United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
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Vacancy warning level
Currently the vacancy warning level for the Second Circuit is set at green. The court has no current vacancies.
Jurisdiction
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit's territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, and the court has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district courts in the following United States federal judicial districts:
- District of Connecticut
- Eastern District of New York
- Northern District of New York
- Southern District of New York
- Western District of New York
- District of Vermont
Cases heard
The Second 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* |
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| 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 | 5094 | 5371 | 10465 | 6300 | 4165 | 3304 | 2479 | 517 | 6300 | 277 |
| 2009 | 5981 | 5747 | 11728 | 6816 | 4912 | 3230 | 3236 | 350 | 6816 | 218 |
| 2008 | 6447 | 6904 | 13351 | 6434 | 6917 | 2859 | 3183 | 392 | 6434 | 191 |
| 2007 | 7674 | 6334 | 14008 | 7228 | 6780 | 2885 | 3940 | 403 | 7228 | 205 |
| 2006 | 9965 | 7029 | 16994 | 8969 | 8025 | 3794 | 4757 | 418 | 8969 | 258 |
| *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
This federal judiciary article needs to be expanded. The official website only lists the Clerk's office phone number as:
212-857-8585
212-857-8702
212-857-8662
History
Court history
This federal judiciary article needs to be expanded. The Second Circuit was established by the United States Congress in 1981 through the same statute that established the first nine appeals circuits. Over the years, ten additional seats were added to the court resulting in a total of thirteen seats.[1]
Judicial posts
The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Second Circuit:
| Year | Statute | Total Seats |
| March 3, 1891 | 26 Stat. 826 | 3 |
| April 17, 1902 | 32 Stat. 106 | 4 |
| December 12, 1910 | 36 Stat. 539 | 5(1 temporary, at-large post established under the Commerce Court)[2] |
| January 1, 1916 | Temporary post expired. | 4 |
| January 17, 1929 | 45 Stat. 1081 | 5 |
| July 1, 1929 | 36 Stat. 539 | 6(1 temporary, at-large post established under the Commerce Court)[3] |
| May 31, 1938 | 52 Stat. 584 | 7(1 temporary, at-large post established under the Commerce Court)[4] |
| September 6, 1940 | Temporary post expired. | 6 |
| May 19, 1961 | 75 Stat. 80 | 9 |
| October 20, 1978 | 92 Stat. 1629 | 11 |
| July 10, 1984 | 98 Stat. 333 | 13 |
Notable cases
For a search-able list of decisions from the Second Circuit, please see:Second Circuit Searchable Opinions
| • VT Prison Labor Case Judge(s):Barrington Parker, Richard Wesley and Robert Katzman |
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| On August 3, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the lower court decision and held that a suit could continue which alleged that the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, Vermont violated the 13th amendment by requiring an individual to work in the laundry room for $0.25 an hour. The suit was filed by Finbar McGarry who alleged that during his time pending trial in the facility, he was forced to work 14 hour shifts, 3 days a week, and was punished with solitary confinement if he refused. He filed the suit a month before his release, requesting $11 million in damages. U.S. District Judge Garvan Murtha threw out the case claiming that McGarry did not prove that the forced work was akin to African American slavery, which the act was originally designed to protect against. The three judge appeals court composed of Robert Katzmann, Richard Wesley and the writing judge Barrington Parker disagreed, writing in their opinion, "The Amendment was intended to prohibit all forms of involuntary labor, not solely to abolish chattel slavery." In addition the court held that McGarry's pretrial status required that the state treat him differently as he was not yet convicted and the charges were later dropped. The case was remanded back to Judge Murtha for further evaluation.[6] |
| • NY City smoking deterrent posters Judge(s):Peter Hall, Gerard Lynch and Denny Chin *94th St. Grocery v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Health 11-91-cv |
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| On July 10, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the decision of Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, ruling that federal regulations preempted a city ordinance that required cigarette distributors to post gruesome photos of cigarette related illnesses at the point of sale. The court held that the 1965 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act preempted the local law, thus rendering the local ordinance unconstitutional. Philip Morris USA alongside 2 other manufacturers, 2 major retailers and 2 trade unions challenged this city law in federal court last year. Despite admitting the risks of smoking, Rakoff agreed with the cigarette producers, stating in his opinion, "Even merchants of morbidity are entitled to the full protection of the law." The Second Circuit concurred, though they believed that the city could launch its own anti-smoking campaign using the images, but could not require retailers to do it. The case was heard by Judges Peter Hall, Gerard Lynch, and Denny Chin, with Chin writing the opinion of the court.[7][8] |
| • Citigroup liability case Judge(s):John Walker, Jose Cabranes and Chester Straub *In re Citigroup ERISA Litigation 662 F. 3d 128 |
