United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
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The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States District Courts:
- District of Maine
- District of Massachusetts
- District of New Hampshire
- District of Puerto Rico
- District of Rhode Island
The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. With six active and four senior judges, the First Circuit is the nation's smallest federal appellate court.
Despite its small size, the First Circuit boasts two alumni—David Souter and Stephen Breyer—who currently sit on the United States Supreme Court.
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Current composition of the court
As of 2005, the judges on the court are: Template:Start U.S. judgeship Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:U.S. judgeship row Current Template:End U.S. judgeship Current
List of former judges
Template:Start U.S. judgeship Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:End U.S. judgeship
(a) Colt was appointed to the bench of the United States Circuit Court for the First Circuit in 1884 by Chester A. Arthur. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Chief judges
In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge, 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 (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+28USC45).
Succession of seats
The court has six seats for active judges, numbered in order of their creation. If seats were established simultaneously, they are numbered in the order in which they were filled. Judges who retire into senior status remain on the bench but leave their seat vacant. That seat is filled by the next circuit judge appointed by the President.
See also
References
- Template:Web reference
- source for the duty stations
- Template:Web reference
- source for the state, lifetime, term of active judgeship, term of chief judgeship, term of senior judgeship, appointer, termination reason, and seat information
External links
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/)
- Recent opinions from Findlaw (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=1st&navby=year&year=recent)