This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. Senate confirmation along with presidential appointment to an Article III court entails a lifelong appointment, unless the judge is impeached, resigns, retires, or assumes senior status. Such courts include currently the Supreme Court (since 1789), courts of appeals (since 1891), district courts (since 1789), and the Court of International Trade (since 1980), as well as the defunct circuit courts (1801–1911), Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (1863–1936), Court of Claims (1953–1982), Customs Court (1956–1980), and Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (1958–1982). They include neither Article I courts (e.g., Tax Court, Court of Federal Claims, bankruptcy courts) nor Article IV courts (territorial courts).
This page measures length of service beginning with the date of their presidential appointment, either the date on which the president signed the judge's commission or (as noted) the date of an earlier recess appointment. This date frequently differs from the date on which the judge took their oath of office. Separate lists are maintained for active service, during which a judge will normally maintain a full caseload, as well as for total service, combining active service and senior service. The caseload of a senior judge may range from full to inactive. [1] [2] Data on judges' dates of service is maintained by the Federal Judicial Center. [3]
Below are lists of the 100 longest-serving judges by active service and total service, combining their service across all levels of Article III courts. [3]
Rank | Judge | Court | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Total active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Henry Potter | C.C. 5th Cir. | Jefferson | May 9, 1801 [a] | April 7, 1802 | 56 years, 225 days |
D.N.C. | April 7, 1802 | December 20, 1857 | ||||
2 | William Cranch | C.C.D.C. | J. Adams Jefferson [b] | March 3, 1801 | September 1, 1855 | 54 years, 182 days |
3 | Manuel Real | C.D. Cal. | L. B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | November 4, 2018 | 52 years, 1 day |
4 | Gerald Bard Tjoflat | M.D. Fla. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | December 12, 1975 | 49 years, 34 days |
5th Cir. | Ford | November 21, 1975 | October 1, 1981 | |||
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | November 19, 2019 | |||
5 | Willard Hall | D. Del. | Monroe | May 6, 1823 [a] | December 6, 1871 | 48 years, 214 days |
6 | James Sewall Morsell | C.C.D.C. | Madison | January 11, 1815 | March 3, 1863 | 48 years, 51 days |
7 | Harry Pregerson | C.D. Cal. | L. B. Johnson | December 7, 1967 | November 6, 1979 | 48 years, 4 days |
9th Cir. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | December 11, 2015 | |||
8 | Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. | S.D. Tex. | Wilson | April 6, 1918 | January 30, 1931 | 46 years, 212 days |
5th Cir. | Hoover | January 26, 1931 | November 4, 1964 | |||
9 | Joseph Buffington | W.D. Pa. | B. Harrison | February 23, 1892 | September 26, 1906 | 46 years, 98 days |
C.C. 3rd Cir. | T. Roosevelt | September 25, 1906 [a] | December 31, 1911 | |||
3rd Cir. | June 1, 1938 | |||||
10 | Joel Flaum | N.D. Ill. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | June 1, 1983 | 45 years, 346 days |
7th Cir. | Reagan | May 5, 1983 | November 30, 2020 | |||
11 | Juan R. Torruella | D.P.R. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | October 30, 1984 | 45 years, 311 days |
1st Cir. | Reagan | October 4, 1984 | October 26, 2020 | |||
12 | Joseph William Woodrough | D. Neb. | Wilson | April 3, 1916 | May 1, 1933 | 44 years, 275 days |
8th Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | April 12, 1933 | January 3, 1961 | |||
13 | Ashur Ware | D. Me. | Monroe | February 15, 1822 | May 31, 1866 | 44 years, 105 days |
14 | Harold P. Burke | W.D.N.Y. | F. D. Roosevelt | June 18, 1937 | June 15, 1981 | 43 years, 362 days |
15 | John Jay Jackson Jr. | W.D. Va. | Lincoln | August 3, 1861 | June 11, 1864 | 43 years, 224 days |
D. W. Va. | reassigned | June 11, 1864 | July 1, 1901 | |||
N.D. W. Va. | July 1, 1901 | March 15, 1905 | ||||
16 | Anthony Kennedy | 9th Cir. | Ford | March 24, 1975 | February 18, 1988 | 43 years, 129 days |
SCOTUS | Reagan | February 11, 1988 | July 31, 2018 | |||
17 | José A. Cabranes | D. Conn. | Carter | December 10, 1979 | August 12, 1994 | 43 years, 89 days |
2nd Cir. | Clinton | August 10, 1994 | March 9, 2023 | |||
18 | David Norton Edelstein | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | November 1, 1951 [a] | November 1, 1994 | 43 years, 0 days |
19 | Paul Jones | N.D. Ohio | Harding | March 2, 1923 | August 4, 1965 | 42 years, 155 days |
20 | John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. | S.D. W. Va. | Ford | September 3, 1976 | November 1, 2018 | 42 years, 59 days |
21 | Learned Hand | S.D.N.Y. | Taft | April 26, 1909 | December 29, 1924 | 42 years, 36 days |
2nd Cir. | Coolidge | December 20, 1924 | June 1, 1951 | |||
22 | Stephen Breyer | 1st Cir. | Carter | December 10, 1980 | August 3, 1994 | 41 years, 202 days |
