Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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 Leo Ryan Senior | 1985 | Ronald Reagan | CA60604 |
| Danny Julian Boggs Senior | 1986 | Ronald Reagan | CA61601 |
| Alan Eugene Norris Senior | 1986 | Ronald Reagan | CA60506 |
| Richard Fred Suhrheinrich Senior | 1990 | George H.W. Bush | CA60110 |
| Eugene Edward Siler Jr. Senior | 1991 | George H.W. Bush | CA60705 |
| Alice Moore Batchelder Senior | 1991 | George H.W. Bush | CA61003 |
| Martha Craig Daughtrey Senior | 1993 | William J. Clinton | CA61701 |
| Karen Nelson Moore | 1995 | William J. Clinton | CA60309 |
| Ransey Guy Cole Jr. Senior | 1995 | William J. Clinton | CA60803 |
| Eric L. Clay | 1997 | William J. Clinton | CA61502 |
| Ronald Lee Gilman Senior | 1997 | William J. Clinton | CA61302 |
| Julia Smith Gibbons Senior | 2002 | George W. Bush | CA60208 |
| John M. Rogers Senior | 2002 | George W. Bush | CA60706 |
| Jeffrey S. Sutton | 2003 | George W. Bush | CA61402 |
| Deborah L. Cook Senior | 2003 | George W. Bush | CA60507 |
| Richard Allen Griffin | 2005 | George W. Bush | CA60903 |
| David William McKeague Senior | 2005 | George W. Bush | CA60111 |
| Raymond M. Kethledge | 2008 | George W. Bush | CA60605 |
| Helene N. White Senior | 2008 | George W. Bush | CA61103 |
| Jane Branstetter Stranch Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | CA61702 |
| Amul Roger Thapar | 2017 | Donald J. Trump | CA61202 |
| John Kenneth Bush | 2017 | Donald J. Trump | CA61602 |
| Joan Louise Larsen | 2017 | Donald J. Trump | CA60112 |
| John Baylor Nalbandian | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | CA60707 |
| Chad Andrew Readler | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA60508 |
| Eric Earl Murphy | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | CA61004 |
| Stephanie Dawkins Davis | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CA61104 |
| Andre Bernard Mathis | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CA61304 |
| Rachel Sarah Bloomekatz | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | CA60804 |
| Kevin Gafford Ritz | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | CA60209 |
| Whitney Downs Hermandorfer | 2025 | Donald J. Trump | CA61703 |
| Benjamin Michael Flowers | 2026 | Donald J. Trump |
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
- 31
- Seat numbers on record
- 81
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA60110 | Richard Fred Suhrheinrich | 1990 | 1 |
| CA60111 | David William McKeague | 2005 | 1 |
| CA60112 | Joan Louise Larsen | 2017 | 1 |
| CA60208 | Julia Smith Gibbons | 2002 | 1 |
| CA60209 | Kevin Gafford Ritz | 2024 | 1 |
| CA60309 | Karen Nelson Moore | 1995 | 1 |
| CA60506 | Alan Eugene Norris | 1986 | 1 |
| CA60507 | Deborah L. Cook | 2003 | 1 |
| CA60508 | Chad Andrew Readler | 2019 | 1 |
| CA60604 | James Leo Ryan | 1985 | 1 |
| CA60605 | Raymond M. Kethledge | 2008 | 1 |
| CA60705 | Eugene Edward Siler Jr. | 1991 | 1 |
| CA60706 | John M. Rogers | 2002 | 1 |
| CA60707 | John Baylor Nalbandian | 2018 | 1 |
| CA60803 | Ransey Guy Cole Jr. | 1995 | 1 |
| CA60804 | Rachel Sarah Bloomekatz | 2023 | 1 |
| CA60903 | Richard Allen Griffin | 2005 | 1 |
| CA61003 | Alice Moore Batchelder | 1991 | 1 |
| CA61004 | Eric Earl Murphy | 2019 | 1 |
