• Source: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

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:

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
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 March 19, 2024:




Vacancies and pending nominations






List of former judges






Chief judges



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.
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.




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.




Practice in the 4th Circuit


From 2000 to 2008, the Court had the highest rate of non-publication (92%) on the Federal Circuit.
The Chief Justice is always assigned to the Fourth Circuit as the circuit justice, due to Richmond's close proximity to Washington, D.C.
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.




Case law


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




See also


Judicial appointment history for the Fourth Circuit
List of current United States circuit judges
Same-sex marriage in the Fourth Circuit




Notes






References






External links


United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Recent opinions from Findlaw

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• American Cyanamid
• Eminem
• In God We Trust
• Francis Biddle
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• United States courts of appeals
• List of current United States circuit judges
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• James Andrew Wynn
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina