United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

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Third Circuit
Court of Appeals
US-CourtOfAppeals-3rdCircuit-Seal.svg
Judgeships
Posts: 14
Judges: 13
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: Michael Chagares
Active judges: Thomas Ambro, Stephanos Bibas, Michael Chagares, Joseph Greenaway, Thomas Hardiman, Kent Jordan, Cheryl Ann Krause, Paul Matey, Theodore McKee, Peter Phipps, David Porter, Luis Felipe Restrepo, Patty Shwartz

Senior judges:
Robert Cowen, D. Michael Fisher, Julio Fuentes, Richard Nygaard, Marjorie Rendell, Jane Roth, Anthony Scirica, Dolores Sloviter, David Brooks Smith, Walter Stapleton


The United States Court of Appeals for the Third 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 James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It shares a courthouse with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

One judge of the Third Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Samuel Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 by George W. Bush (R).


This page contains the following information on the Third Circuit.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the Third Circuit, out of the court's 14 authorized judicial posts.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Theodore McKee

Bill Clinton (D)

June 9, 1994 -

State University of New York, Cortland, 1969

Syracuse University College of Law, 1975

Thomas Ambro

Bill Clinton (D)

February 16, 2000 -

Georgetown University, 1971

Georgetown University Law Center, 1975

Michael Chagares

George W. Bush (R)

April 20, 2006 -

Gettysburg College, 1984

Seton Hall University School of Law, 1987

Kent Jordan

George W. Bush (R)

December 13, 2006 -

Brigham Young University, 1981

Georgetown University Law Center, 1984

Thomas Hardiman

George W. Bush (R)

April 2, 2007 -

University of Notre Dame, 1987

Georgetown University Law Center, 1990

Joseph Greenaway

Barack Obama (D)

February 12, 2010 -

Columbia College, 1978

Harvard Law School, 1981

Patty Shwartz

Barack Obama (D)

April 10, 2013 -

Rutgers University, 1983

University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1986

Cheryl Ann Krause

Barack Obama (D)

July 9, 2014 -

University of Pennsylvania, 1989

Stanford Law School, 1993

Luis Felipe Restrepo

Barack Obama (D)

January 13, 2016 -

University of Pennsylvania, 1981

Tulane University Law School, 1986

Stephanos Bibas

Donald Trump (R)

November 20, 2017 -

Columbia University, 1989

Yale Law School, 1994

David Porter

Donald Trump (R)

October 15, 2018 -

Grove City College, 1988

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, 1992

Paul Matey

Donald Trump (R)

March 18, 2019 -

University of Scranton, 1993

Seton Hall University School of Law, 2001

Peter Phipps

Donald Trump (R)

July 17, 2019 -

University of Dayton, 1995

Stanford Law School, 1998


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

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: 6
  • Republican appointed: 7

Senior judges

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 Cowen

Ronald Reagan (R)

September 4, 1998 -

Drake University, 1952

Rutgers University School of Law, 1958

Walter Stapleton

Richard Nixon (R)

June 2, 1999 -

Princeton University, 1956

Harvard Law School, 1959

Richard Nygaard

Ronald Reagan (R)

July 9, 2005 -

University of Southern California, 1969

University of Michigan Law, 1971

Jane Roth

George H.W. Bush (R)

May 31, 2006 -

Smith College, 1956

Harvard Law School, 1965

Dolores Sloviter

Jimmy Carter (D)

June 21, 2013 -

Temple University, 1953

University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1956

Anthony Scirica

Ronald Reagan (R)

July 1, 2013 -

Wesleyan University, 1962

University of Michigan Law School, 1965

Marjorie Rendell

Bill Clinton (D)

July 1, 2015 -

University of Pennsylvania, 1969

Villanova University School of Law, 1973

Julio Fuentes

Bill Clinton (D)

July 18, 2016 -

Southern Illinois University, 1971

State University of New York, Buffalo School of Law, 1975

D. Michael Fisher

George W. Bush (R)

February 1, 2017 -

Georgetown University, 1966

Georgetown University Law Center, 1969

David Brooks Smith

December 4, 2021 -

Franklin and Marshall College, 1973

Dickinson School of Law, 1976


Senior judges by appointing political party

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: 3
  • Republican appointed: 7

Former judges

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

Jurisdiction

United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 3rd CircuitUnited States District Court for the Western District of PennsylvaniaUnited States District Court for the Middle District of PennsylvaniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of PennsylvaniaUnited States District Court for the District of New JerseyUnited States District Court for the District of DelawareUnited States District Court for the District of DelawareUnited States District Court for the U.S. Virgin IslandsUnited States District Court for the U.S. Virgin IslandsUnited States District Court for the U.S. Virgin IslandsUnited States District Court for the U.S. Virgin Islands
Map of the Third Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.


