The United States federal courts were divided into six circuits in 1801, but a circuit court of appeals was not established until the passage of theJudiciary Act of 1891.[1]
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their circuits, and preside over any panel on which they serve, unless the circuit justice (theSupreme 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.[5]
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 assenior 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.[6]
The court has 16 seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were initially filled. Judges who assumesenior status enter a kind of retirement in which they remain on the bench but vacate their seats, thus allowing theU.S. President to appoint new judges to fill their seats.
^Mack did not have a permanent seat on this court. Instead, he was appointed to the ill-fatedUnited States Commerce Court in 1911 byWilliam 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 theChief Justice of the United States to whichever circuit most needed help. Mack was assigned to theSeventh Circuit immediately prior to his assignment to the Sixth Circuit.
^Edwards wasnominated for a seat on the Sixth Circuit by President Kennedy, but he was confirmed after Kennedy's assassination and wasappointed to the Sixth Circuit by (i.e., received his commission from) President Johnson.
source for the state, lifetime, term of active judgeship, term of chief judgeship, term of senior judgeship, appointer, termination reason, and seat information
