From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
It also has appellate jurisdiction over the District Court of the Virgin Islands which, in spite of the name, is a territorial court and belongs to no federal judicial district.
The court is based at the U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals.
Current composition of the court
As of Richard Nygaard's assumption of senior status on July 9, 2005, the judges on the court are:
Title |
Name |
Duty Station |
Born |
Term of
Active Service |
Term of
Service
as Chief |
Term of
Senior Service |
Appointed by |
Chief Judge |
Anthony Joseph Scirica |
Philadelphia, PA |
1940 |
1987 – present |
2003 – present |
— |
Reagan |
Circuit Judge |
Dolores Korman Sloviter |
Philadelphia, PA |
1932 |
1979 – present |
1991 – 1998 |
— |
Carter |
Circuit Judge |
Samuel Alito |
Newark, NJ |
1950 |
1990 – present |
— |
— |
G.H.W. Bush |
Circuit Judge |
Jane Richards Roth |
Wilmington, DE |
1935 |
1991 – present |
— |
— |
G.H.W. Bush |
Circuit Judge |
Theodore Alexander McKee |
Philadelphia, PA |
1947 |
1994 – present |
— |
— |
Clinton |
Circuit Judge |
Marjorie O. Rendell |
Philadelphia, PA |
1947 |
1997 – present |
— |
— |
Clinton |
Circuit Judge |
Maryanne Trump Barry |
Newark, NJ |
1937 |
1999 – present |
— |
— |
Clinton |
Circuit Judge |
Thomas L. Ambro |
Wilmington, DE |
1949 |
2000 – present |
— |
— |
Clinton |
Circuit Judge |
Julio M. Fuentes |
Newark, NJ |
1946 |
2000 – present |
— |
— |
Clinton |
Circuit Judge |
D. Brooks Smith |
Duncansville, PA |
1951 |
2002 – present |
— |
— |
G.W. Bush |
Circuit Judge |
D. Michael Fisher |
Pittsburgh, PA |
1944 |
2003 – present |
— |
— |
G.W. Bush |
Circuit Judge |
Franklin Stuart Van Antwerpen |
Easton, PA |
1941 |
2004 – present |
— |
— |
G.W. Bush |
Circuit Judge |
(vacant - seat 1) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
Circuit Judge |
(vacant - seat 7) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
(n/a) |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Ruggero John Aldisert |
Santa Barbara, CA |
1919 |
1968 – 1986 |
1984 – 1986 |
1986 – present |
L. Johnson |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Max Rosenn |
Wilkes-Barre, PA |
1910 |
1970 – 1981 |
(none) |
1981 – present |
Nixon |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Joseph Francis Weis, Jr. |
Pittsburgh, PA |
1923 |
1973 – 1988 |
(none) |
1988 – present |
Nixon |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Leonard I. Garth |
Newark, NJ |
1921 |
1973 – 1986 |
(none) |
1986 – present |
Nixon |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Edward Roy Becker |
Philadelphia, PA |
1933 |
1981 – 2003 |
1998 – 2003 |
2003 – present |
Reagan |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Walter King Stapleton |
Wilmington, DE |
1934 |
1985 – 1999 |
(none) |
1999 – present |
Reagan |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Morton Ira Greenberg |
Trenton, NJ |
1933 |
1987 – 2000 |
(none) |
2000 – present |
Reagan |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Robert E. Cowen |
Trenton, NJ |
1930 |
1987 – 1998 |
(none) |
1998 – present |
Reagan |
Senior Circuit Judge |
Richard Lowell Nygaard |
Erie, PA |
1940 |
1988 – 2005 |
(none) |
2005 – present |
Reagan |
List of former judges
(a) Acheson was appointed as a circuit judge for the Third Circuit in 1891 by Benjamin Harrison. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
(b) Recess appointment, confirmed by the Senate at a later date.
(c) Archbald 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. Archbald was assigned to the Third Circuit upon his commission.
Chief judges
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.
Succession of seats
The court has fourteen seats for active judges, numbered in order of their creation. If seats were established simultaneously, they are 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.
See also
References
External links