The Third 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 Third Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Samuel Alito is the circuit justice for the Third Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court in the following federal judicial districts:

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the United States District Court for the U.S. Virgin Islands which, in spite of the name, is a territorial court and belongs to no federal judicial district.

Caseloads

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

United States Court of Appeals for the Third 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 3,885 4,252 2,894 428 147 144 14 9 5 12
2011 3,722 4,158 2,434 442 113 133 14 10 6 9
2012 3,699 3,691 2,419 440 55 141 14 10 12 8
2013 3,910 4,214 2,099 590 76 192 14 12 16 6
2014 3,962 3,262 2,809 427 51 147 14 11 6 7
2015 3,216 3,380 2,645 318 43 108 14 10 18 8
2016 3,544 3,289 2,898 393 52 139 14 11 18 7
2017 2,936 3,639 2,196 465 49 124 14 9 35 11
2018 2,930 2,713 2,414 321 49 104 14 10 21 8
2019 3,609 3,674 2,350 512 49 140 14 9 14 10
Average 3,541 3,627 2,516 434 68 137 14 10 15 8


History

Court history

The Third Circuit was established by the United States Congress in 1891 with the Evarts Act of 1891, which established the first nine appeals circuits. Over the years, twelve additional seats were added to the court resulting in a total of fourteen seats.[2]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Third Circuit:

Year Statute Total Seats
March 3, 1891 26 Stat. 826 2
February 23, 1899 30 Stat. 846 3
June 10, 1930 46 Stat. 538 4
June 24, 1936 49 Stat. 1903 5
December 7, 1944 58 Stat. 796 6
August 3, 1949 63 Stat. 493 7
May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 8
June 18, 1968 82 Stat. 184 9
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 10
July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 12
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 14

[2]

Reversal rate

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

Since 2007, SCOTUS has released opinions in 1,062 cases. Of those, it reversed a lower court decision 751 times (70.7 percent) while affirming a lower court decision 303 times (28.5 percent).

In that time period, SCOTUS has decided 51 cases originating from the Third Circuit, affirming in 16 cases and reversing in 35 cases, for a reversal rate of 68.6 percent. At the end of the 2020 term, the Third Circuit had the seventh highest 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 27 13 14 51.9%
Second Circuit 76 28 48 63.2%
Third Circuit 51 16 35 68.6%
Fourth Circuit 51 21 30 58.8%
Fifth Circuit 79 23 56 70.9%
Sixth Circuit 74 14 60 81.1%
Seventh Circuit 48 17 31 64.6%
Eighth Circuit 47 11 36 76.6%
Ninth Circuit 207 43 164 79.2%
Tenth Circuit 39 15 24 61.5%
Eleventh Circuit 73 22 51 69.9%
D.C. Circuit 47 16 31 66.0%
Federal Circuit 58 16 42 72.4%
Armed Forces 3 2 1 33.3%
State Court 150 37 113 75.3%
U.S. District Court 22 7 15 68.2%
Original Jurisdiction 10 2 N/A N/A
Total 1,062 303 751 70.7%


Noteworthy cases

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

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

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

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

2021-2022 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 9th Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez TBD TBD TBD

2020-2021 term

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

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

2020-2021 U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 3rd Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Chief Justice John Roberts reversed and remanded 9-0
Carney v. Adams Stephen Breyer vacated and remanded 8-0
FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project
(Consolidated with National Association of Broadcasters v. Prometheus Radio Project)
Brett Kavanaugh reversed 9-0
Sanchez v. Mayorkas Elena Kagan affirmed 9-0
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Stephen Breyer affirmed 8-1
PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey John Roberts reversed and remanded 5-4


2019-2020 term

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 3rd Circuit
Case Opinion author Decision Vote
Rotkiske v. Klemm Clarence Thomas affirmed 8-1
CITGO Asphalt Refining Co. v. Frescati Shipping Co., Ltd. Sonia Sotomayor affirmed 7-2
Kelly v. United States Elena Kagan reversed and remanded 9-0
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania (Consolidated with Trump v. Pennsylvania) Clarence Thomas reversed and remanded 7-2

Former judges

Former chief judges

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. A statutory change in the 1950s created the seven-year term. 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.[9]


Federal courthouse

The Third Circuit shares the James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania located in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The courthouse was designed by LZA Technology and opened in 1975 as part of the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence celebration.[10][11]

About United States Courts of Appeals

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.[12]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of appeals court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through December 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, Presidents Trump and Biden had made the most appeals court appointments with nine. President Reagan had six, Presidents H.W. Bush and W. Bush had five, and Presidents Clinton and Obama had three.


Judges by circuit

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


External links


Footnotes




Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Original source: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Third_Circuit
Status: cached on December 25 2021 06:49:28