SCOTUS | Clinton | August 3, 1994 | June 30, 2022 | |||
23 | Ricardo Hinojosa | S.D. Tex. | Reagan | May 5, 1983 | Incumbent | 41 years, 199 days |
24 | Julia Smith Gibbons | W.D. Tenn. | Reagan | June 7, 1983 | August 2, 2002 | 41 years, 102 days |
6th Cir. | G. W. Bush | July 31, 2002 | September 17, 2024 | |||
25 | Elijah Paine | D. Vt. | J. Adams | March 3, 1801 | April 1, 1842 | 41 years, 29 days |
26 | Joseph L. Tauro | D. Mass. | Nixon | October 17, 1972 | September 26, 2013 | 40 years, 344 days |
27 | Giles Rich | C.C.P.A. | Eisenhower | August 25, 1958 [c] | October 1, 1982 | 40 years, 288 days |
Fed. Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1982 | June 9, 1999 | |||
28 | Pauline Newman | Fed. Cir. | Reagan | February 28, 1984 | Incumbent | 40 years, 266 days |
29 | Carmen Consuelo Cerezo | D.P.R. | Carter | June 30, 1980 | February 28, 2021 | 40 years, 243 days |
30 | Terrence Boyle | E.D.N.C. | Reagan | May 3, 1984 | Incumbent | 40 years, 201 days |
31 | Ogden Hoffman Jr. | N.D. Cal. | Fillmore | February 27, 1851 | July 27, 1866 | 40 years, 163 days |
S.D. Cal. | reassigned | August 31, 1852 | January 18, 1854 | |||
D. Cal. | July 27, 1866 | August 5, 1886 | ||||
N.D. Cal. | August 5, 1886 | August 9, 1891 | ||||
32 | James William Locke | S.D. Fla. | Grant | February 1, 1872 | July 4, 1912 | 40 years, 154 days |
33 | John Davis | D. Mass. | J. Adams | February 20, 1801 | July 10, 1841 | 40 years, 140 days |
34 | Samuel Betts | S.D.N.Y. | J. Q. Adams | December 21, 1826 | April 30, 1867 | 40 years, 130 days |
35 | Michael Stephen Kanne | N.D. Ind. | Reagan | February 9, 1982 | May 21, 1987 | 40 years, 127 days |
7th Cir. | May 20, 1987 | June 16, 2022 | ||||
36 | John Pitman | D.R.I. | Monroe | August 4, 1824 [a] | November 17, 1864 | 40 years, 105 days |
37 | W. Eugene Davis | W.D. La. | Ford | September 21, 1976 | December 9, 1983 | 40 years, 101 days |
5th Cir. | Reagan | November 16, 1983 | December 31, 2016 | |||
38 | J. Harvie Wilkinson III | 4th Cir. | Reagan | August 13, 1984 | Incumbent | 40 years, 99 days |
39 | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | D.C. Cir. | Carter | June 18, 1980 | August 10, 1993 | 40 years, 92 days |
SCOTUS | Clinton | August 5, 1993 | September 18, 2020 | |||
40 | Ilana Rovner | N.D. Ill. | Reagan | September 12, 1984 | August 17, 1992 | 39 years, 302 days |
7th Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | August 17, 1992 | July 10, 2024 | |||
41 | John Paul Stevens | 7th Cir. | Nixon | October 14, 1970 | December 19, 1975 | 39 years, 259 days |
SCOTUS | Ford | December 17, 1975 | June 30, 2010 | |||
42 | Harold Loyd Murphy | N.D. Ga. | Carter | July 29, 1977 | March 31, 2017 | 39 years, 245 days |
43 | Frank Easterbrook | 7th Cir. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 230 days |
Edith Jones | 5th Cir. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 230 days | |
45 | William Ball Gilbert | C.C. 9th Cir. | B. Harrison | March 18, 1892 | December 31, 1911 | 39 years, 40 days |
9th Cir. | April 27, 1931 | |||||
46 | Stephen Victor Wilson | C.D. Cal. | Reagan | October 17, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 34 days |
Henry Travillion Wingate | S.D. Miss. | Reagan | October 17, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 34 days | |
48 | Henry Clay Caldwell | E.D. Ark. | Lincoln | June 20, 1864 | March 13, 1890 | 38 years, 349 days |
W.D. Ark. | March 3, 1871 | |||||
C.C. 8th Cir. | B. Harrison | March 4, 1890 | June 4, 1903 | |||
8th Cir. | reassigned | June 16, 1891 | June 4, 1903 | |||
James R. Browning | 9th Cir. | Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | September 1, 2000 | 38 years, 349 days | |
50 | Alan Bond Johnson | D. Wyo. | Reagan | December 17, 1985 | Incumbent | 38 years, 339 days |
51 | J. Robert Elliott | M.D. Ga. | Kennedy | February 17, 1962 | December 31, 2000 | 38 years, 318 days |
52 | Augustus Noble Hand | S.D.N.Y. | Wilson | September 30, 1914 | June 1, 1927 | 38 years, 273 days |
2nd Cir. | Coolidge | May 19, 1927 [a] | June 30, 1953 | |||
53 | Karen L. Henderson | D.S.C. | Reagan | June 16, 1986 | July 11, 1990 | 38 years, 157 days |
D.C. Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | July 5, 1990 | Incumbent | |||
54 | Erskine Mayo Ross | S.D. Cal. | Cleveland | January 13, 1887 | March 5, 1895 | 38 years, 138 days |
C.C. 9th Cir. | February 22, 1895 | December 31, 1911 | ||||
9th Cir. | May 31, 1925 | |||||
55 | Don Albert Pardee | C.C. 5th Cir. | Garfield | May 13, 1881 | December 31, 1911 | 38 years, 136 days |
5th Cir. | reassigned | June 16, 1891 | September 26, 1919 | |||
56 | Martin Leach-Cross Feldman | E.D. La. | Reagan | October 5, 1983 | January 26, 2022 | 38 years, 113 days |
57 | Hiram Emory Widener Jr. | W.D. Va. | Nixon | July 14, 1969 | October 28, 1972 | 38 years, 3 days |
4th Cir. | October 17, 1972 | July 17, 2007 | ||||
58 | Charles Ronald Norgle Sr. | N.D. Ill. | Reagan | October 4, 1984 | October 4, 2022 | 38 years, 0 days |
59 | Rensselaer Nelson | D. Minn. | Buchanan | May 20, 1858 | May 16, 1896 | 37 years, 362 days |
