United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

• Court
• Judges

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief: William Traxler Judges: 15 Posts: 15 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Agee • Davis • Diaz • Duncan • Floyd • Gregory • Keenan • King • Motz • Niemeyer • Shedd • Thacker • Wilkinson • Wynn Senior Judges Chapman • Hamilton • Phillips Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sometimes referred to simply as the Fourth Circuit, is one of the thirteen federal appellate courts. The court was established in 1891 and currently has a total of fifteen seats. The court is located at the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Federal Courthouse in Richmond VA.

Vacancy warning level

Currently the vacancy warning level for the Fourth Circuit is set at green. The court currently has no vacancies out of their fifteen total seats.

Jurisdiction

Map of the Fourth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The court hears appeals from the United States district courts in:

District of Maryland Eastern District of North Carolina Middle District of North Carolina Western District of North Carolina District of South Carolina

Eastern District of Virginia Western District of Virginia Northern District of West Virginia Southern District of West Virginia

The court is based at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.

Cases heard

The Fourth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

Case load

Federal Court Case Load Statistics*

Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases	Terminations on merits:	Terminations on Procedure	Cross Appeals:	Total Terminations:	Written decisions per Judge**
2010	3343	4854	8197	4951	3246	2894	1929	128	4951	241
2009	3310	5311	8621	5282	3339	2926	2187	169	5282	270
2008	2793	5185	7978	4671	3307	2581	1916	174	4671	234
2007	3152	4542	7694	4900	2794	2741	1916	243	4900	243
2006	3321	5460	8781	5628	3153	3206	2197	225	5628	229

*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website (for District Courts) and reflect the calendar year through September.    **This statistic reflects only judges that are active for the entire 12 month period.

Clerk's office

The official Clerk of Court is Patricia S. Connor. The Office is open for filing from 8:30am to 5pm Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Office closing due to incliment weather will be announced on the Clerk's official phone line, at 804-916-2700.

Patricia S. Connor, Clerk
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
1100 East Main Street, Suite 501
Richmond, Virginia 23219-3517
804-916-2700

History

Court history

The Fourth Circuit was established by the United States Congress in 1981 through the same statute that established the first nine appeals circuits. Over the years, thirteen additional seats were added to the court resulting in a total of fifteen seats. Among the famous early cases tried by the Fourth Circuit is the treason trial of Aaron Burr. In 1866 the federal courts realigned and the Fourth Circuit assumed its current five state jurisdiction. The Fourth Circuit claims to pride itself on its traditions, still requiring judges to descend and shake the hands of all lawyers after oral arguments.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Fourth Circuit:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
March 3, 1891	26 Stat. 826	2
September 14, 1922	42 Stat. 837	3
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	5
March 18, 1966	80 Stat. 75	7
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	10
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	11
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	15

Notable cases

This page is missing notable case information.

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For a search-able list of decisions from the Fourth Circuit, please see:
Fourth Circuit Searchable Opinions

Federal courthouse

The Fourth Circuit is located inside the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Federal Courthouse in Richmond VA. The original courthouse was constructed in 1858 and housed the Customs House and Post Office in addition to the Court House. During the Civil War the courthouse played a key role during and after the Civil War providing offices for Confederate President Jefferson Davis and then later providing the courtroom where a grand jury indicted Davis for treason. It is one of only two building to survive the fires that ravaged Richmond at the close of the American Civil War. The building was expanded in 1889, 1912, and 1932. The expansions completed in 1912 proved to be the largest to date, increasing the size of the courthouse twelve-fold. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. To read more about the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Federal Courthouse, see the U.S. General Services Administration's Official Page.

See also

• United States court of appeals
• News: 4th Circuit to hear cockfighting case, December 9, 2011

External links

• Website of the Fourth Circuit
• Judges of the Fourth Circuit
• Fourth Circuit blog
• Opinions of the Fourth Circuit
• The Baltimore Sun, "Conservative federal appeals court shifts left," November 19, 2011

References

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief: William Traxler Judges: 15 Posts: 15 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Agee • Davis • Diaz • Duncan • Floyd • Gregory • Keenan • King • Motz • Niemeyer • Shedd • Thacker • Wilkinson • Wynn Senior Judges Chapman • Hamilton • Phillips Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Active judges

