Established December 10, 1869 Active judges 16 | Chief judge R. Guy Cole, Jr. Senior judges 10 | |
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Appeals from Eastern District of KentuckyWestern District of KentuckyEastern District of MichiganWestern District of MichiganNorthern District of OhioSouthern District of OhioEastern District of TennesseeMiddle District of TennesseeWestern District of Tennessee | ||
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
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The court is composed of sixteen judges and is based at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals.
Elena Kagan is the circuit justice for the Sixth Circuit. William Howard Taft, the only person ever to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the United States, once served on the circuit. Four other judges of the Sixth Circuit have been elevated to serve on the Supreme Court.
Decisions issued by the Sixth Circuit were reversed by the United States Supreme Court 24 out of the 25 times they were reviewed in the five annual terms starting in October 2008 and ending in June 2013 — a higher frequency than any other federal appellate court during that time period.
There is currently one vacancy on the Sixth 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 sixteen 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.