60 | Luther Merritt Swygert | N.D. Ind. | F. D. Roosevelt | October 16, 1943 | October 11, 1961 | 37 years, 258 days |
7th Cir. | Kennedy | September 29, 1961 | July 1, 1981 | |||
61 | Irving Kaufman | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | October 21, 1949 [a] | September 29, 1961 | 37 years, 253 days |
2nd Cir. | Kennedy | September 22, 1961 | July 1, 1987 | |||
62 | Andrew Phelps McCormick | N.D. Tex. | Hayes | April 10, 1879 | March 22, 1892 | 37 years, 206 days |
C.C. 5th Cir. | B. Harrison | March 17, 1892 | December 31, 1911 | |||
5th Cir. | November 2, 1916 | |||||
63 | Stephen Reinhardt | 9th Cir. | Carter | September 11, 1980 | March 29, 2018 | 37 years, 199 days |
64 | Joseph Peter Stadtmueller | E.D. Wis. | Reagan | June 1, 1987 | Incumbent | 37 years, 172 days |
65 | Edward Roscoe Meek | N.D. Tex. | McKinley | July 13, 1898 [a] | December 31, 1935 | 37 years, 171 days |
66 | Mac Swinford | E.D. Ky. W.D. Ky. | F. D. Roosevelt | August 21, 1937 | February 3, 1975 | 37 years, 166 days |
67 | Edward Weinfeld | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | August 5, 1950 | January 17, 1988 | 37 years, 165 days |
68 | Edward Allen Tamm | D.D.C. | Truman | June 22, 1948 [a] | March 17, 1965 | 37 years, 92 days |
D.C. Cir. | L. B. Johnson | March 11, 1965 | September 22, 1985 | |||
69 | Lynn Hughes | S.D. Tex. | Reagan | December 17, 1985 | February 12, 2023 | 37 years, 57 days |
70 | John C. Knox | S.D.N.Y. | Wilson | April 12, 1918 | April 30, 1955 | 37 years, 18 days |
71 | Jerry Edwin Smith | 5th Cir. | Reagan | December 21, 1987 | Incumbent | 36 years, 335 days |
72 | Mary Lou Robinson | N.D. Tex. | Carter | April 26, 1979 | February 11, 2016 | 36 years, 291 days |
73 | Diana E. Murphy | D. Minn. | Carter | February 20, 1980 | October 13, 1994 | 36 years, 283 days |
8th Cir. | Clinton | October 11, 1994 | November 29, 2016 | |||
74 | Elizabeth A. Kovachevich | M.D. Fla. | Reagan | March 9, 1982 | December 14, 2018 | 36 years, 280 days |
75 | Humphrey H. Leavitt | D. Ohio | Jackson | June 30, 1834 | February 10, 1855 | 36 years, 275 days |
S.D. Ohio | reassigned | February 10, 1855 | April 1, 1871 | |||
76 | Paul V. Niemeyer | D. Md. | Reagan | February 22, 1988 | August 10, 1990 | 36 years, 272 days |
4th Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | August 7, 1990 | Incumbent | |||
77 | William Elwood Steckler | S.D. Ind. | Truman | April 7, 1950 | December 31, 1986 | 36 years, 268 days |
78 | Richard Peters | D. Pa. | Washington | January 12, 1792 | April 20, 1818 | 36 years, 223 days |
E.D. Pa. | reassigned | April 20, 1818 | August 22, 1828 | |||
J. Skelly Wright | E.D. La. | Truman | October 21, 1949 [a] | April 16, 1962 | 36 years, 223 days | |
D.C. Cir. | Kennedy | March 30, 1962 | June 1, 1986 | |||
80 | Charles C. Simons | E.D. Mich. | Harding | February 6, 1923 | February 2, 1932 | 36 years, 221 days |
6th Cir. | Hoover | January 29, 1932 | September 15, 1959 | |||
81 | William O. Douglas | SCOTUS | F. D. Roosevelt | April 15, 1939 | November 12, 1975 | 36 years, 211 days |
82 | John McNairy | D. Tenn. | Washington | February 20, 1797 | April 29, 1802 | 36 years, 193 days |
E.D. Tenn. W.D. Tenn. | reassigned | April 29, 1802 | September 1, 1833 | |||
83 | William G. Young | D. Mass. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | July 1, 2021 | 36 years, 88 days |
84 | Walter Henry Sanborn | C.C. 8th Cir. | B. Harrison | March 17, 1892 | December 31, 1911 | 36 years, 54 days |
8th Cir. | May 10, 1928 | |||||
85 | Edwin R. Holmes | N.D. Miss. | Wilson | October 24, 1918 | March 1, 1929 | 36 years, 37 days |
S.D. Miss. | April 6, 1936 | |||||
5th Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | March 20, 1936 | November 30, 1954 | |||
86 | Frank Minis Johnson | M.D. Ala. | Eisenhower | October 22, 1955 [a] | July 12, 1979 | 36 years, 8 days |
5th Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | October 1, 1981 | |||
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | October 30, 1991 | |||
87 | Gunnar Nordbye | D. Minn. | Hoover | March 18, 1931 [a] | March 6, 1967 | 35 years, 353 days |
88 | Charles L. Brieant | S.D.N.Y. | Nixon | July 29, 1971 | May 31, 2007 | 35 years, 306 days |
89 | Richard Posner | 7th Cir. | Reagan | December 1, 1981 | September 2, 2017 | 35 years, 275 days |
90 | James M. Love | D. Iowa | Pierce | October 5, 1855 [a] | July 20, 1882 | 35 years, 270 days |
S.D. Iowa | reassigned | July 20, 1882 | July 2, 1891 | |||
91 | Buckner Thruston | C.C.D.C. | Madison | December 14, 1809 | August 30, 1845 | 35 years, 259 days |
92 | Matthew Harvey | D.N.H. | Jackson | November 2, 1830 [a] | April 7, 1866 | 35 years, 156 days |
93 | Alexander Boarman | W.D. La. | Garfield | May 18, 1881 | August 30, 1916 | 35 years, 104 days |
94 | Walter C. Lindley | E.D. Ill. | Harding | September 22, 1922 | October 24, 1949 | 35 years, 103 days |
7th Cir. | Truman | October 13, 1949 | January 3, 1958 | |||
95 | Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. | N.D.N.Y. | Arthur | May 4, 1882 | June 14, 1902 | 35 years, 88 days |
C.C. 2nd Cir. | T. Roosevelt | June 3, 1902 | December 31, 1911 | |||
2nd Cir. | July 31, 1917 | |||||
