Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amalya Lyle Kearse Senior | 1979 | Jimmy Carter | CA21301 |
| Jon Ormond Newman Senior | 1979 | Jimmy Carter | CA21201 |
| John Mercer Walker Jr. Senior | 1989 | George H.W. Bush | CA20902 |
| Dennis G. Jacobs Senior | 1992 | George H.W. Bush | CA21103 |
| Pierre Nelson Leval Senior | 1993 | William J. Clinton | CA20805 |
| Guido Calabresi Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | CA20309 |
| José Alberto Cabranes Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | CA20208 |
| Robert David Sack Senior | 1998 | William J. Clinton | CA21402 |
| Barrington Daniels Parker Jr. Senior | 2001 | George W. Bush | CA20408 |
| Reena Raggi Senior | 2002 | George W. Bush | CA21302 |
| Richard C. Wesley Senior | 2003 | George W. Bush | CA20806 |
| Debra Ann Livingston Senior | 2007 | George W. Bush | CA20903 |
| Gerard E. Lynch Senior | 2009 | Barack Obama | CA21006 |
| Denny Chin Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | CA21403 |
| Raymond Joseph Lohier Jr. | 2010 | Barack Obama | CA21503 |
| Susan Laura Carney Senior | 2011 | Barack Obama | CA20409 |
| Richard Joseph Sullivan | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | CA20807 |
| Joseph Frank Bianco | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA21303 |
| Michael Hun Park | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA21007 |
| William Joseph Nardini | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA20311 |
| Steven James Menashi | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA21104 |
| Eunice Cheryl Lee | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CA21203 |
| Myrna Pérez | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CA21404 |
| Beth Robinson | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CA20706 |
| Alison Julie Nathan | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CA20110 |
| Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CA20410 |
| Maria Araujo Kahn | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | CA20209 |
| Matthew Alexander Schwartz | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | CA20904 |
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
- 28
- Seat numbers on record
- 83
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA20110 | Alison Julie Nathan | 2022 | 1 |
| CA20208 | José Alberto Cabranes | 1994 | 1 |
| CA20209 | Maria Araujo Kahn | 2023 | 1 |
| CA20309 | Guido Calabresi | 1994 | 1 |
| CA20311 | William Joseph Nardini | 2019 | 1 |
| CA20408 | Barrington Daniels Parker Jr. | 2001 | 1 |
| CA20409 | Susan Laura Carney | 2011 | 1 |
| CA20410 | Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam | 2022 | 1 |
| CA20706 | Beth Robinson | 2021 | 1 |
| CA20805 | Pierre Nelson Leval | 1993 | 1 |
| CA20806 | Richard C. Wesley | 2003 | 1 |
| CA20807 | Richard Joseph Sullivan | 2018 | 1 |
| CA20902 | John Mercer Walker Jr. | 1989 | 1 |
| CA20903 | Debra Ann Livingston | 2007 | 1 |
| CA20904 | Matthew Alexander Schwartz | 2026 | 1 |
| CA21006 | Gerard E. Lynch | 2009 | 1 |
| CA21007 | Michael Hun Park | 2019 | 1 |
| CA21103 | Dennis G. Jacobs | 1992 | 1 |
| CA21104 | Steven James Menashi | 2019 | 1 |
| CA21201 | Jon Ormond Newman | 1979 | 1 |
| CA21203 | Eunice Cheryl Lee | 2021 | 1 |