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| Judge Walker authored the Second Circuit Court's opinion in a ruling declaring that Citigroup was not liable to workers who lost money on their 401(k) plans due to the company's exposure to toxic debt. The court split 2-1 in the decision, with Judge Jose Cabranes agreeing with Judge Walker and Judge Chester Straub dissenting. The case was brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by workers who claimed that Citigroup should not have offered bank stock in its retirement plans because it knew its subprime mortgage exposure made the stock a dangerous investment. The court disagreed, Judge Walker wrote that the workers did not show that Citigroup "either knew or should have known that Citigroup was in the sort of dire situation that required them to override plan terms in order to limit participants' investments in Citigroup stock." Marc Machiz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he expects the case to be reheard by the full Second Circuit Court.[9]
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| • Town meeting prayer case Judge(s):Guido Calabresi, Richard Wesley, Gerard Lynch *Galloway and Stephens v. Town of Greece, et al 10-3635-cv |
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| The 100,000 resident town of Greece, NY, has violated a constitutional ban against favoring one religion over another, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in what is being deemed a significant test to the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.[12] The decision, issued on the May 17, 2012, stated that by opening nearly every monthly town meeting with Christian-centric prayers, the town was favoring Christianity over other religions.[13]
The meetings in question took place every month between 1999 and 2007, and from January 2009 to June 2010 in the suburb of Rochester, NY. Who was to deliver the invocation was decided each month by a town employee who chose clerics or lay people from a local published guide of churches that did not include any places of worship outside of the Christian denomination. After complaints from two town residents, four of the 12 meetings in 2008 were opened by invocations from other faiths.[12][13] The suit first brought in 2010, was originally decided in favor of the city of Greece. The lower court ruled that there was no indication that one faith was favored over another, or that the town purposely excluded other faiths. The decision was overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling that "the town's process for selecting prayer-givers virtually ensured a Christian viewpoint.”[12] According to the town’s lawyer, the town is currently considering its legal options including an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. [14] |
| • Malesko v. Correctional Services Corporation Judge(s):Sonia Sotomayor *[ Malesko v. Correctional Services Corporation] 229 F3d 374 (2000) |
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| In this case, Sotomayor found that an inmate living in a halfway house could sue a government contractor for forcing him to climb five flights of stairs despite a heart condition after the inmate suffered a heart attack, fell down the stairs and injured himself. Sotomayor held "extending Bivens liability to reach private corporations furthers [its] overriding purpose: providing redress for violations of constitutional rights." (Bivens was a 1971 Supreme Court case that allowed some people whose rights have been violated by federal agents to sue.) The Supreme Court overturned Sotomayor's decision in a 5 to 4 ruling stating that only individual agents, not corporations, could be sued for such violations. [15][16][17] |
| • Riverkeeper Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency Judge(s):Sonia Sotomayor *[ Riverkeeper Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency] 475 F3d 83 (2007) |
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| Sotomayor found in favor of environmental group Riverkeeper who challenged an EPA ruling on the Clean Water Act's "best technology" rule involving power plants need to intake water as weighed against the risk to aquatic life in surrounding waters. In her ruling, she held "Congress has already specified the relationship between cost and benefits in requiring that the technology designated by EPA be the best available." Sotomayor's decision was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote where the Court held that EPA could not weigh the costs of changes to power plants versus the value of organisms in dollar terms, but could consider only what costs "may reasonably be borne" by power plants when determining the best technology rule available. [18] [16][17] |
| • Ricci v. DeStefano Judge(s):Sonia Sotomayor *[ Ricci v. DeStefano] 530 F.3d 87 (2008) |
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| In what is considered to be the judge's most high-profile case, Sotomayor joined a finding in favor of the city of New Haven rejecting a lawsuit filed by 17 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter claiming race discrimination when the city of New Haven denied promotions following a promotion examination that yielded no black candidates eligible for advancement. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the decision stating the decision to cancel the promotions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which guarantees equal employment opportunity. The Court found that Sotomayor's ruling would allow the city to "experiment" with tests until they found one that produced "a more desirable racial distribution."[19][17][20][21][22][23][24][16][25][26] [27][28] [29] |
| • Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush Judge(s):Sonia Sotomayor *[ Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush] 304 F3d 183 (2002) |