96 | Robert Love Taylor | E.D. Tenn. | Truman | November 2, 1949 [a] | January 15, 1985 | 35 years, 74 days |
97 | E. Grady Jolly | 5th Cir. | Reagan | July 30, 1982 | October 3, 2017 | 35 years, 65 days |
98 | James Edmund Boyd | W.D.N.C. | McKinley | July 11, 1900 [a] | August 21, 1935 | 35 years, 41 days |
99 | Rya W. Zobel | D. Mass. | Carter | March 23, 1979 | April 1, 2014 | 35 years, 9 days |
100 | Harry Blackmun | 8th Cir. | Eisenhower | September 21, 1959 | June 9, 1970 | 34 years, 316 days |
SCOTUS | Nixon | May 14, 1970 | August 3, 1994 |
Rank | Judge | Court | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Ended senior status | Total service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joseph William Woodrough | D. Neb. | Wilson | April 3, 1916 | May 1, 1933 | — | 61 years, 182 days |
8th Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | April 12, 1933 | January 3, 1961 | October 2, 1977 | |||
2 | Henry Potter | C.C. 5th Cir. | Jefferson | May 9, 1801 [a] | April 7, 1802 | — | 56 years, 225 days |
D.N.C. | April 7, 1802 | December 20, 1857 | |||||
3 | William Joseph Nealon Jr. | M.D. Pa. | Kennedy | December 13, 1962 [a] | January 1, 1989 | August 30, 2018 | 55 years, 260 days |
4 | Joseph Buffington | W.D. Pa. | B. Harrison | February 23, 1892 | September 26, 1906 | — | 55 years, 240 days |
C.C. 3rd Cir. | T. Roosevelt | September 25, 1906 [a] | December 31, 1911 | ||||
3rd Cir. | June 1, 1938 | October 21, 1947 | |||||
5 | Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. | S.D. Tex. | Wilson | April 6, 1918 | January 30, 1931 | — | 54 years, 287 days |
5th Cir. | Hoover | January 26, 1931 | November 4, 1964 | January 18, 1973 | |||
6 | Seybourn Harris Lynne | N.D. Ala. | Truman | January 3, 1946 | January 9, 1973 | September 10, 2000 | 54 years, 251 days |
7 | Edward J. McManus | N.D. Iowa | Kennedy | July 16, 1962 | February 9, 1985 | March 20, 2017 | 54 years, 247 days |
8 | William Cranch | C.C.D.C. | J. Adams Jefferson [b] | March 3, 1801 | September 1, 1855 | — | 54 years, 182 days |
9 | Jack B. Weinstein | E.D.N.Y. | L. B. Johnson | April 15, 1967 | March 1, 1993 | June 15, 2021 | 54 years, 61 days |
10 | Walter King Stapleton | D. Del. | Nixon | October 14, 1970 | May 8, 1985 | — | 54 years, 37 days |
3rd Cir. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | June 2, 1999 | Incumbent | |||
11 | Gerald Bard Tjoflat | M.D. Fla. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | December 12, 1975 | — | 54 years, 35 days |
5th Cir. | Ford | November 21, 1975 | October 1, 1981 | ||||
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | November 19, 2019 | Incumbent | |||
J. Clifford Wallace | S.D. Cal. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | July 14, 1972 | — | 54 years, 35 days | |
9th Cir. | June 28, 1972 | April 8, 1996 | Incumbent | ||||
13 | James Lawrence King | S.D. Fla. | Nixon | October 19, 1970 | December 20, 1992 | Incumbent | 54 years, 32 days |
14 | George C. Young | N.D. Fla. S.D. Fla. | Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | September 17, 1966 | — | 53 years, 218 days |
M.D. Fla. | reassigned | October 29, 1962 | October 19, 1981 | April 24, 2015 | |||
15 | Alfred Goodwin | D. Ore. | Nixon | December 11, 1969 | December 17, 1971 | — | 53 years, 16 days |
9th Cir. | November 30, 1971 | January 31, 1991 | December 27, 2022 | ||||
16 | William J. Bauer | N.D. Ill. | Nixon | November 10, 1971 | January 3, 1975 | — | 53 years, 10 days |
7th Cir. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | October 31, 1994 | Incumbent | |||
17 | Levin H. Campbell | D. Mass. | Nixon | November 30, 1971 | August 31, 1972 | — | 52 years, 356 days |
1st Cir. | June 30, 1972 | January 3, 1992 | Incumbent | ||||
18 | Jon O. Newman | D. Conn. | Nixon | December 15, 1971 | June 25, 1979 | — | 52 years, 341 days |
2nd Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | July 1, 1997 | Incumbent | |||
19 | Wilfred Feinberg | S.D.N.Y. | Kennedy | October 5, 1961 [a] | March 17, 1966 | — | 52 years, 299 days |
2nd Cir. | L. B. Johnson | March 7, 1966 | January 31, 1991 | July 31, 2014 | |||
20 | Manuel Real | C.D. Cal. | L. B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | November 4, 2018 | June 26, 2019 | 52 years, 235 days |
21 | Albert Branson Maris | E.D. Pa. | F. D. Roosevelt | June 22, 1936 | June 27, 1938 | — | 52 years, 230 days |
3rd Cir. | June 24, 1938 | December 31, 1958 | February 7, 1989 | ||||
22 | Learned Hand | S.D.N.Y. | Taft | April 26, 1909 | December 29, 1924 | — | 52 years, 114 days |
2nd Cir. | Coolidge | December 20, 1924 | June 1, 1951 | August 18, 1961 | |||
23 | Orie Leon Phillips | D.N.M. | Harding | March 3, 1923 | April 29, 1929 | — | 51 years, 256 days |
10th Cir. | Hoover | April 29, 1929 | January 1, 1956 | November 14, 1974 | |||
24 | John P. Fullam | E.D. Pa. | L. B. Johnson | August 11, 1966 | April 1, 1990 | March 8, 2018 | 51 years, 209 days |
25 | Damon Keith | E.D. Mich. | L. B. Johnson | October 12, 1967 | November 22, 1977 | — | 51 years, 198 days |
6th Cir. | Carter | October 21, 1977 | May 1, 1995 | April 28, 2019 | |||