Article III judges

See: Article III federal judge
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has 15 posts and 0 vacancies. The current Chief Justice is William Traxler. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Judge Barbara Keenan	1950	Vienna, Austria	Obama	3/2/2010 - Present		Hiram Widener	Cornell U.	George Washington U. '74
Judge Steven Agee	1952	Roanoke, VA	W. Bush	7/1/2008 - Present		Michael Luttig	Bridgewater College '74	U. Virginia Law '77
Judge Harvie Wilkinson	1944	New York, NY	Reagan	8/13/1984 - Present	1996-2003	John Butzner	Yale '67	U. Virginia Law '72
Judge Paul Niemeyer	1941	Princeton, NJ	H.W. Bush	8/7/1990 - Present		Harrison Winter	Kenyon College '62	Notre Dame Law '66
Judge Diana Motz	1943	Washington D.C.	Clinton	6/16/1994 - Present		New Seat	Vassar College '65	U. Virginia Law '68
Chief Judge William Traxler	1948	Greenville, SC	Clinton	10/1/1998 - Present	2009-Current	Donald Russell	Davidson College '70	U. of South Carolina Law '73
Judge Robert King	1940	White Sulphur Springs, WV	Clinton	10/9/1998 - Present		Kenneth Hall	West Virginia U. '61	West Virginia U. Law '68
Judge Roger Gregory	1953	Philadelphia, PA	Clinton	7/25/2001 - Present		New Seat	Virginia State U. '75	U. of Michigan Law '78
Judge Dennis Shedd	1953	Cordova, SC	W. Bush	11/19/2002 - Present		Clyde Hamilton	Wofford College '75	U. of South Carolina Law '78
Judge Allyson Duncan	1951	Durham, NC	W. Bush	8/15/2003 - Present		Samuel Ervin	Hampton U. '72	Duke Law '75
Judge Andre Davis	1949	Baltimore, MD	Obama	11/10/2009 - Present		Francis Murnaghan	U. of Pennsylvania '71	U. Maryland Law '78
Judge Henry Floyd	1947	Brevard, NC	Obama	10/3/2011 - Present		Karen J. Williams	Wofford College, B.A., 1970	U. of South Carolina Law, J.D., 19'73
Judge James Wynn	1954	Robersonville, NC	Obama	8/5/2010 - Present		James Phillips	U. of North Carolina '75	Marquette U. Law '79
Judge Albert Diaz	1960	Brooklyn, NY	Obama	12/22/2010 - Present		William Walter Wilkins	U. of Pennsylvania '83	New York U. Law '88
Judge Stephanie Thacker	1965	Huntington, WV	Obama	4/16/2012 - Present		Blane Michael	Marshall U., B.A., 1987	West Virginia U. Law, J.D., 1990

Pending appointments

There are no current pending appointments for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has 3 judges on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge Clyde Hamilton	H.W. Bush	7/22/1991 - 11/30/1999		11/30/1999 - Present	Wofford College '56	George Washington U. Law '61
Senior Judge Robert Chapman	Reagan	9/19/1981 - 5/31/1991		5/31/1991 - Present	U. of South Carolina '45	U. of South Carolina Law '49
Senior Judge James Phillips	Carter	8/11/1978 - 7/31/1994		7/31/1994 - Present	Davidson College '43	U. of North Carolina Law '48

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
William Walter Wilkins	2003-2007
Simon Sobeloff	1958-1964
Clement Haynsworth	1964-1981
Harrison Winter	1981-1989
John Johnston Parker	1948-1958
Samuel Ervin	1989-1996
Harvie Wilkinson	1996-2003
Karen J. Williams	2007-2009

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, 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.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court 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.

Former judges

1. Hugh Lennox Bond
2. Karen J. Williams
3. Blane Michael
4. Michael Luttig
5. Emory Sneeden
6. Samuel Ervin
7. James Sprouse
8. Charles Henry Simonton
9. Nathan Goff
10. Edmund Waddill
11. Jeter Connelly Pritchard
12. Martin Augustine Knapp
13. John Carter Rose
14. Charles Albert Woods
15. Morris Ames Soper
16. Elliott Northcott
17. John Johnston Parker
18. Armistead Dobie
19. Harrison Winter
20. James Craven
21. Donald Russell
22. Albert Bryan, Sr.
23. John Butzner
24. Hiram Widener
25. Herbert Boreman
26. John Field
27. Kenneth Hall
28. J. Spencer Bell
29. Clement Haynsworth
30. Francis Murnaghan
31. Simon Sobeloff
32. William Walter Wilkins