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| In a case involving the conservative Mexico City Policy - announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 and subsequently rescinded by President Bill Clinton and reauthorized by President George W. Bush, Sotomayor found that the federal government is within its rights to deny federal aid to foreign organizations that support or perform abortions. She dismissed claims by the pro-choice Center for Reproductive Law and Policy that the Mexico City Policy violated the First Amendment right to association as well as Fifth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection. In her finding, Sotomayor cited the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 which authorizes the President "to furnish assistance, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, for voluntary population planning" as well as multiple Supreme Court precedents. In her decision, Sotomayor wrote, "the Supreme Court has made clear that the government is free to favor the anti-abortion position over the pro-choice position, and can do so with public funds." [30] [31][26] |
| • Hiram Monserrate case Judge(s):Gerard Lynch, Dennis Jacobs, and Jane Restani *Monserrate v. New York State Senate 599 F. 3d 148 |
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| District Judge William Pauley denied an request by former New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate to stop a decision made by the New York Senate to expel him on February 9, 2010.[32]
Monserrate was expelled after being convicted of domestic violence towards his girlfriend which is considered a misdemeanor.[32] The case was appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but the appellate court judges, Gerard Lynch, Dennis Jacobs, and Jane Restani, ruled that the district court "did not abuse its discretion in determining that the Monserrate Appellants failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits of any of the claims they press on appeal. We thus need not reach any of the other arguments advanced by the parties. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction."[33] |
| • Fed Reserve disclosure Judge(s):Dennis Jacobs, Pierre Leval, and Peter Hall *BLOOMBERG, LP v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF FED. RESERVE 601 F. 3d 143 |
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On August 24, 2009, District Judge Loretta Preska ruled that the Federal Reserve must disclose the recipients of emergency loans and aid during the economic downturn. [34] Bloomberg News took court action after the nation's central bank refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request. According to the network, Bloomberg News hoped that if they made public the recipients of bailout money it would deter more bailout money from being handed out. [34] As part of her order, Preska gave the Federal Reserve five days to hand over the documents. On August 28, 2009, Judge Preska delayed her order requiring the Federal Reserve to disclose bailout recipients. Preska also allowed the Fed to file an appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. [35] The case was subsequently argued in front of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on January 11, 2010 and decided on March 19, 2010. The appellate court judges, Dennis Jacobs, Pierre Leval, and Peter Hall, upheld the decision reached by Judge Preska.[36] |
| • Seinfeld case Judge(s):Reena Raggi and Peter Hall *LAPINE v. Seinfeld No. 09-4423-cv |
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| District Judge Laura Swain tossed out a copyright infringement lawsuit against Jessica Seinfeld on September 10, 2009 after the judge found that a recipe in a cook book did not infringe on a competing author. [37]
Missy Chase Lapine sued the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld claiming a chicken breast recipe infringed on her similar recipe and competed unfairly. The judge found that because the styles of the books differed there was no evidence that Seinfeld's wife committed plagiarism. [37] The judgement can be read here. The case was appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The two appeals court judges, Reena Raggi and Peter Hall, ruled against Missy Chase Lapine and affirmed the decision by Judge Swain.[38] In 2010, Missy Chase Lapine sued Jerry Seinfeld for slander as a result of an interview Mr. Seinfeld participated in on the David Letterman television show. The New York Supreme Court dismissed the claim as being without merit in 2011. The judgement can be read here.[39] |
Federal courthouse
The Second Circuit ordinarily has its clerk's office and hears oral arguments at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. Foley square was originally part of the dangerous New York neighborhood known as the Five Points. Cass Gilbert, whose later work included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1925) and the U.S. Supreme Court Building (1935), was commissioned in 1931 to design the new federal courthouse on Foley Square. Construction began in 1932 and was not completed for over three years and was one of the first federal skyscrapers. Prominent features of the courthouse include its thirty story tower, ten Corinthian columns and a monumental staircase. The building was given the honor of being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[40] Due to renovations at that building, during the summer of 2006 the court temporarily relocated to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in New York City across Pearl Street from the Marshall Courthouse. Some of the Court's offices, including the Office of Legal Affairs, have moved to the Woolworth Building for the duration of the renovations, which are expected to take several years.