26 | Alexander Harvey II | D. Md. | L. B. Johnson | September 22, 1966 | March 8, 1991 | December 4, 2017 | 51 years, 73 days |
27 | William Augustus Bootle | M.D. Ga. | Eisenhower | May 20, 1954 | March 11, 1972 | January 25, 2005 | 50 years, 250 days |
28 | James R. Browning | 9th Cir. | Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | September 1, 2000 | May 6, 2012 | 50 years, 231 days |
29 | Myron Donovan Crocker | S.D. Cal. | Eisenhower | September 21, 1959 | September 18, 1966 | — | 50 years, 134 days |
E.D. Cal. | reassigned | September 18, 1966 | January 1, 1981 | February 2, 2010 | |||
30 | Harry W. Wellford | W.D. Tenn. | Nixon | December 12, 1970 | September 10, 1982 | — | 50 years, 126 days |
6th Cir. | Reagan | August 20, 1982 | January 15, 1991 | April 17, 2021 | |||
31 | Peter T. Fay | S.D. Fla. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | October 8, 1976 | — | 50 years, 107 days |
5th Cir. | Ford | September 21, 1976 | October 1, 1981 | ||||
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | January 19, 1994 | January 31, 2021 | |||
32 | Charles Miller Metzner | S.D.N.Y. | Eisenhower | September 10, 1959 | September 30, 1977 | November 30, 2009 | 50 years, 81 days |
33 | Walter T. McGovern | W.D. Wash. | Nixon | April 23, 1971 | September 30, 1987 | July 8, 2021 | 50 years, 76 days |
34 | Carl Olaf Bue Jr. | S.D. Tex. | Nixon | October 15, 1970 | September 2, 1987 | December 24, 2020 | 50 years, 70 days |
35 | William Terrell Hodges | M.D. Fla. | Nixon | December 15, 1971 | May 2, 1999 | January 4, 2022 | 50 years, 20 days |
36 | Harry Pregerson | C.D. Cal. | L. B. Johnson | December 7, 1967 | November 6, 1979 | — | 49 years, 353 days |
9th Cir. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | December 11, 2015 | November 25, 2017 | |||
37 | Joel Flaum | N.D. Ill. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | June 1, 1983 | — | 49 years, 336 days |
7th Cir. | Reagan | May 5, 1983 | November 30, 2020 | Incumbent | |||
Donald Alsop | D. Minn. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | August 28, 1992 | Incumbent | 49 years, 336 days | |
39 | Wesley E. Brown | D. Kan. | Kennedy | April 4, 1962 | September 1, 1979 | January 23, 2012 | 49 years, 294 days |
40 | Anthony Kennedy | 9th Cir. | Ford | March 24, 1975 | February 18, 1988 | — | 49 years, 241 days |
SCOTUS | Reagan | February 11, 1988 | July 31, 2018 | Incumbent | |||
41 | William Henry Stafford Jr. | N.D. Fla. | Ford | May 14, 1975 | May 31, 1996 | Incumbent | 49 years, 190 days |
42 | John Thomas Curtin | W.D.N.Y. | L. B. Johnson | December 14, 1967 | July 1, 1989 | April 14, 2017 | 49 years, 121 days |
43 | Daniel Holcombe Thomas | S.D. Ala. | Truman | March 9, 1951 | August 25, 1971 | April 13, 2000 | 49 years, 35 days |
44 | Eugene Edward Siler Jr. | E.D. Ky. W.D. Ky. | Ford | November 13, 1975 | September 20, 1991 | — | 49 years, 7 days |
6th Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | September 16, 1991 | December 31, 2001 | Incumbent | |||
45 | Patrick Higginbotham | N.D. Tex. | Ford | December 12, 1975 | August 3, 1982 | — | 48 years, 344 days |
5th Cir. | Reagan | July 30, 1982 | August 28, 2006 | Incumbent | |||
46 | David Norton Edelstein | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | November 1, 1951 [a] | November 1, 1994 | August 19, 2000 | 48 years, 292 days |
47 | John Paul Stevens | 7th Cir. | Nixon | October 14, 1970 | December 19, 1975 | — | 48 years, 275 days |
SCOTUS | Ford | December 17, 1975 | June 30, 2010 | July 16, 2019 | |||
48 | Charles S. Haight Jr. | S.D.N.Y. | Ford | March 29, 1976 | September 23, 1995 | Incumbent | 48 years, 236 days |
49 | Donald West VanArtsdalen | E.D. Pa. | Nixon | October 15, 1970 | October 21, 1985 | May 21, 2019 | 48 years, 218 days |
50 | Willard Hall | D. Del. | Monroe | May 6, 1823 [a] | December 6, 1871 | — | 48 years, 214 days |
51 | Thomas Walter Swan | 2nd Cir. | Coolidge | December 22, 1926 | July 1, 1953 | July 13, 1975 | 48 years, 203 days |
52 | Ralph B. Guy Jr. | E.D. Mich. | Ford | May 12, 1976 | October 17, 1985 | — | 48 years, 192 days |
6th Cir. | Reagan | October 17, 1985 | September 1, 1994 | Incumbent | |||
53 | Myron H. Bright | 8th Cir. | L. B. Johnson | June 7, 1968 | June 1, 1985 | December 12, 2016 | 48 years, 188 days |
54 | John William Ditter Jr. | E.D. Pa. | Nixon | October 15, 1970 | October 19, 1986 | April 7, 2019 | 48 years, 174 days |
55 | Bailey Aldrich | D. Mass. | Eisenhower | April 27, 1954 | September 15, 1959 | — | 48 years, 151 days |
1st Cir. | September 10, 1959 | August 31, 1972 | September 25, 2002 | ||||
56 | Edwin F. Hunter | W.D. La. | Eisenhower | October 3, 1953 [a] | February 19, 1976 | February 22, 2002 | 48 years, 142 days |
57 | Frederick Jacob Reagan Heebe | E.D. La. | L. B. Johnson | March 26, 1966 | August 26, 1992 | August 10, 2014 | 48 years, 137 days |
58 | John C. Knox | S.D.N.Y. | Wilson | April 12, 1918 | April 30, 1955 | August 23, 1966 | 48 years, 133 days |
59 | John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. | S.D. W. Va. | Ford | September 3, 1976 | November 1, 2018 | Incumbent | 48 years, 78 days |
