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United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
(4th Cir.)
Location	Lewis F. Powell Jr. U.S. Courthouse (Richmond, Virginia)
Appeals from	District of Maryland; Eastern District of North Carolina; Middle District of North Carolina; Western District of North Carolina; District of South Carolina; Eastern District of Virginia; Western District of Virginia; Northern District of West Virginia; Southern District of West Virginia;
Established	June 16, 1891
Judges	15
Circuit Justice	John Roberts
Chief Judge	Albert Diaz
	www.ca4.uscourts.gov

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

The court is based at the Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. With 15 authorized judgeships, it is mid-sized among the 13 United States Courts of Appeals.

Current composition of the court

As of December 12, 2024^[update]:^[1]^[2]

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Active	Chief	Senior	Appointed by
48	Chief Judge	Albert Diaz	Charlotte, NC	1960	2010–present	2023–present	—	Obama
30	Circuit Judge	J. Harvie Wilkinson III	Charlottesville, VA	1944	1984–present	1996–2003	—	Reagan
33	Circuit Judge	Paul V. Niemeyer	Baltimore, MD	1941	1990–present	—	—	G.H.W. Bush
40	Circuit Judge	Robert Bruce King	Charleston, WV	1940	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
41	Circuit Judge	Roger Gregory	Richmond, VA	1953	2000–present	2016–2023	—	Clinton / G.W. Bush^[a]
44	Circuit Judge	G. Steven Agee	Salem, VA	1952	2008–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
47	Circuit Judge	James Andrew Wynn	Raleigh, NC	1954	2010–present	—	—	Obama
50	Circuit Judge	Stephanie Thacker	Charleston, WV	1965	2012–present	—	—	Obama
51	Circuit Judge	Pamela Harris	Bethesda, MD	1962	2014–present	—	—	Obama
52	Circuit Judge	Julius N. Richardson	Columbia, SC	1976	2018–present	—	—	Trump
53	Circuit Judge	A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.	Greenville, SC	1964	2018–present	—	—	Trump
54	Circuit Judge	Allison Jones Rushing	Asheville, NC	1982	2019–present	—	—	Trump
55	Circuit Judge	Toby J. Heytens	Alexandria, VA	1975	2021–present	—	—	Biden
56	Circuit Judge	DeAndrea G. Benjamin	Columbia, SC	1972	2023–present	—	—	Biden
57	Circuit Judge	Nicole Berner	Baltimore, MD	1965	2024–present	—	—	Biden
38	Senior Circuit Judge	Diana Gribbon Motz	inactive	1943	1994–2022	—	2022–present	Clinton
39	Senior Circuit Judge	William Byrd Traxler Jr.	Greenville, SC	1948	1998–2018	2009–2016	2018–present	Clinton
46	Senior Circuit Judge	Barbara Milano Keenan	Alexandria, VA	1950	2010–2021	—	2021–present	Obama
49	Senior Circuit Judge	Henry F. Floyd	Spartanburg, SC	1947	2011–2021	—	2021–present	Obama

