United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

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Eleventh Circuit
Court of Appeals
US-CourtOfAppeals-11thCircuit-Seal.png
Judgeships
Posts: 12
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: William Pryor
Active judges: Elizabeth L. Branch, Andrew Brasher, Britt Grant, Adalberto Jordan, Barbara Lagoa, Robert J. Luck, Kevin C. Newsom, Jill Pryor, William Pryor, Robin Rosenbaum, Charles Wilson

Senior judges:
Robert Lanier Anderson, Susan Black, Edward Carnes, Julie Carnes, Joel Dubina, James L. Edmondson, Frank Hull, Stanley Marcus, Gerald Tjoflat


The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Appeals are heard in the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta.

This page contains the following information on the Eleventh Circuit.

Vacancies[edit]

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the 11th Circuit, out of the court's 12 judicial positions.

Pending nominations[edit]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Nancy Gbana Abudu

Joe Biden (D)

Columbia University, 1996

Tulane University School of Law, 1999


Active judges[edit]

Article III judges[edit]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Charles Wilson

Bill Clinton (D)

August 9, 1999 -

University of Notre Dame, 1976

Notre Dame Law School, 1979

William Pryor

George W. Bush (R)

June 10, 2005 -

Northeast Louisiana University, 1984

Tulane University Law School, 1987

Adalberto Jordan

Barack Obama (D)

February 17, 2012 -

University of Miami, 1984

University of Miami School of Law, 1987

Robin Rosenbaum

Barack Obama (D)

June 2, 2014 -

Cornell University, 1988

University of Miami School of Law, 1991

Jill Pryor

Barack Obama (D)

September 9, 2014 -

College of William & Mary, 1985

Yale Law School, 1988

Kevin C. Newsom

Donald Trump (R)

August 2, 2017 -

Samford University, 1994

Harvard Law School, 1997

Elizabeth L. Branch

Donald Trump (R)

March 19, 2018 -

Davidson College, 1990

Emory University School of Law, 1994

Britt Grant

Donald Trump (R)

August 3, 2018 -

Wake Forest University, 2000

Stanford Law School, 2007

Robert J. Luck

Donald Trump (R)

November 19, 2019 -

University of Florida, 2000

University of Florida College of Law, 2004

Barbara Lagoa

Donald Trump (R)

December 6, 2019 -

Florida International University, 1989

Columbia University, 1992

Andrew Brasher

Donald Trump (R)

June 30, 2020 -

Samford University, 2002

Harvard Law School, 2006


Active Article III judges by appointing political party[edit]

Below is a display of the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 4
  • Republican appointed: 7

Senior judges[edit]

Senior status is a classification for federal judges at all levels who are semi-retired. Senior judges are Article III judges who, having met eligibility through age and service requirements, continue to serve on federal courts while typically hearing a reduced number of cases. Some senior judges, however, elect to retain a full caseload after taking senior status. According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, senior judges "typically handle about 15 percent of the federal courts' workload annually."[1] The date listed under assumed office in the table below reflects the date that the judge took senior status.

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Robert Lanier Anderson

Jimmy Carter (D)

January 31, 2009 -

Yale College, 1958

Harvard Law School, 1961

Susan Black

George H.W. Bush (R)

February 25, 2011 -

Florida State University, 1964

University of Florida College of Law, 1967

James L. Edmondson

Ronald Reagan (R)

July 15, 2012 -

Emory University, 1968

University of Georgia School of Law, 1971

Joel Dubina

George H.W. Bush (R)

October 26, 2013 -

University of Alabama, 1970

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, 1973

Frank Hull

Bill Clinton (D)

December 31, 2017 -

Randolph-Macon Woman's College, 1970

Emory University School of Law, 1973

Julie Carnes

Barack Obama (D)

June 18, 2018 -

University of Georgia, 1972

University of Georgia School of Law, 1975

Gerald Tjoflat

None (reassignment)

November 19, 2019 -

Duke University School of Law, 1957

Stanley Marcus

Bill Clinton (D)

November 20, 2019 -

City University of New York, Queens College, 1967

Harvard Law School, 1971

Edward Carnes

George H.W. Bush (R)

June 30, 2020 -

University of Alabama, 1972

Harvard Law School, 1975


Senior judges by appointing political party[edit]

Below is a display of the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 4
  • Republican appointed: 5

Former chief judges[edit]

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the President of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges[edit]

For more information on judges of the Eleventh Circuit, see former federal judges of the Eleventh Circuit.