60 | W. Eugene Davis | W.D. La. | Ford | September 21, 1976 | December 9, 1983 | — | 48 years, 60 days |
5th Cir. | Reagan | November 16, 1983 | December 31, 2016 | Incumbent | |||
61 | James Sewall Morsell | C.C.D.C. | Madison | January 11, 1815 | March 3, 1863 | — | 48 years, 51 days |
62 | Albert Vickers Bryan Jr. | E.D. Va. | Nixon | July 29, 1971 | December 1, 1991 | August 27, 2019 | 48 years, 29 days |
63 | William Joseph Campbell | N.D. Ill. | F. D. Roosevelt | October 10, 1940 | March 19, 1970 | October 19, 1988 | 48 years, 9 days |
64 | Samuel Conti | N.D. Cal. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | November 1, 1987 | August 29, 2018 | 47 years, 317 days |
65 | Albert L. Reeves | W.D. Mo. | Harding | June 24, 1923 | February 2, 1954 | March 24, 1971 | 47 years, 273 days |
66 | William Benner Enright | S.D. Cal. | Nixon | June 30, 1972 | July 12, 1990 | March 7, 2020 | 47 years, 251 days |
67 | Edward Louis Filippine | E.D. Mo. | Carter | July 22, 1977 | June 11, 1995 | Incumbent | 47 years, 121 days |
68 | Garnett Thomas Eisele | E.D. Ark. | Nixon | August 6, 1970 | August 1, 1991 | November 26, 2017 | 47 years, 112 days |
69 | Marion Speed Boyd | W.D. Tenn. | F. D. Roosevelt | September 27, 1940 | August 1, 1966 | January 9, 1988 | 47 years, 104 days |
70 | James Hughes Hancock | N.D. Ala. | Nixon | April 17, 1973 | May 1, 1996 | July 24, 2020 | 47 years, 98 days |
71 | Warren Keith Urbom | D. Neb. | Nixon | April 24, 1970 | December 31, 1990 | July 28, 2017 | 47 years, 95 days |
72 | James von der Heydt | D. Alaska | L. B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | July 15, 1984 | December 1, 2013 | 47 years, 28 days |
73 | Pierre N. Leval | S.D.N.Y. | Carter | October 31, 1977 | November 8, 1993 | — | 47 years, 20 days |
2nd Cir. | Clinton | October 20, 1993 | August 16, 2002 | Incumbent | |||
74 | John L. Kane Jr. | D. Colo. | Carter | December 16, 1977 | April 8, 1988 | Incumbent | 46 years, 340 days |
75 | Robert F. Chapman | D.S.C. | Nixon | May 27, 1971 | October 2, 1981 | — | 46 years, 326 days |
4th Cir. | Reagan | September 19, 1981 | May 31, 1991 | April 18, 2018 | |||
76 | Leonard I. Garth | D.N.J. | Nixon | December 18, 1969 | August 29, 1973 | — | 46 years, 279 days |
3rd Cir. | August 6, 1973 | June 30, 1986 | September 22, 2016 | ||||
77 | William Clark O'Kelley | N.D. Ga. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | October 1, 1996 | July 5, 2017 | 46 years, 262 days |
78 | George M. Bourquin | D. Mont. | Taft | March 8, 1912 | March 9, 1934 | November 15, 1958 | 46 years, 252 days |
79 | Gunnar Nordbye | D. Minn. | Hoover | March 18, 1931 [a] | March 6, 1967 | November 5, 1977 | 46 years, 232 days |
80 | Roy Winfield Harper | E.D. Mo. W.D. Mo. | Truman | August 7, 1947 [a] | December 19, 1947 | — | 46 years, 187 days |
December 20, 1947 [a] | June 20, 1948 | ||||||
June 22, 1948 [a] | January 5, 1971 | February 13, 1994 | |||||
81 | Charles William Kraft Jr. | E.D. Pa. | Eisenhower | August 12, 1955 [a] | November 11, 1970 | January 18, 2002 | 46 years, 159 days |
82 | Ruggero J. Aldisert | 3rd Cir. | L. B. Johnson | July 29, 1968 | December 31, 1986 | December 28, 2014 | 46 years, 152 days |
83 | Jose Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. | S.D. Fla. | Carter | July 28, 1978 | November 30, 1996 | Incumbent | 46 years, 115 days |
84 | Phillip Forman | D.N.J. | Hoover | June 25, 1932 | September 21, 1959 | — | 46 years, 53 days |
3rd Cir. | Eisenhower | September 10, 1959 | March 31, 1961 | August 17, 1978 | |||
85 | Joseph L. Tauro | D. Mass. | Nixon | October 17, 1972 | September 26, 2013 | November 30, 2018 | 46 years, 44 days |
86 | Stephen Sanders Chandler Jr. | W.D. Okla. | F. D. Roosevelt | May 13, 1943 | October 20, 1975 | April 27, 1989 | 45 years, 349 days |
87 | Juan R. Torruella | D.P.R. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | October 30, 1984 | — | 45 years, 311 days |
1st Cir. | Reagan | October 4, 1984 | October 26, 2020 | ||||
88 | Caleb Merrill Wright | D. Del. | Eisenhower | July 27, 1955 | October 8, 1973 | May 12, 2001 | 45 years, 289 days |
89 | Rya W. Zobel | D. Mass. | Carter | March 23, 1979 | April 1, 2014 | Incumbent | 45 years, 242 days |
90 | Maurice B. Cohill Jr. | W.D. Pa. | Ford | May 21, 1976 | November 28, 1994 | January 1, 2022 | 45 years, 225 days |
91 | William Judson Holloway Jr. | 10th Cir. | L. B. Johnson | September 16, 1968 | May 31, 1992 | April 25, 2014 | 45 years, 221 days |
92 | R. James Harvey | E.D. Mich. | Nixon | December 19, 1973 | March 31, 1984 | July 20, 2019 | 45 years, 213 days |
93 | Dan Monroe Russell Jr. | S.D. Miss. | L. B. Johnson | October 2, 1965 | October 25, 1983 | April 16, 2011 | 45 years, 196 days |
94 | James Paul Churchill | E.D. Mich. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | December 31, 1989 | June 29, 2020 | 45 years, 192 days |
95 | Thomas Virgil Pittman | M.D. Ala. | L. B. Johnson | June 29, 1966 | June 2, 1970 | — | 45 years, 191 days |
S.D. Ala. | July 15, 1981 | January 6, 2012 | |||||
96 | Elijah Allen Cox | N.D. Miss. | Coolidge | March 2, 1929 | March 22, 1957 | August 28, 1974 | 45 years, 179 days |