| CA61103 | Helene N. White | 2008 | 1 |
| CA61104 | Stephanie Dawkins Davis | 2022 | 1 |
| CA61202 | Amul Roger Thapar | 2017 | 1 |
| CA61302 | Ronald Lee Gilman | 1997 | 1 |
| CA61304 | Andre Bernard Mathis | 2022 | 1 |
| CA61402 | Jeffrey S. Sutton | 2003 | 1 |
| CA61502 | Eric L. Clay | 1997 | 1 |
| CA61601 | Danny Julian Boggs | 1986 | 1 |
| CA61602 | John Kenneth Bush | 2017 | 1 |
| CA61701 | Martha Craig Daughtrey | 1993 | 1 |
| CA61702 | Jane Branstetter Stranch | 2010 | 1 |
| CA61703 | Whitney Downs Hermandorfer | 2025 | 1 |
50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA60101 | Howell Edmunds Jackson | 1893 | 1 |
| CA60102 | Horace Harmon Lurton | 1909 | 1 |
| CA60103 | Loyal Edwin Knappen | 1930 | 1 |
| CA60104 | Charles Harwood Moorman | 1938 | 1 |
| CA60105 | Elwood Hamilton | 1945 | 1 |
| CA60106 | Shackelford Miller Jr. | 1965 | 1 |
| CA60107 | Bertram Thomas Combs | 1970 | 1 |
| CA60108 | W. Wallace Kent | 1973 | 1 |
| CA60109 | Albert Joseph Engel | 2013 | 1 |
| CA60201 | William Howard Taft | 1900 | 1 |
| CA60202 | Henry Franklin Severens | 1911 | 1 |
| CA60203 | Arthur Carter Denison | 1931 | 1 |
| CA60204 | Charles Casper Simons | 1964 | 1 |
| CA60205 | Clifford Patrick O'Sullivan | 1975 | 1 |
| CA60206 | William Ernest Miller | 1976 | 1 |
| CA60207 | Gilbert Stroud Merritt Jr. | 2022 | 1 |
| CA60301 | William Rufus Day | 1903 | 1 |
| CA60302 | John Kelvey Richards | 1909 | 1 |
| CA60303 | John Wesley Warrington | 1921 | 1 |
| CA60304 | Maurice H. Donahue | 1928 | 1 |
| CA60305 | Smith Hickenlooper | 1933 | 1 |
| CA60306 | Florence Ellinwood Allen | 1966 | 1 |
| CA60307 | Paul Charles Weick | 1997 | 1 |
| CA60308 | Robert B. Krupansky | 2004 | 1 |
| CA60401 | Julian William Mack | 1930 | 1 |
| CA60501 | Xenophon Hicks | 1952 | 1 |
| CA60502 | Potter Stewart | 1958 | 1 |
| CA60503 | Lester LeFevre Cecil | 1982 | 1 |
| CA60504 | Anthony Joseph Celebrezze | 1998 | 1 |
| CA60505 | Leroy John Contie Jr. | 2001 | 1 |
| CA60601 | Herschel Whitfield Arant | 1941 | 1 |
| CA60602 | Thomas Francis McAllister | 1976 | 1 |
| CA60603 | George Clifton Edwards Jr. | 1995 | 1 |
| CA60701 | John Donelson Martin Sr. | 1962 | 1 |
| CA60702 | Harry Phillips | 1985 | 1 |
| CA60703 | Bailey Brown | 1997 | 1 |
| CA60704 | Harry Walker Wellford | 2021 | 1 |
| CA60801 | John Weld Peck II | 1993 | 1 |
| CA60802 | Nathaniel Raphael Jones | 2002 | 1 |
| CA60901 | Wade Hampton McCree Jr. | 1977 | 1 |
| CA60902 | Damon Jerome Keith | 2019 | 1 |
| CA61001 | Henry Luesing Brooks | 1971 | 1 |
| CA61002 | Pierce Lively | 2016 | 1 |
| CA61101 | Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy | 2014 | 1 |
| CA61102 | Susan Bieke Neilson | 2006 | 1 |
| CA61201 | Boyce Ficklen Martin Jr. | 2013 | 1 |
| CA61301 | Herbert Theodore Milburn | 2016 | 1 |
| CA61303 | Bernice Bouie Donald | 2023 | 1 |
| CA61401 | David Aldrich Nelson | 2010 | 1 |
| CA61501 | Ralph B. Guy Jr. | 2026 | 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.
- Republican
- 22
- Democratic
- 10
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Donald J. Trump | 8 |
| George W. Bush | 8 |
| William J. Clinton | 5 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 4 |
| George H.W. Bush | 3 |
| Ronald Reagan | 3 |
| Barack Obama | 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)