Established December 10, 1869 Active judges 11 | Chief judge Lavenski Smith Senior judges 6 | |
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Location Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse St. Louis, Missouri Appeals from Eastern District of Arkansas
Western District of Arkansas
Northern District of Iowa
Southern District of Iowa
District of Minnesota
Eastern District of Missouri
Western District of Missouri
District of Nebraska
District of North Dakota
District of South Dakota | ||
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
Contents
The court is composed of eleven active judges and is based at the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals. In 1929 Congress passed a statute dividing the Eighth Circuit that placed Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas in the Eighth Circuit and created a Tenth Circuit that included Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Composition
Republican Presidents have appointed a greater percentage of judges to the Eighth Circuit (eight of nine active judges, or 88.9%) than any other Court of Appeals in the United States.
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 (i.e., 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. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
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 chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
Succession of seats
The court has had thirteen seats for active judges. Two of these seats were reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, leaving a eleven-seat court. The seats are numbered in the order in which they were filled. Judges who retire into senior status remain on the bench but leave their seat vacant. That seat is filled by the next circuit judge appointed by the president.