Jurisdiction[edit]

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitUnited States District Court for the Northern District of AlabamaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of AlabamaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of AlabamaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of GeorgiaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of GeorgiaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of GeorgiaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of FloridaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of FloridaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of FloridaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Map of the Eleventh Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.


The Eleventh 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. Appeals of rulings by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Clarence Thomas is the circuit justice for the Eleventh Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

Caseloads[edit]

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in May 2021. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit caseload stats, 2010-2019
Year Appeals Filed Appeals Terminated Pending Appeals Terminations on the Merits (per Active Judge) Procedural Terminations (per Active Judge) Total Written Decisions (per Active Judge) Number of Judgeships Number of Sitting Senior Judges Number of Vacant Judgeship Months Median Time From Filing Notice of Appeal to Disposition
2010 6,296 6,362 3,565 664 250 213 12 5 5 9
2011 6,449 6,303 3,683 722 287 246 12 6 5 8
2012 6,912 6,686 3,894 763 214 291 12 7 19 7
2013 6,254 6,505 3,638 913 243 325 12 8 29 8
2014 6,087 6,239 3,511 936 220 356 12 8 31 7
2015 6,127 6,066 3,548 732 185 271 12 7 12 7
2016 8,038 7,553 4,042 1,151 223 393 12 5 12 4
2017 6,073 6,391 3,725 764 167 294 12 5 12 8
2018 5,718 5,888 3,569 626 116 240 12 5 15 8
2019 5,507 5,672 3,412 601 113 219 12 9 12 8
Average 6,346 6,367 3,659 787 202 285 12 7 15 7

History[edit]

Court history[edit]

The Eleventh Circuit was established on October 14, 1980, under 94 Stat. 1994 which broke the then Fifth Circuit up into the Fifth Circuit and the Eleventh Circuit. All of the judges who resided in the newly created Eleventh Circuit were transferred to the new appellate court. The court has had twelve judicial posts since its creation.[7]

The districts within the Eleventh Circuit were originally part of the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit Act of 1980 was enacted by Congress and effective as of October 1, 1981. For this reason, Fifth Circuit decisions from before this split are considered binding precedent in the Eleventh Circuit.

Judicial posts[edit]

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Eleventh Circuit:[8]

Year Statute Total Seats
October 14, 1980 94 Stat. 1994 12

Reversal rate[edit]

See also: SCOTUS case reversal rates (2007 - Present)

Since 2007, SCOTUS has released opinions in 1,128 cases. Of those, it reversed a lower court decision 805 times (71.4 percent) while affirming a lower court decision 315 times (27.9 percent).

In that time period, SCOTUS has decided 77 cases originating from the Eleventh Circuit, affirming in 25 cases and reversing in 52 cases, for a reversal rate of 67.5 percent. At the end of the 2021 term, the Eleventh Circuit had the seventh-lowest reversal rate of the 13 federal circuit courts of appeal.


Below is the total data ranging from 2007 to present listed by the circuit where the case originated. It also contains data from state courts, U.S. district courts, and original jurisdiction cases. It was compiled from end-of-term data gathered by SCOTUSblog.

SCOTUS decisions by circuit (2007 - Present)
Court Decided Affirmed Reversed Percent Reversed
First Circuit 32 13 19 59.4%
Second Circuit 81 28 53 65.4%
Third Circuit 52 16 36 69.2%
Fourth Circuit 54 22 32 59.3%
Fifth Circuit 87 24 63 72.4%
Sixth Circuit 81 15 66 81.5%
Seventh Circuit 51 19 32 62.7%
Eighth Circuit 49 11 38 77.6%
Ninth Circuit 219 43 176 80.4%
Tenth Circuit 42 16 26 61.9%
Eleventh Circuit 77 25 52 67.5%
D.C. Circuit 49 16 33 67.3%
Federal Circuit 59 17 42 71.2%
Armed Forces 3 2 1 33.3%
State Court 155 37 118 76.1%
U.S. District Court 26 8 18 69.2%
Original Jurisdiction 11 3 N/A N/A
Total 1,128 315 805 71.4%


Noteworthy cases[edit]

The following are noteworthy cases heard before this court. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us. To read opinions published by this court, click here.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court[edit]

This section focuses on cases the U.S. Supreme Court heard that originated in this court. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us.

