putnam, William LeBaronWilliam LeBaron Putnam	ME	1835–1918	1892–1917	(none)	(none)	B. Harrison	retirement
3	Lowell, Francis CabotFrancis Cabot Lowell	MA	1855–1911	1905–1911	(none)	(none)	T. Roosevelt	death
4	Schofield, WilliamWilliam Schofield	MA	1857–1912	1911–1912	(none)	(none)	Taft	death
5	Dodge, FredericFrederic Dodge	MA	1847–1927	1912–1918	(none)	(none)	Taft	resignation
6	Bingham, George HutchinsGeorge Hutchins Bingham	NH	1864–1949	1913–1939	(none)	1939–1949	Wilson	death
7	Johnson, Charles FletcherCharles Fletcher Johnson	ME	1859–1930	1917–1929	(none)	1929–1930	Wilson	death
8	Anderson, George WestonGeorge Weston Anderson	MA	1861–1938	1918–1931	(none)	1931–1938	Wilson	death
9	Wilson, ScottScott Wilson	ME	1870–1942	1929–1940	(none)	1940–1942	Hoover	death
10	Morton, Jr., James MadisonJames Madison Morton, Jr.	MA	1869–1940	1932–1939	(none)	1939–1940	Hoover	death
11	Magruder, CalvertCalvert Magruder	MA	1893–1968	1939–1959	1948–1959	1959–1968	F. Roosevelt	death
12	Mahoney, John ChristopherJohn Christopher Mahoney	RI	1882–1952	1940–1950	(none)	1950–1952	F. Roosevelt	death
13	Woodbury, PeterPeter Woodbury	NH	1899–1970	1941–1964	1959–1964	1964–1970	F. Roosevelt	death
14	Hartigan, John PatrickJohn Patrick Hartigan	RI	1887–1968	1950–1965	(none)	1965–1968	Truman	death
15	Aldrich, BaileyBailey Aldrich	MA	1907–2002	1959–1972	1965–1972	1972–2002	Eisenhower	death
16	McEntee, Edward MatthewEdward Matthew McEntee	RI	1906–1981	1965–1976	(none)	1976–1981	L. Johnson	death
17	Coffin, Frank M.Frank M. Coffin	ME	1919-present	1965–1989	1972–1983	1989–2006	L. Johnson	retirement[2]
19	Bownes, Hugh HenryHugh Henry Bownes	NH	1920–2003	1977–1990	(none)	1990–2003	Carter	death
20	Breyer, StephenStephen Breyer	MA	1938–present	1980–1994	1990–1994	(none)	Carter	elevation to Supreme Court
24	Souter, DavidDavid Souter	NH	1939–present	1990	(none)	(none)	G.H.W. Bush	elevation to Supreme Court

[edit] Chief judges

Chief Judges Magruder 1948–1959 Woodbury 1959–1964 Aldrich 1965–1972 Coffin 1972–1983 Campbell 1983–1990 Breyer 1990–1994 Torruella 1994–2001 Boudin 2001–present

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge, 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 in the office of Chief Judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The Chief Judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

The above rules have applied since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948 and until August 6, 1959 was filled by 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. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

[edit] Succession of seats

The court has six seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were filled. Judges who retire into senior status remain on the bench but leave their seat vacant. That seat is filled by the next circuit judge appointed by the President.

Seat 1 Established on December 10, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 as a circuit judgeship for the First Circuit Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Colt RI 1891–1913 Bingham NH 1913–1939 Magruder MA 1939–1959 Aldrich MA 1959–1972 Campbell MA 1972–1992 Boudin DC 1992–present

Seat 2 Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Putnam ME 1892–1917 Johnson ME 1917–1929 Wilson ME 1929–1940 Woodbury NH 1941–1964 McEntee RI 1965–1976 Bownes NH 1977–1990 Souter NH 1990–1990 Stahl NH 1992–2001 Howard NH 2002–present

Seat 3 Established on January 21, 1905 by 33 Stat. 611 Lowell MA 1905–1911 Schofield MA 1911–1912 Dodge MA 1912–1918 Anderson MA 1918–1931 Morton MA 1932–1939 Mahoney RI 1940–1950 Hartigan RI 1950–1965 Coffin ME 1965–1989 Cyr ME 1989–1997 Lipez ME 1998–present

Seat 4 Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Breyer MA 1980–1994 Lynch MA 1995–present

Seat 5 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Torruella PR 1984–present

Seat 6 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Selya RI 1986–2006 (vacant) (n/a) 2006–present

[edit] See also

• Federal judicial appointment history#First Circuit

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

Books

• Dargo, George (1993). A History of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit: Volume I, 1891–1960. 

Web

• Judges. Official website of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Retrieved on July 1, 2004.
  • source for the duty stations
• U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved on May 29, 2005.
  • source for the state, lifetime, term of active judgeship, term of chief judgeship, term of senior judgeship, appointer, termination reason, and seat information

[edit] External links

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

[edit] Navigation

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