See also
- News: Second Circuit gives go ahead for 13th Amendment Vermont prison lawsuit, August 14, 2012
- United States court of appeals
External links
References
- ↑ FJC, History of the Second Circuit
- ↑ FJC History of the Commerce Court
- ↑ FJC History of the Commerce Court
- ↑ FJC History of the Commerce Court
- ↑ FJC, Second Circuit History
- ↑ Reuters, "Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case" 8/3/2012
- ↑ MyFoxDC, "New York can't scare smokers with graphic images, court ruled" 7/12/2012
- ↑ Ruling for 94th St. Grocery v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Health
- ↑ Reuters "Citigroup wins in workers' 401(k) stock drop appeal," October 13, 2011
- ↑ Reuters "Citigroup wins in workers' 401(k) stock drop appeal," October 13, 2011
- ↑ Reuters "Citigroup wins in workers' 401(k) stock drop appeal," October 13, 2011
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Associated Press "Court rules NY town's prayer violated Constitution", May 18, 2012
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Fox News "Court rules NY town's prayer violated Constitution" May 17, 2012
- ↑ 13 WHAM "Federal Appellate Court Overturns Ruling on Prayer at Greece Town Board Meetings" May 17, 2012
- ↑ John Malesko v. Correctional Services Corporation on OpenJurist
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 New York Times, "Sotomayor's Notable Court Opinions and Articles", July 10, 2009
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 New York Times, "Selected Cases of Judge Sonia Sotomayor"
- ↑ Riverkeeper Inc. v. United States Envrionmental Protection Agency on OpenJurist
- ↑ Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Equal Employment Opportunity on FindLaw
- ↑ New York Times, "Because of Race: Ricci v. DeStefano - Stanley Fish Blog", July 13, 2009
- ↑ Argument Recap: Ricci v. DeStefano on SCOTUSblog
- ↑ Legal Information Institute Bulletin, Ricci v. DeStefano
- ↑ Ricci v. DeStefano from Cornell Law School's Supreme Court Collection
- ↑ United States Supreme Court decision on Ricci v. DeStefano on www.supremecourt.gov
- ↑ Christian Science Monitor, "U.S. Supreme Court takes up 'reverse discrimination' case", January 9, 2009
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Time Magazine, "Sonia Sotomayor: A Justice Like No Other", May 28, 2009
- ↑ Time Magazine, "Sotomayor Hearing: Why Shouldn't Judges Make Policy>", July 16, 2009
- ↑ Time Magazine, "How the Republicans Will Go After Sonia Sotomayor", July 13, 2009
- ↑ Time Magazine, "Where Sonia Sotomayor Really Stands on Race", June 11, 2009
- ↑ Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush on OpenJurist
- ↑ Washington Post, "Abortion Rights Backers Get Reassurances on Nominee", May 29, 2009
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 New York Daily News "Denied! Federal judge rejected Sen. Hiram Monserrate's plea to stay in office", February 19, 2010
- ↑ Monserrate v. New York State Senate, 599 F. 3d 148 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2010
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Washington Post" Judge Rules Fed Must Disclose Firms That Accept Aid, August 26, 2009
- ↑ "Reuters" Judge puts Fed's bailout revelations on hold, August 28, 2009
- ↑ BLOOMBERG, LP v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF FED. RES., 601 F. 3d 143