List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Hugh Lennox Bond	MD	1828–1893	1891–1893	—	—	Grant / Operation of law^[3]	death
2	Nathan Goff Jr.	WV	1843–1920	1892–1913	—	—	B. Harrison	resignation
3	Charles Henry Simonton	SC	1829–1904	1893–1904	—	—	Cleveland	death
4	Jeter Connelly Pritchard	NC	1857–1921	1904–1921	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
5	Martin Augustine Knapp	NY	1843–1923	1916–1923	—	—	^[4]	death
6	Charles Albert Woods	SC	1852–1925	1913–1925	—	—	Wilson	death
7	Edmund Waddill Jr.	VA	1855–1931	1921–1931	—	—	Harding	death
8	John Carter Rose	MD	1861–1927	1922–1927	—	—	Harding	death
9	John J. Parker	NC	1885–1958	1925–1958	1948–1958	—	Coolidge	death
10	Elliott Northcott	WV	1869–1946	1927–1939	—	1939–1946	Coolidge	death
11	Morris Ames Soper^[5]	MD	1873–1963	1931–1955	—	1955–1963	Hoover	death
12	Armistead Mason Dobie^[5]	VA	1881–1962	1939–1956	—	1956–1962	F. Roosevelt	death
13	Simon Sobeloff	MD	1894–1973	1956–1970	1958–1964	1970–1973	Eisenhower	death
14	Clement Haynsworth	SC	1912–1989	1957–1981	1964–1981	1981–1989	Eisenhower	death
15	Herbert Stephenson Boreman	WV	1897–1982	1959–1971	—	1971–1982	Eisenhower	death
16	Albert Vickers Bryan	VA	1899–1984	1961–1972	—	1972–1984	Kennedy	death
17	J. Spencer Bell	NC	1906–1967	1961–1967	—	—	Kennedy	death
18	Harrison Lee Winter	MD	1921–1990	1966–1990	1981–1989	1990	L. Johnson	death
19	James Braxton Craven Jr.	NC	1918–1977	1966–1977	—	—	L. Johnson	death
20	John D. Butzner Jr.	VA	1917–2006	1967–1982	—	1982–2006	L. Johnson	death
21	Donald S. Russell	SC	1906–1998	1971–1998	—	—	Nixon	death
22	John A. Field Jr.	WV	1910–1995	1971–1976	—	1976–1995	Nixon	death
23	Hiram Emory Widener Jr.	VA	1923–2007	1972–2007	—	2007	Nixon	death
24	Kenneth Keller Hall	WV	1918–1999	1976–1998	—	1998–1999	Ford	death
25	James Dickson Phillips Jr.	NC	1922–2017	1978–1994	—	1994–2017	Carter	death
26	Francis Dominic Murnaghan Jr.	MD	1920–2000	1979–2000	—	—	Carter	death
27	James Marshall Sprouse	WV	1923–2004	1979–1992	—	1992–1995	Carter	retirement
28	Samuel James Ervin III	NC	1926–1999	1980–1999	1989–1996	—	Carter	death
29	Robert F. Chapman	SC	1926–2018	1981–1991	—	1991–2018	Reagan	death
31	Emory M. Sneeden	NC	1927–1987	1984–1986	—	—	Reagan	resignation
32	William Walter Wilkins	SC	1942–present	1986–2007	2003–2007	2007–2008	Reagan	retirement
34	Clyde H. Hamilton	SC	1934–2020	1991–1999	—	1999–2020	G.H.W. Bush	death
35	J. Michael Luttig	VA	1954–present	1991–2006	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	resignation
36	Karen J. Williams	SC	1951–2013	1992–2009	2007–2009	2009–2013	G.H.W. Bush	death
37	M. Blane Michael	WV	1943–2011	1993–2011	—	—	Clinton	death
42	Dennis Shedd	SC	1953–present	2002–2018	—	2018–2022	G.W. Bush	retirement
43	Allyson K. Duncan	NC	1951–present	2003–2019	—	2019	G.W. Bush	retirement
45	Andre M. Davis	MD	1949–present	2009–2014	—	2014–2017	Obama	retirement

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Parker	1948–1958
Sobeloff	1958–1964
Haynsworth	1964–1981
Winter	1981–1989
Ervin III	1989–1996
Wilkinson III	1996–2003
Wilkins	2003–2007
Williams	2007–2009
Traxler, Jr.	2009–2016
Gregory	2016–2023
Diaz	2023–present

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their circuits, and preside over any panel on which they serve, unless the circuit justice (the Supreme Court justice responsible for the circuit) is also on the panel. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the circuit judges.

To be chief, 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 is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges, with seniority determined first by commission date, then by age. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. If no judge qualifies to be chief, the youngest judge over the age of 65 who has served on the court for at least one year shall act as chief until another judge qualifies. If no judge has served on the court for more than a year, the most senior judge shall act as chief. Judges can forfeit or resign their chief judgeship or acting chief judgeship while retaining their active status as a circuit judge.^[6]

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was 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. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.^[7]

Succession of seats

The court has fifteen seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were initially filled. Judges who assume senior status enter a kind of retirement in which they remain on the bench but vacate their seats, thus allowing the U.S. President to appoint new judges to fill their seats.

