United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vacancy warning level
Currently the vacancy warning level for the Seventh Circuit is set at blue. The court currently has one vacancy out of their eleven total seats, constituting 9% of the total seats. However, there is one pending nomination awaiting action by the Senate.
Jurisdiction
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
- Central District of Illinois
- Northern District of Illinois
- Southern District of Illinois
- Northern District of Indiana
- Southern District of Indiana
- Eastern District of Wisconsin
- Western District of Wisconsin
The court is based at the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Building in Downtown Chicago. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals, composed of eleven judges.
The court offers a unique internet presence that includes wiki and RSS feeds of opinions and oral arguments. No other United States District or Appellate Court offers oral arguments using these feeds to the internet with the exception of United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit which offers RSS features.
Cases heard
The Seventh 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 | 2174 | 3124 | 5298 | 3398 | 1900 | 1512 | 1695 | 191 | 3398 | 112 |
| 2009 | 2273 | 3337 | 5610 | 3435 | 2175 | 1641 | 1601 | 193 | 3435 | 128 |
| 2008 | 2247 | 3037 | 5284 | 3281 | 2003 | 1338 | 1686 | 257 | 3281 | 105 |
| 2007 | 2299 | 3227 | 5526 | 3280 | 2246 | 1467 | 1638 | 175 | 3280 | 117 |
| 2006 | 2461 | 3634 | 6095 | 3803 | 2292 | 1721 | 1890 | 192 | 3803 | 134 |
| *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
Clerk's Office
U.S. Court of Appeals
Room 2722
219 S. Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone:(312) 435-5850
History
Court history
The Seventh Circuit was established by the United States Congress in 1981 through the same statute that established the first nine appeals circuits. Over the years, nine additional seats were added to the court resulting in a total of eleven seats.[1] The court has moved six times throughout its history, but has always remained in Chicago, IL.
Judicial posts
The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Seventh Circuit:
| Year | Statute | Total Seats |
| March 3, 1891 | 26 Stat. 826 | 2 |
| February 8, 1895 | 28 Stat. 643 | 3 |
| March 3, 1905 | 33 Stat. 992 | 4 |
| May 31, 1938 | 52 Stat. 584 | 5 |
| August 3, 1949 | 63 Stat. 493 | 6 |
| May 19, 1961 | 75 Stat. 80 | 7 |
| March 18, 1966 | 80 Stat. 75 | 8 |
| October 20, 1978 | 92 Stat. 1629,1632 | 9 |
| July 10, 1984 | 98 Stat. 333 | 11 |
Notable cases
This page is missing notable case information.
For a search-able list of decisions from the Fourth Circuit, please see:
Seventh Circuit Searchable Opinions
Federal courthouse
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has moved into six different court buildings. The original building was located at the N.W. corner of Monroe Street and Dearborn Street and shared space with the U.S. Customs House and Post Office. The building was gutted by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The court moved to a newly constructed building in 1980 located between Clark, Adams and Dearborn Streets and Jackson Boulevard. The building was poorly constructed and the court moved again in 1894 to the Monadnock building at the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Dearborn Street. The Monadnock building served as a temporary home until a new courthouse was built in 1905 by architect Henry Ives Cobb. The court moved again in 1938 to 1212 Lake Shore Drive and one final time in 1965 to its present location at the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Building. The current building was constructed by principal architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. The official court website describes the building, stating,
"The block-long building rises thirty stories on a skeleton of structural steel, supported by concrete caissons extending to rock one hundred feet below sidewalk level. It is sheathed in a curtain wall of steel, aluminum and bronze-tinted glass. The entire ground level area is paved in granite, extending to the lobby as interior paving and onto the elevator core walls."[3]
Judicial nominating commission
