Established October 1, 1981 Active judges 12 | Chief judge Edward Earl Carnes Senior judges 8 | |
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Location Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building, Atlanta, Georgia Appeals from Middle District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Southern District of Alabama
Middle District of Florida
Northern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Middle District of Georgia
Northern District of Georgia
Southern District of Georgia | ||
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir. or CA11) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
Contents
These districts were originally part of the Fifth Circuit, but were split off to form the Eleventh Circuit effective October 1, 1981. For this reason, Fifth Circuit decisions from before this split are considered binding precedent in the Eleventh Circuit.
The court is based at the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia, named for Elbert Tuttle who served as Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit in the 1960s and was known for issuing decisions which advanced the civil rights of African-Americans.
Eleventh Circuit Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat is currently the longest-serving federal appeals court judge still in active service, having served since 1975.
The Eleventh Circuit is one of the thirteen United States courts of appeals.
There is currently one vacancy on the Eleventh Circuit.
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 twelve seats for active judges, 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.