Seat 1
Established on December 10, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 as a circuit judgeship for the Fourth Circuit
Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Bond	MD	1891–1893
Simonton	SC	1893–1904
Pritchard	NC	1904–1921
Waddill, Jr.	VA	1921–1931
Soper	MD	1932–1955
Sobeloff	MD	1956–1970
Russell	SC	1971–1998
Traxler, Jr.	SC	1998–2018
Quattlebaum, Jr.	SC	2018–present

Seat 2
Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Goff, Jr.	WV	1892–1913
Woods	SC	1913–1925
Parker	NC	1925–1958
Boreman	WV	1959–1971
Field, Jr.	WV	1971–1976
Hall	WV	1976–1998
King	WV	1998–present

Seat 3
Established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837
Rose	MD	1922–1927
Northcott	WV	1927–1939
Dobie	VA	1940–1956
Haynsworth	SC	1957–1981
Chapman	SC	1981–1991
Williams	SC	1992–2009
Floyd	SC	2011–2021
Benjamin	SC	2023–present

Seat 4
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Bryan	VA	1961–1972
Widener, Jr.	VA	1972–2007
Keenan	VA	2010–2021
Heytens	VA	2021–present

Seat 5
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Bell	NC	1961–1967
Butzner, Jr.	VA	1967–1982
Wilkinson III	VA	1984–present

Seat 6
Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Winter	MD	1966–1990
Niemeyer	MD	1990–present

Seat 7
Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Craven, Jr.	NC	1966–1977
Phillips, Jr.	NC	1978–1994
Wynn	NC	2010–present

Seat 8
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Murnaghan, Jr.	MD	1979–2000
Davis	MD	2009–2014
Harris	MD	2014–present

Seat 9
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Sprouse	WV	1979–1992
Michael	WV	1993–2011
Thacker	WV	2012–present

Seat 10
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Ervin III	NC	1980–1999
Duncan	NC	2003–2019
Rushing	NC	2019–present

Seat 11
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Sneeden	NC	1984–1986
Wilkins	SC	1986–2007
Diaz	NC	2010–present

Seat 12
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Hamilton	SC	1991–1999
Shedd	SC	2002–2018
Richardson	SC	2018–present

Seat 13
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Luttig	VA	1991–2006
Agee	VA	2008–present

Seat 14
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Motz	MD	1994–2022
Berner	MD	2024–present

Seat 15
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Gregory	VA	2000–present

Practice in the 4th Circuit

From 2000 to 2008, the Court had the highest rate of non-publication (92%) on the Federal Circuit.^[8]

The Chief Justice is always assigned to the Fourth Circuit as the circuit justice, due to Richmond's close proximity to Washington, D.C.^{[citation needed]}

The Fourth Circuit is considered an extremely collegial court. By tradition, the judges of the Fourth Circuit come down from the bench following each oral argument to greet the lawyers.^[9]^[10]

Case law

United States v. Snider, 502 F.2d 645 (1972)

Notes

^ Recess appointment by Bill Clinton on December 27, 2000, re-nominated by George W. Bush on May 9, 2001 and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 20, 2001.

References

^ "U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit". Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
^ "Fourth Circuit Judges". Official website of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
^ Bond was appointed as a circuit judge for the Fourth Circuit in 1870 by Ulysses S. Grant. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
^ Knapp did not have a permanent seat on this court. Instead, he was appointed to the ill-fated United States Commerce Court in 1910 by William Howard Taft. Aside from their duties on the Commerce Court, the judges of the Commerce Court also acted as at-large appellate judges, able to be assigned by the Chief Justice of the United States to whichever circuit most needed help. Knapp was assigned to the Second Circuit upon his commission and then to the Fourth Circuit in 1916.
^ ^a ^b Recess appointment, confirmed by the United States Senate at a later date.
^ 28 U.S.C. § 45
^ 62 Stat. 871, 72 Stat. 497, 96 Stat. 51
^ Aaron S. Bayer (August 24, 2009), Unpublished Appellate Opinions Are Still Commonplace, The National Law Journal
^ Roberts, John G. (2006). "What Makes the D.C. Circuit Different?: A Historical View". Virginia Law Review. 92 (3): 375–389. ISSN 0042-6601. JSTOR 4144947.
^ Sontag, Deborah (2003-03-09). "The Power of the Fourth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-08.