97 | Thomas P. Griesa | S.D.N.Y. | Nixon | June 30, 1972 | March 13, 2000 | December 24, 2017 | 45 years, 177 days |
98 | Amalya Kearse | 2nd Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | June 11, 2002 | Incumbent | 45 years, 152 days |
99 | Joyce Hens Green | D.D.C. | Carter | May 11, 1979 | July 1, 1995 | October 10, 2024 | 45 years, 152 days |
Harold Loyd Murphy | N.D. Ga. | Carter | July 29, 1977 | March 31, 2017 | December 28, 2022 | 45 years, 152 days |
Below are lists of the 25 longest-serving justices of the Supreme Court by active service and total service. [3] Their tenures generally differ from those found at list of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office by several days, as that page uses a justice's oath of office, rather than their date of commission, as their start date. [6] Justices of the Supreme Court who have assumed senior status cannot hear Supreme Court cases, but may hear cases on lower courts. [7]
Rank | Justice | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William O. Douglas | F. D. Roosevelt | April 15, 1939 | November 12, 1975 | 36 years, 211 days |
2 | Stephen Johnson Field | Lincoln | March 10, 1863 | December 1, 1897 | 34 years, 266 days |
3 | John Paul Stevens | Ford | December 17, 1975 | June 30, 2010 | 34 years, 195 days |
4 | John Marshall | J. Adams [d] | January 31, 1801 | July 6, 1835 | 34 years, 156 days |
5 | Hugo Black | F. D. Roosevelt | August 18, 1937 | September 17, 1971 | 34 years, 30 days |
6 | John Marshall Harlan | Hayes | November 29, 1877 | October 14, 1911 | 33 years, 319 days |
7 | Joseph Story | Madison | November 18, 1811 | September 10, 1845 | 33 years, 296 days |
8 | William J. Brennan Jr. | Eisenhower | October 15, 1956 [a] | July 20, 1990 | 33 years, 278 days |
9 | William Rehnquist | Nixon Reagan [d] | December 15, 1971 | September 3, 2005 | 33 years, 262 days |
10 | Clarence Thomas | G. H. W. Bush | October 18, 1991 | Incumbent | 33 years, 33 days |
11 | James M. Wayne | Jackson | January 9, 1835 | July 5, 1867 | 32 years, 177 days |
12 | John McLean | Jackson | March 7, 1829 | April 4, 1861 | 32 years, 28 days |
13 | Byron White | Kennedy | April 12, 1962 | June 28, 1993 | 31 years, 77 days |
14 | Bushrod Washington | J. Adams | September 29, 1798 [a] | November 26, 1829 | 31 years, 58 days |
15 | Anthony Kennedy | Reagan | February 11, 1988 | July 31, 2018 | 30 years, 170 days |
16 | William Johnson | Jefferson | March 26, 1804 | August 4, 1834 | 30 years, 131 days |
17 | Antonin Scalia | Reagan | September 25, 1986 | February 13, 2016 | 29 years, 141 days |
18 | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | T. Roosevelt | December 4, 1902 | January 12, 1932 | 29 years, 39 days |
19 | Roger B. Taney | Jackson [d] | March 15, 1836 | October 12, 1864 | 28 years, 211 days |
20 | Samuel Freeman Miller | Lincoln | July 16, 1862 | October 13, 1890 | 28 years, 89 days |
21 | John Catron | Van Buren | March 8, 1837 | May 30, 1865 | 28 years, 83 days |
22 | Stephen Breyer | Clinton | August 3, 1994 | June 30, 2022 | 27 years, 331 days |
23 | Samuel Nelson | Tyler | February 13, 1845 | November 28, 1872 | 27 years, 289 days |
24 | Edward Douglass White | Cleveland Taft [d] | February 19, 1894 | May 19, 1921 | 27 years, 89 days |
25 | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Clinton | August 5, 1993 | September 18, 2020 | 27 years, 44 days |
Rank | Justice | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Ended retired status | Total service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Paul Stevens | Ford | December 17, 1975 | June 30, 2010 | July 16, 2019 | 43 years, 211 days |
2 | Sandra Day O'Connor | Reagan | September 22, 1981 | January 31, 2006 | December 1, 2023 | 42 years, 70 days |
3 | Stanley Forman Reed | F. D. Roosevelt | January 27, 1938 | February 25, 1957 | April 2, 1980 | 42 years, 66 days |
4 | William J. Brennan Jr. | Eisenhower | October 15, 1956 [a] | July 20, 1990 | July 24, 1997 | 40 years, 282 days |
5 | William O. Douglas | F. D. Roosevelt | April 15, 1939 | November 12, 1975 | January 19, 1980 | 40 years, 279 days |
6 | Byron White | Kennedy | April 12, 1962 | June 28, 1993 | April 15, 2002 | 40 years, 3 days |
7 | Anthony Kennedy | Reagan | February 11, 1988 | July 31, 2018 | Incumbent | 36 years, 283 days |
8 | Stephen Johnson Field | Lincoln | March 10, 1863 | December 1, 1897 | — | 34 years, 266 days |
9 | John Marshall | J. Adams [d] | January 31, 1801 | July 6, 1835 | — | 34 years, 156 days |
10 | David Souter | G. H. W. Bush | October 3, 1990 | June 30, 2009 | Incumbent | 34 years, 48 days |
11 | Hugo Black | F. D. Roosevelt | August 18, 1937 | September 17, 1971 | September 25, 1971 | 34 years, 38 days |
12 | John Marshall Harlan | Hayes | November 29, 1877 | October 14, 1911 | — | 33 years, 319 days |
13 | Joseph Story | Madison | November 18, 1811 | September 10, 1845 | — | 33 years, 296 days |
14 | William Rehnquist | Nixon Reagan [d] | December 15, 1971 | September 3, 2005 | — | 33 years, 262 days |
15 | Clarence Thomas | G. H. W. Bush | October 18, 1991 | Incumbent | — | 33 years, 33 days |
