United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
|
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States District Courts:
- Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Louisiana
- Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi
- Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of Texas
The court is based at the John Minor Wisdom U.S. Courthouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Prior to the creation of the Eleventh Circuit, which came into existence on October 1, 1981 under Public Law 96-452, the Fifth Circuit also included Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Until March 31, 1982, the Fifth Circuit also had jurisdiction over the Panama Canal Zone.
Contents |
Current composition of the court
As of Priscilla Owen's oath of office on June 6, 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: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
(a) Prior to January 1, 1988, King was named Carolyn Dineen Randall.
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: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: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:U.S. judgeship row Former Template:End U.S. judgeship Former
(a) Pardee was appointed to the bend of the United States Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit in 1881 by James A. Garfield. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
(b) Recess appointment, confirmed by the Senate at a later date.
(c) Recess appointment, never confirmed or rejected by the Senate.
The Fifth Circuit Four
During the late 1950s, Chief Judge Elbert Tuttle and his three colleagues John Minor Wisdom, John Brown, and Richard Rives became known as the "Fifth Circuit Four" (or simply "The Four") for decisions crucial in advancing the civil rights of African-Americans; in this they were opposed by Ben Cameron.
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 had 29 seats for active judges. Twelve of these seats were reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, leaving a seventeen-seat court. The seats are 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 Fifth Circuit (http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/)
- Recent opinions from FindLaw (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=5th&navby=year&year=recent)