|
The appointment of federal judges has become viewed as a political process in the last several decades. This is especially true of U.S. Supreme Court and court of appeals appointments. These charts show the composition of the Supreme and circuit courts at the end of each four year Presidential term, categorizing the judges by the Presidential term during which they were nominated for their seat. Most federal courts currently have a majority of Republican President appointees. Courts with a higher percentage of Republican appointed judges tend to be more conservative than those with many Democratic appointees, although the party of the President who appointed a judge is not always a good indicator of that judge's judicial philosophy and place on the political spectrum. SCOTUS|Supreme Court United States Court of Appeals|Courts of appeals (summary of 13 circuits combined) Partisan mix of the circuit courts United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit|First Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|Third Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit|Fourth Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit|Fifth Circuit Note: The 5th Circuit judges who were transferred to the 11th Circuit in 1982 are not included in the 5th Circuit numbers for 1980. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|Eighth Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit|Tenth Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit|Eleventh Circuit Note: In 1980, the 11th Circuit had not yet been created, but the judges that were later transferred to the 11th Circuit from the 5th Circuit are shown here. United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit|DC Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit|Federal Circuit Note: The Federal Circuit was created in 1982. The judges that sat on the courts that were combined into the Federal circuit are shown in 1980 for trend comparison purposes. Acronym key See also | |||||||
|
| ||||||||
 |
|
| |