The appointment of federal judges for United States federal courts is done via nomination by the President of the United States and confirmation by the United States Senate. The tables below provide the composition of all Article III courts which include the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals at the end of each four year presidential term, as well as the current compositions of the District Courts and the Court of International Trade, categorizing the judges by the presidential term during which they were first appointed to their seats.
As of June 30, 2022, of the 9 justices of the Supreme Court, 6 were appointed by a Republican president, and 3 were appointed by a Democratic president.
As of July 18, 2023, of the 179 Courts of Appeals judges, 91 were appointed by Republican presidents, compared to 81 by Democratic presidents. Out of the 13 federal appeals courts, Democratic appointees have a majority on 7 courts, whereas Republican appointees have a majority on 6 courts.
As of August 8, 2023, of the 679 district court judges, 341 were appointed by Democratic presidents compared to 277 by Republican ones. Within the individual circuit jurisdictions, Democratic presidents have appointed majorities in 8 circuits while Republican presidents have appointed a majority in 4 circuits.
The party of the president who appointed a judge is generally a consistent indicator of that judge's judicial philosophy and place on the political spectrum, especially in modern times, although there are cases where judges stray from their appointers. Federal judges often strategically time their retirement so as to give the president of the same party that first appointed them an opportunity to nominate the successor.
Acronym key
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States was established by the Constitution of the United States. Originally, the Judiciary Act of 1789 set the number of justices at six. However, as the nation's boundaries grew across the continent and as Supreme Court justices in those days had to ride the circuit, an arduous process requiring long travel on horseback or carriage over harsh terrain that resulted in months-long extended stays away from home, Congress added justices to correspond with the growth: seven in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863. The Judicial Circuits Act of 1866 then set the number to gradually be reduced to seven through the retirement or death of current associate justices. The court was down to eight when the Judiciary Act of 1869 restored the number to nine.
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Courts of appeals
The United States courts of appeals were established by the Judiciary Act of 1891 as "United States circuit courts of appeals" (the name was changed to its current form in 1948). The act authorized 19 appellate judgeships in 9 circuits. Since then, the number of authorized appellate judgeships has increased to 179.
Summary of 13 circuits combined
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There were temporarily 178 appellate federal judgeships, due to the elimination of a 12th seat on the D.C. Circuit by Section 509 of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007. That Act also provided for the creation of a 29th seat on the Ninth Circuit in January 2009 which increased the number of authorized appellate judgeships back to 179.
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Partisan mix of the circuit courts
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First Circuit
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Second Circuit
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Third Circuit
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Fourth Circuit
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Roger Gregory, who was given a one-year recess appointment in Bill Clinton's second term and was subsequently given a lifetime appointment in George W. Bush's first term, is counted as a Clinton appointee on this page.
Fifth Circuit
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The 5th Circuit judges who were transferred to the 11th Circuit in late 1981 are not included in the 5th Circuit numbers for 1981 for trend comparison purposes.
Sixth Circuit
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Seventh Circuit
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Eighth Circuit
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Ninth Circuit
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Tenth Circuit
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Eleventh Circuit
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The 11th Circuit was created in 1981. The judges that were transferred from the 5th Circuit to the 11th Circuit are shown in 1981 for trend comparison purposes.
D.C. Circuit
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Federal Circuit
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The Federal Circuit was created in 1982. The judges from the courts that were combined into the Federal Circuit are shown in 1981 for trend comparison purposes.
District courts
Summary of 91 district courts
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