Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Hears appeals from the district courts within its circuit. Cases are normally decided by panels of three judges, and its rulings bind every district court in that circuit. For nearly all litigants this is the last court that will hear the case.
The bench
Who sits on this court?
Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.
| Judge | Since | Nominated by | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pauline Newman | 1984 | Ronald Reagan | CAFC0902 |
| Haldane Robert Mayer Senior | 1987 | Ronald Reagan | CAFC0702 |
| S. Jay Plager Senior | 1989 | George H.W. Bush | CAFC0802 |
| Alan David Lourie | 1990 | George H.W. Bush | CAFC0602 |
| Raymond Charles Clevenger III Senior | 1990 | George H.W. Bush | CAFC1102 |
| Alvin Anthony Schall Senior | 1992 | George H.W. Bush | CAFC1002 |
| William Curtis Bryson Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | CAFC0202 |
| Richard Linn Senior | 1999 | William J. Clinton | CAFC0402 |
| Timothy B. Dyk | 2000 | William J. Clinton | CAFC0503 |
| Sharon Prost | 2001 | George W. Bush | CAFC0803 |
| Kimberly Ann Moore | 2006 | George W. Bush | CAFC1103 |
| Jimmie Reyna V. | 2011 | Barack Obama | CAFC0703 |
| Evan Jonathan Wallach Senior | 2011 | Barack Obama | CAFC0303 |
| Richard Gary Taranto | 2013 | Barack Obama | CAFC0103 |
| Raymond T. Chen | 2013 | Barack Obama | CAFC0403 |
| Todd Michael Hughes | 2013 | Barack Obama | CAFC0203 |
| Kara Farnandez Stoll | 2015 | Barack Obama | CAFC1203 |
| Tiffany Patrice Cunningham | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CAFC0304 |
| Leonard Philip Stark | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CAFC1004 |
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
What seats does this court have?
Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.
- Judges seated now
- 19
- Seat numbers on record
- 37
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAFC0103 | Richard Gary Taranto | 2013 | 1 |
| CAFC0202 | William Curtis Bryson | 1994 | 1 |
| CAFC0203 | Todd Michael Hughes | 2013 | 1 |
| CAFC0303 | Evan Jonathan Wallach | 2011 | 1 |
| CAFC0304 | Tiffany Patrice Cunningham | 2021 | 1 |
| CAFC0402 | Richard Linn | 1999 | 1 |
| CAFC0403 | Raymond T. Chen | 2013 | 1 |
| CAFC0503 | Timothy B. Dyk | 2000 | 1 |
| CAFC0602 | Alan David Lourie | 1990 | 1 |
| CAFC0702 | Haldane Robert Mayer | 1987 | 1 |
| CAFC0703 | Jimmie Reyna V. | 2011 | 1 |
| CAFC0802 | S. Jay Plager | 1989 | 1 |
| CAFC0803 | Sharon Prost | 2001 | 1 |
| CAFC0902 | Pauline Newman | 1984 | 1 |
| CAFC1002 | Alvin Anthony Schall | 1992 | 1 |
| CAFC1004 | Leonard Philip Stark | 2022 | 1 |
| CAFC1102 | Raymond Charles Clevenger III | 1990 | 1 |
| CAFC1103 | Kimberly Ann Moore | 2006 | 1 |
| CAFC1203 | Kara Farnandez Stoll | 2015 | 1 |
18 seat numbers with no sitting judge
These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.
| Seat | Last held by | Until | Holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAFC0101 | Phillip Benjamin Baldwin | 1991 | 1 |
| CAFC0102 | Paul Redmond Michel | 2010 | 1 |
| CAFC0201 | Howard Thomas Markey | 1991 | 1 |
| CAFC0301 | Helen Wilson Nies | 1996 | 1 |
| CAFC0302 | Arthur J. Gajarsa | 2012 | 1 |
| CAFC0401 | Giles Sutherland Rich | 1999 | 1 |
| CAFC0501 | Jack Richard Miller | 1994 | 1 |
| CAFC0502 | Glenn Leroy Archer Jr. | 2011 | 1 |
| CAFC0601 | Daniel Mortimer Friedman | 2011 | 1 |
| CAFC0701 | Marion Tinsley Bennett | 2000 | 1 |
| CAFC0801 | Shiro Kashiwa | 1986 | 1 |
| CAFC0901 | Philip Nichols Jr. | 1990 | 1 |
| CAFC1001 | Edward Samuel Smith | 2001 | 1 |
| CAFC1003 | Kathleen McDonald O'Malley | 2022 | 1 |
| CAFC1101 | Oscar Hirsh Davis | 1988 | 1 |
| CAFC1201 | Jean Galloway Bissell | 1990 | 1 |
| CAFC1202 | Randall Ray Rader | 2014 | 1 |
| CAFCSR | Arnold Wilson Cowen | 2007 | 4 |
This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.
Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
How this bench was built
Who appointed them?
The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.
- Democratic
- 11
- Republican
- 8
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama | 6 |
| George H.W. Bush | 4 |
| William J. Clinton | 3 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 2 |
| Ronald Reagan | 2 |
| George W. Bush | 2 |
The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)