2021-2022 term[edit]

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2021-2022

The following cases were heard before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2021-2022 term.

2021-2022 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 11th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Patel v. Garland Amy Coney Barrett affirmed 5-4
Gallardo v. Marstiller Clarence Thomas affirmed 7-2
Ruan v. United States (Consolidated with Kahn v. United States) Stephen Breyer vacated and remanded 9-0
Kemp v. United States Clarence Thomas affirmed 8-1
Nance v. Ward Elena Kagan reversed and remanded 5-4




2020-2021 term[edit]

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021

The following cases were scheduled for argument before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2020-2021 term.

2020-2021 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 11th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Van Buren v. United States Amy Coney Barrett reversed and remanded 6-3
Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski Clarence Thomas reversed and remanded 8-1
Greer v. United States Brett Kavanaugh affirmed 9-0
Terry v. United States Clarence Thomas affirmed 9-0
Dunn v. Reeves (Decided without argument) Per curiam reversed and remanded 6-3


2019-2020 term[edit]

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020

The following cases were heard before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2019-2020 term.

2019-2020 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 11th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Shular v. United States Ruth Bader Ginsburg affirmed 9-0
Babb v. Wilkie Samuel Alito reversed and remanded 8-1
Barton v. Barr Brett Kavanaugh affirmed 5-4
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org Inc. John Roberts affirmed 5-4
Nasrallah v. Barr Brett Kavanaugh reversed 7-2
GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC Clarence Thomas reversed and remanded 9-0
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia (Consolidated with Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC) Neil Gorsuch reversed and remanded 6-3

Federal courthouse[edit]

The Eleventh Circuit is located at the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia. Ground was broken for the courthouse in 1907, and it was constructed to accommodate the federal services needed for the growing Atlanta population. The building was designed by Architect James Knox Taylor of the U.S. Treasury Department. The court occupied the building in 1981. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[13]

About United States Court of Appeals[edit]

The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. The court of appeals was originally created in 1891 and has grown to include thirteen courts.

A court of appeals decides appeals from any of the district courts that are in its federal judicial circuit. The appeals courts also can hear appeals from some administrative agencies. Decisions of the federal appeals courts can, in turn, be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

There are thirteen United States courts of appeals. In addition, there are other federal courts (such as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which hears appeals in court-martial cases) that have "Court of Appeals" in their titles.

The eleven "numbered" circuits and the D.C. Circuit are defined by geography. The thirteenth court of appeal is the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This court has nationwide jurisdiction over certain types of appeals based on what the underlying legal case is about.

All of the courts of appeals also hear appeals from some administrative agency decisions and rulemaking. The largest share of this type of case is heard by the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from specialized trial courts, primarily the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims, as well as appeals from the district courts in patent cases and certain other specialized matters.

Federal circuit court judges are appointed for life. They are paid approximately $179,500 annually. At the age of 65, a federal judge may choose to retire with his or her full salary. Judges may also choose to go on senior status at age 65, if they have served actively for 15 years.[14]

Appointments by president[edit]

The chart below shows the number of appeals court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the second year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Trump had the most appeals court appointments with 26.


Judges by circuit[edit]

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each circuit and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies on a circuit and how many pending nominations for that circuit are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line. It is updated every Monday.




See also[edit]

External links[edit]



Footnotes[edit]

  1. United States Courts, "FAQs: Federal Judges: What is a senior judge?" accessed December 19, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. Federal Judicial Center, "History of the Eleventh Circuit," accessed May 11, 2021
  8. Federal Judicial Center, "History of the Eleventh Circuit," accessed May 11, 2021
  9. 9.0 9.1 CNN, "Parts of Alabama immigration law blocked by federal appeals court," October 14, 2011
  10. Politico, "Judge OKs key parts of Alabama immigration law," September 28, 2011
  11. International Business Times, "Alabama Immigration Law Challenged Again: U.S. Government Seeks Injunction," October 9, 2011
  12. U.S. News and World Report, "Settlement ends suits over Ala immigration law," October 29, 2013
  13. U.S. General Services Administration, "Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building Overview," accessed January 29, 2014
  14. United States Courts, "FAQs: Federal Judges," accessed May 5, 2021

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