| CA21301 | Amalya Lyle Kearse | 1979 | 1 |
| CA21302 | Reena Raggi | 2002 | 1 |
| CA21303 | Joseph Frank Bianco | 2019 | 1 |
| CA21402 | Robert David Sack | 1998 | 1 |
| CA21403 | Denny Chin | 2010 | 1 |
| CA21404 | Myrna Pérez | 2021 | 1 |
| CA21503 | Raymond Joseph Lohier Jr. | 2010 | 1 |
55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA20101 | William James Wallace | 1907 | 1 |
| CA20102 | Henry Galbraith Ward | 1924 | 1 |
| CA20103 | Julius Marshuetz Mayer | 1924 | 1 |
| CA20104 | Learned Hand | 1961 | 1 |
| CA20105 | Harold Raymond Medina | 1980 | 1 |
| CA20106 | Henry Jacob Friendly | 1986 | 1 |
| CA20107 | Ellsworth Alfred Van Graafeiland | 2004 | 1 |
| CA20108 | Frank X. Altimari | 1998 | 1 |
| CA20109 | Rosemary S. Pooler | 2023 | 1 |
| CA20201 | Emile Henry Lacombe | 1916 | 1 |
| CA20202 | Charles Merrill Hough | 1927 | 1 |
| CA20203 | Augustus Noble Hand | 1954 | 1 |
| CA20204 | John Marshall Harlan | 1955 | 1 |
| CA20205 | Joseph Edward Lumbard | 1999 | 1 |
| CA20206 | William Hughes Mulligan | 1981 | 1 |
| CA20207 | Richard J. Cardamone | 2015 | 1 |
| CA20301 | Nathaniel Shipman | 1902 | 1 |
| CA20302 | William Kneeland Townsend | 1907 | 1 |
| CA20303 | Walter Chadwick Noyes | 1913 | 1 |
| CA20304 | Henry Wade Rogers | 1926 | 1 |
| CA20305 | Thomas Walter Swan | 1975 | 1 |
| CA20306 | Carroll Clark Hincks | 1964 | 1 |
| CA20307 | John Joseph Smith | 1980 | 1 |
| CA20308 | Thomas Joseph Meskill | 2007 | 1 |
| CA20310 | Christopher Fitzgerald Droney | 2020 | 1 |
| CA20401 | Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. | 1917 | 1 |
| CA20402 | Martin Thomas Manton | 1939 | 1 |
| CA20403 | Robert Porter Patterson Sr. | 1940 | 1 |
| CA20404 | Jerome New Frank | 1957 | 1 |
| CA20405 | Leonard Page Moore | 1982 | 1 |
| CA20406 | Walter Roe Mansfield | 1987 | 1 |
| CA20407 | Ralph K. Winter Jr. | 2020 | 1 |
| CA20501 | Martin Augustine Knapp | 1916 | 1 |
| CA20601 | Julian William Mack | 1943 | 1 |
| CA20701 | Harrie Brigham Chase | 1969 | 1 |
| CA20702 | Sterry Robinson Waterman | 1984 | 1 |
| CA20703 | James Lowell Oakes | 2007 | 1 |
| CA20704 | Fred I. Parker | 2003 | 1 |
| CA20705 | Peter W. Hall | 2021 | 1 |
| CA20801 | Charles Edward Clark | 1963 | 1 |
| CA20802 | Robert Palmer Anderson | 1978 | 1 |
| CA20803 | William Homer Timbers | 1994 | 1 |
| CA20804 | George Cheney Pratt | 1995 | 1 |
| CA20901 | Irving Robert Kaufman | 1992 | 1 |
| CA21001 | Paul Raymond Hays | 1980 | 1 |
| CA21002 | Murray Irwin Gurfein | 1979 | 1 |
| CA21003 | Lawrence Warren Pierce | 1995 | 1 |
| CA21004 | Joseph Michael McLaughlin | 2013 | 1 |
| CA21005 | Chester J. Straub | 2024 | 1 |
| CA21101 | Thurgood Marshall | 1965 | 1 |
| CA21102 | Wilfred Feinberg | 2014 | 1 |
| CA21202 | Robert A. Katzmann | 2021 | 1 |
| CA21401 | Roger Jeffrey Miner | 2012 | 1 |
| CA21501 | John Daniel Mahoney | 1996 | 1 |
| CA21502 | Sonia Sotomayor | 2009 | 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
- 16
- Republican
- 12
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Donald J. Trump | 6 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 6 |
| William J. Clinton | 4 |
| Barack Obama | 4 |
| George W. Bush | 4 |
| George H.W. Bush | 2 |
| Jimmy Carter | 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)