Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Harvie Wilkinson III | 1984 | Ronald Reagan | CA40603 |
| Paul Victor Niemeyer | 1990 | George H.W. Bush | CA40702 |
| Diana Jane Gribbon Motz Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | CA41501 |
| William Byrd Traxler Jr. Senior | 1998 | William J. Clinton | CA40108 |
| Robert Bruce King | 1998 | William J. Clinton | CA40207 |
| Roger L. Gregory | 2001 | William J. Clinton | CA41601 |
| G. Steven Agee | 2008 | George W. Bush | CA41402 |
| Barbara Milano Keenan Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | CA40503 |
| James Andrew Wynn Jr. | 2010 | Barack Obama | CA40803 |
| Albert Diaz | 2010 | Barack Obama | CA41203 |
| Henry Franklin Floyd Senior | 2011 | Barack Obama | CA40407 |
| Stephanie Dawn Thacker | 2012 | Barack Obama | CA41003 |
| Pamela Ann Harris | 2014 | Barack Obama | CA40903 |
| A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | CA40109 |
| Julius Ness Richardson | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | CA41303 |
| Allison Jones Rushing | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA41103 |
| Toby Jay Heytens | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CA40504 |
| DeAndrea Gist Benjamin | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | CA40408 |
| Nicole Gina Berner | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | CA41502 |
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
- 57
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA40108 | William Byrd Traxler Jr. | 1998 | 1 |
| CA40109 | A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. | 2018 | 1 |
| CA40207 | Robert Bruce King | 1998 | 1 |
| CA40407 | Henry Franklin Floyd | 2011 | 1 |
| CA40408 | DeAndrea Gist Benjamin | 2023 | 1 |
| CA40503 | Barbara Milano Keenan | 2010 | 1 |
| CA40504 | Toby Jay Heytens | 2021 | 1 |
| CA40603 | James Harvie Wilkinson III | 1984 | 1 |
| CA40702 | Paul Victor Niemeyer | 1990 | 1 |
| CA40803 | James Andrew Wynn Jr. | 2010 | 1 |
| CA40903 | Pamela Ann Harris | 2014 | 1 |
| CA41003 | Stephanie Dawn Thacker | 2012 | 1 |
| CA41103 | Allison Jones Rushing | 2019 | 1 |
| CA41203 | Albert Diaz | 2010 | 1 |
| CA41303 | Julius Ness Richardson | 2018 | 1 |
| CA41402 | G. Steven Agee | 2008 | 1 |
| CA41501 | Diana Jane Gribbon Motz | 1994 | 1 |
| CA41502 | Nicole Gina Berner | 2024 | 1 |
| CA41601 | Roger L. Gregory | 2001 | 1 |
38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA40101 | Hugh Lennox Bond | 1893 | 1 |
| CA40102 | Charles Henry Simonton | 1904 | 1 |
| CA40103 | Jeter Connelly Pritchard | 1921 | 1 |
| CA40104 | Edmund Waddill Jr. | 1931 | 1 |
| CA40105 | Morris Ames Soper | 1963 | 1 |
| CA40106 | Simon E. Sobeloff | 1973 | 1 |
| CA40107 | Donald Stuart Russell | 1998 | 1 |
| CA40201 | Nathan Goff | 1913 | 1 |
| CA40202 | Charles Albert Woods | 1925 | 1 |
| CA40203 | John Johnston Parker | 1958 | 1 |
| CA40204 | Herbert Stephenson Boreman | 1982 | 1 |
| CA40205 | John A. Field Jr. | 1995 | 1 |
| CA40206 | Kenneth Keller Hall | 1999 | 1 |
| CA40301 | Martin Augustine Knapp | 1923 | 1 |
| CA40401 | John Carter Rose | 1927 | 1 |
| CA40402 | Elliott Northcott | 1946 | 1 |
| CA40403 | Armistead Mason Dobie | 1962 | 1 |
| CA40404 | Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. | 1989 | 1 |
| CA40405 | Robert Foster Chapman | 2018 | 1 |
| CA40406 | Karen J. Williams | 2013 | 1 |
| CA40501 | Albert Vickers Bryan | 1984 | 1 |
| CA40502 | Hiram Emory Widener Jr. | 2007 | 1 |
| CA40601 | J. Spencer Bell | 1967 | 1 |
| CA40602 | John Decker Butzner Jr. | 2006 | 1 |
| CA40701 | Harrison Lee Winter | 1990 | 1 |
| CA40801 | James Braxton Craven Jr. | 1977 | 1 |
| CA40802 | James Dickson Phillips Jr. | 2017 | 1 |
| CA40901 | Francis Dominic Murnaghan Jr. | 2000 | 1 |
| CA40902 | Andre Maurice Davis | 2017 | 1 |
| CA41001 | James Marshall Sprouse | 1995 | 1 |
| CA41002 | M. Blane Michael | 2011 | 1 |
| CA41101 | Samuel James Ervin III | 1999 | 1 |
| CA41102 | Allyson Kay Duncan | 2019 | 1 |
| CA41201 | Emory Marlin Sneeden | 1986 | 1 |
| CA41202 | William Walter Wilkins | 2008 | 1 |
| CA41301 | Clyde H. Hamilton | 2020 | 1 |
| CA41302 | Dennis W. Shedd | 2022 | 1 |
| CA41401 | J. Michael Luttig | 2006 | 1 |
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
- 13
- Republican
- 6
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama | 6 |
| William J. Clinton | 4 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 3 |
| Donald J. Trump | 3 |
| George W. Bush | 1 |
| George H.W. Bush | 1 |
| Ronald Reagan | 1 |
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)