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 "New York Times" Judge Rejects Copyright Suit Against Jessica Seinfeld, September 10, 2009
- ↑ LAPINE v. Seinfeld, Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2010
- ↑ Lapine v. Seinfeld, 31 Misc. 3d 736 - NY: Supreme Court 2011
- ↑ History of the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse
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| Contents |
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| 1 Court |
| 2 Judges |
| 2.1 Active Judges |
| 2.1.1 Article III judges |
| 2.1.2 Pending appointments |
| 2.1.3 Senior judges |
| 2.2 Past judges |
| 2.2.1 Former Chief judges |
| 2.2.2 Former judges |
Active judges
Article III judges
See: Article III federal judgeThe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has 13 posts and 0 vacancies. The current Chief Justice is Dennis Jacobs. This is a list of the current judges on the court:
| Judge | Born | Home | Appointed by | Active | Chief | Preceeded | Bachelors | Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Christopher Droney | 1954 | Hartford, CT | Obama | 11/28/2011-Present | Guido Calabresi | College of the Holy Cross, B.A., 1976 | U. of Connecticut Law, J.D., 1979 | |
| Judge Denny Chin | 1954 | Kowloon, Hong Kong | Obama | 4/23/2010 - Present | Robert Sack | Princeton, B.A., 1975 | Fordham U. Law, J.D., 1978 | |
| Judge Gerard Lynch | 1951 | Brooklyn, NY | Obama | 9/17/2009 - Present | Chester Straub | Columbia, B.A., 1972 | Columbia Law, J.D., 1975 | |
| Chief Justice Dennis Jacobs | 1944 | New York, NY | H.W. Bush | 10/2/1992 - Present | 10/1/2006 - Present | Wilfred Feinberg | Queens College CUNY, B.A., 1964 | New York U., J.D., 1973 |
| Judge Jose Cabranes | 1940 | Mayagüez, PR | Clinton | 8/10/1994 - Present | Richard Cardamone | Columbia, A.B., 1961 | Yale Law, J.D., 1965 | |
| Judge Rosemary Pooler | 1938 | New York, NY | Clinton | 6/3/1998 - Present | Frank Altimari | Brooklyn College, B.A., 1959 | U. of Michigan Law, J.D., 1965 | |
| Judge Robert Katzmann | 1944 | New York, NY | Clinton | 7/16/1999 - Present | Jon Newman | Columbia, A.B., 1973 | Yale Law, J.D., 1980 | |
| Judge Reena Raggi | 1951 | Jersey City, NJ | W. Bush | 10/4/2002 - Present | Amalya Kearse | Wellesley College '73 | Harvard Law '76 | |
| Judge Richard Wesley | 1949 | Canandaigua, NY | W. Bush | 6/12/2003 - Present | Pierre Leval | SUNY Albany, B.A., 1971 | Cornell Law, J.D., 1974 | |
| Judge Peter Hall | 1948 | Hartford, CT | W. Bush | 7/7/2004 - Present | Fred Parker | U. of North Carolina, B.A., 1971 | Cornell Law, J.D., 1977 | |
| Judge Debra Livingston | 1959 | Waycross, GA | W. Bush | 5/17/2007 - Present | John Walker | Princeton, B.A., 1980 | Harvard Law, J.D., 1984 | |
| Judge Raymond Lohier | 1965 | Montreal, Canada | Obama | 12/19/2010 - Present | Sonia Sotomayor | Harvard, A.B., 1988 | New York U., J.D., 1991 | |
| Judge Susan L. Carney | 1951 | Waltham, MA | Obama | 5/17/2011 - Present | Barrington Parker | Harvard, A.B., 1973 | Harvard Law, J.D., 1977 |
Pending appointments
There are no current pending appointments for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Senior judges
See: Federal judges on senior statusThe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has 12 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 Pierre Leval | Clinton | 10/20/1993 - 8/16/2002 | 8/16/2002 - Present | Harvard, A.B., 1959 | Harvard Law, J.D., 1963 | |