In April 2013, Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson created the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission. The commission will recommend nominees for the following courts: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The commission will also recommend United States Attorneys for the Eastern and Western Districts. It will be comprised of six members of the Wisconsin State Bar, with three members appointed by each senator. [4]
See also
External links
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Judges of the Seventh Circuit
- Recent opinions from FindLaw
- 7th Circuit Official Opinions Database
- Official wiki of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit — Launched April 18, 2007
References
- Federal Law Clerk Information System
- Website of the University of Texas Law School
- Federal Judicial Center
- Portions of this article have been copied from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contents |
|---|
| 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 Seventh Circuit has 10 posts and 1 vacancy. The current Chief Justice is Frank Easterbrook. This is a list of the current judges on the court:
| Judge | Born | Home | Appointed by | Active | Chief | Preceeded | Bachelors | Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Diane Sykes | 1957 | Milwaukee, WI | W. Bush | 8/24/2004 - Present | John Coffey | Northwestern U. '80 | Marquette U. Law '84 | |
| Judge Diane Wood | July 4, 1950 | Plainfield, New Jersey | Clinton | 6/30/1995 - Present | William Bauer | U. of Texas, Austin '71 | U. of Texas Law '75 | |
| Chief Justice Frank Easterbrook | 1948 | Buffalo, NY | Reagan | 4/4/1985 - Present | 2006 - Present | Swarthmore College '70 | U. of Chicago Law '73 | |
| Judge Ann Williams | 1949 | Detroit, MI | Clinton | 11/15/1999 - Present | Walter Cummings | Wayne State U. '70 | Notre Dame Law '75 | |
| Judge Joel Flaum | 1936 | Hudson, NY | Reagan | 5/5/1983 - Present | 2000-2006 | Robert Sprecher | Union College '58 | Northwestern U. Law '63 |
| Judge Ilana Rovner | 1938 | Riga, Latvia | H.W. Bush | 8/17/1992 - Present | Harlington Wood | Bryn Mawr College '60 | Chicago-Kent Law '66 | |
| Judge Michael Kanne | 1938 | Rensselaer, IN | Reagan | 5/20/1987 - Present | Jesse Eschbach | Indiana U. '62 | Indiana U. Law '68 | |
| Judge Richard Posner | 1939 | New York, NY | Reagan | 12/1/1981 - Present | 1993-2000 | Philip Tone | Yale University, 1959 | Harvard Law, 1962 |
| Judge David Hamilton | 1957 | Bloomington, IN | Obama | 11/23/2009 - Present | Kenneth Ripple | Haverford College, B.A., 1979 | Yale Law School, J.D., 1983 | |
| Judge John Tinder | 1950 | Indianapolis, IN | W. Bush | 12/21/2007 - Present | Daniel Manion | Indiana U. '72 | Indiana U. Law '75 |
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 statusThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has 6 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 Daniel Manion | Reagan | 7/24/1986 - 12/18/2007 | 12/18/2007 - Present | Notre Dame '64 | Indiana U. Law '73 | |
| Senior Judge Ken Ripple | Reagan | 5/10/1985 - 9/1/2008 | 9/1/2008 - Present | Fordham U. '65 | U. of Virginia Law '68 | |
| Senior Judge William Bauer | Ford | 12/20/1974 - 10/31/1994 | 1986-1993 | 10/31/1994 - Present | Elmhurst College '49 | DePaul U. Law '52 |
| Senior Judge Richard Cudahy | Carter | 9/26/1979 - 8/15/1994 | 8/15/1994 - Present | West Point '48 | Yale Law '55 |
Past judges
Former Chief judges
| Judge | Term |
|---|---|
| John Hastings | 1959-1968 |
| Walter Cummings | 1981-1986 |
| Latham Castle | 1968-1970 |
| Luther Swygert | 1970 - 1975 |
| Francis Duffy | 1954-1959 |
| James Earl Major | 1948-1954 |
| William Morris Sparks | 1948 |
| Thomas Fairchild | 1975-1981 |
| William Bauer | 1986-1993 |
| Richard Posner | 1993-2000 |
| Joel Flaum | 2000-2006 |
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
- John Paul Stevens
- Julian William Mack
- Terence Evans
- John Coffey
- Jesse Eschbach
- Walter Quintin Gresham
- Thomas Fairchild
- Philip Tone
- William Allen Woods
- James Graham Jenkins
- William Henry Seaman
- John William Showalter
- Peter Stenger Grosscup
- Christian Cecil Kohlsaat
- Albert Barnes Anderson
- Francis Elisha Baker
- Samuel Alschuler
- Evan Alfred Evans
- Louis FitzHenry
- George True Page
- Walter Lindley
- William Morris Sparks
- James Earl Major
- Walter Treanor
- Francis Duffy
- Otto Kerner, Sr.
- Otto Kerner, Jr.
- Harlington Wood
- Winfred Knoch
- William Parkinson
- Luther Swygert
- Sherman Minton
- Latham Castle
- Walter Cummings
- Philip Finnegan
- John Hastings
- Roger Kiley
- Wilbur Pell
- Elmer Schnackenberg
- Robert Sprecher
- Hardress Swaim
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||