| Senior Judge Wilfred Feinberg | L.B. Johnson | 3/7/1966 - 1/31/1991 | 1980-1988 | 1/31/1991 - Present | Columbia, B.A., 1940 | Columbia Law, LL.B., 1946 |
| Senior Judge Jon Newman | Carter | 6/21/1979 - 7/1/1997 | 1993-1997 | 7/1/1997 - Present | Princeton, A.B., 1953 | Yale Law, LL.B., 1956 |
| Senior Judge Amalya Kearse | Carter | 6/21/1979 - 6/11/2002 | 6/11/2002 - Present | Wellesley College, B.A., 1959 | U. of Michigan Law, J.D., 1962 | |
| Senior Judge Ralph Winter | Reagan | 12/10/1981 - 9/30/2000 | 1997-2000 | 9/30/2000 - Present | Yale, B.A., 1957 | Yale Law, LL.B., 1960 |
| Senior Judge John Walker | H.W. Bush | 11/27/1989 - 10/1/2006 | 2001-2006 | 10/1/2006 - Present | Yale, B.A., 1962 | U. Michigan Law, J.D., 1966 |
| Senior Judge Joseph McLaughlin | H.W. Bush | 10/17/1990 - 3/20/1998 | 3/20/1998 - Present | Fordham College, A.B., 1954 | Fordham U. Law, LL.B., 1959 | |
| Senior Judge Chester Straub | Clinton | 6/3/1998 - 7/16/2008 | 7/16/2008 - Present | St. Peter's College, B.A., 1958 | U. of Virginia Law, LL.B., 1961 | |
| Senior Judge Guido Calabresi | Clinton | 7/18/1994 - 7/21/2009 | 7/21/2009 - Present | Yale, B.S., 1953 Oxford, B.A., 1955 | Yale Law, LL.B., 1958 | |
| Senior Judge Robert Sack | Clinton | 6/16/1998 - 8/6/2009 | 8/6/2009 - Present | U. of Rochester, B.A., 1960 | Columbia Law, LL.B., 1963 | |
| Senior Judge Barrington Parker | W. Bush | 10/16/2001 - 10/10/2009 | 10/10/2009 - Present | Yale, B.A., 1965 | Yale Law, LL.B., 1969 | |
| Senior Judge Richard Cardamone | Reagan | 10/29/1981- 11/13/1993 | 11/13/1993 - Present | Harvard, B.A., 1948 | Syracuse U. Law, LL.B., 1952 |
Past judges
Former Chief judges
| Judge | Term |
|---|---|
| Joseph Lumbard | 1959-1971 |
| Henry Friendly | 1971-1973 |
| Irving Kaufman | 1973-1980 |
| Charles Edward Clark | 1954-1959 |
| Thomas Walter Swan | 1951-1953 |
| Harrie Brigham Chase | 1953-1954 |
| Learned Hand | 1948-1951 |
| James Oakes | 1988-1992 |
| Thomas Meskill | 1992-1993 |
| John Walker | 2001-2006 |
| Ralph Winter | 1997-2000 |
| Jon Newman | 1993-1997 |
| Wilfred Feinberg | 1980-1988 |
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
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- Julian William Mack
- Frank Altimari
- Samuel Blatchford
- Alexander Smith Johnson
- Nathaniel Shipman
- William James Wallace
- Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Roger Miner
- John Mahoney
- George Pratt
- Lawrence Pierce
- Thomas Meskill
- William Mulligan
- James Oakes
- William Timbers
- Fred Parker
- Alfred Conkling Coxe
- Emile Henry Lacombe
- William Kneeland Townsend
- Charles Merrill Hough
- Walter Chadwick Noyes
- Henry Galbraith Ward
- John Harlan II
- Learned Hand
- Martin Augustine Knapp
- Julius Marshuetz Mayer
- Augustus Noble Hand
- Martin Thomas Manton
- Henry Wade Rogers
- Harrie Brigham Chase
- Thomas Walter Swan
- Carroll Hincks
- Charles Edward Clark
- John Joseph Smith
- Robert Palmer Anderson
- Robert Porter Patterson, Sr.
- Murray Gurfein
- Irving Kaufman
- Walter Mansfield
- Harold Medina
- Thurgood Marshall
- Jerome Frank
- Henry Friendly
- Paul Hays
- Joseph Lumbard
- Leonard Moore
- Ellsworth Van Graafeiland
- Sterry Waterman
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