16 | James M. Wayne | Jackson | January 9, 1835 | July 5, 1867 | — | 32 years, 177 days |
17 | John McLean | Jackson | March 7, 1829 | April 4, 1861 | — | 32 years, 28 days |
18 | James Clark McReynolds | Wilson | August 29, 1914 | January 31, 1941 | August 24, 1946 | 31 years, 360 days |
19 | Bushrod Washington | J. Adams | September 29, 1798 [a] | November 26, 1829 | — | 31 years, 58 days |
20 | William Johnson | Jefferson | March 26, 1804 | August 4, 1834 | — | 30 years, 131 days |
21 | Stephen Breyer | Clinton | August 3, 1994 | June 30, 2022 | Incumbent | 30 years, 109 days |
22 | Willis Van Devanter | Taft | December 16, 1910 | June 2, 1937 | February 8, 1941 | 30 years, 54 days |
23 | Antonin Scalia | Reagan | September 25, 1986 | February 13, 2016 | — | 29 years, 141 days |
24 | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | T. Roosevelt | December 4, 1902 | January 12, 1932 | — | 29 years, 39 days |
25 | Harry Blackmun | Nixon | May 14, 1970 | August 3, 1994 | March 4, 1999 | 28 years, 294 days |
Below are lists of the 50 longest-serving judges of the courts of appeals by active service and total service. [3] These lists do not include service on the various circuit courts that preceded the courts of appeals as intermediate-level federal courts. [e]
Rank | Judge | Court | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Total active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gerald Bard Tjoflat | 5th Cir. | Ford | November 21, 1975 | October 1, 1981 | 43 years, 363 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | November 19, 2019 | |||
2 | Pauline Newman | Fed. Cir. | Reagan | February 28, 1984 | Incumbent | 40 years, 266 days |
3 | J. Harvie Wilkinson III | 4th Cir. | Reagan | August 13, 1984 | Incumbent | 40 years, 99 days |
4 | Frank Easterbrook | 7th Cir. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 230 days |
Edith Jones | 5th Cir. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 230 days | |
6 | William Ball Gilbert | 9th Cir. | B. Harrison | March 18, 1892 | April 27, 1931 | 39 years, 40 days |
7 | James R. Browning | 9th Cir. | Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | September 1, 2000 | 38 years, 349 days |
8 | Joel Flaum | 7th Cir. | Reagan | May 5, 1983 | November 30, 2020 | 37 years, 209 days |
9 | Stephen Reinhardt | 9th Cir. | Carter | September 11, 1980 | March 29, 2018 | 37 years, 199 days |
10 | Jerry Edwin Smith | 5th Cir. | Reagan | December 21, 1987 | Incumbent | 36 years, 335 days |
11 | Walter Henry Sanborn | 8th Cir. | B. Harrison | March 17, 1892 | May 10, 1928 | 36 years, 54 days |
12 | Harry Pregerson | 9th Cir. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | December 11, 2015 | 36 years, 39 days |
13 | Juan R. Torruella | 1st Cir. | Reagan | October 4, 1984 | October 26, 2020 | 36 years, 22 days |
14 | Richard Posner | 7th Cir. | Reagan | December 1, 1981 | September 2, 2017 | 35 years, 275 days |
15 | E. Grady Jolly | 5th Cir. | Reagan | July 30, 1982 | October 3, 2017 | 35 years, 65 days |
16 | Michael Stephen Kanne | 7th Cir. | Reagan | May 20, 1987 | June 16, 2022 | 35 years, 27 days |
17 | Hiram Emory Widener Jr. | 4th Cir. | Nixon | October 17, 1972 | July 17, 2007 | 34 years, 273 days |
18 | Alan David Lourie | Fed. Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | April 6, 1990 | Incumbent | 34 years, 228 days |
19 | Carolyn Dineen King | 5th Cir. | Carter | July 13, 1979 | December 31, 2013 | 34 years, 171 days |
20 | Karen L. Henderson | D.C. Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | July 5, 1990 | Incumbent | 34 years, 138 days |
21 | Paul V. Niemeyer | 4th Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | August 7, 1990 | Incumbent | 34 years, 105 days |
22 | James B. Loken | 8th Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | October 17, 1990 | Incumbent | 34 years, 34 days |
23 | Dolores Sloviter | 3rd Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | June 21, 2013 | 34 years, 0 days |
24 | Boyce F. Martin Jr. | 6th Cir. | Carter | September 26, 1979 | August 16, 2013 | 33 years, 324 days |
25 | Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. | 5th Cir. | Hoover | January 26, 1931 | November 4, 1964 | 33 years, 283 days |
26 | Roger Leland Wollman | 8th Cir. | Reagan | July 22, 1985 | December 14, 2018 | 33 years, 145 days |
27 | W. Eugene Davis | 5th Cir. | Reagan | November 16, 1983 | December 31, 2016 | 33 years, 45 days |
28 | Walter J. Cummings Jr. | 7th Cir. | L. B. Johnson | August 11, 1966 | April 24, 1999 | 32 years, 256 days |
29 | John J. Parker | 4th Cir. | Coolidge | October 3, 1925 [a] | March 17, 1958 | 32 years, 165 days |
30 | Mary M. Schroeder | 9th Cir. | Carter | September 26, 1979 | December 31, 2011 | 32 years, 96 days |
31 | Evan Alfred Evans | 7th Cir. | Wilson | May 10, 1916 | July 7, 1948 | 32 years, 58 days |
32 | Alex Kozinski | 9th Cir. | Reagan | November 7, 1985 | December 18, 2017 | 32 years, 41 days |
33 | Ilana Rovner | 7th Cir. | G. H. W. Bush | August 17, 1992 | July 10, 2024 | 31 years, 328 days |
34 | Joseph Buffington | 3rd Cir. | T. Roosevelt | September 25, 1906 [a] | June 1, 1938 | 31 years, 249 days |
35 | Archibald K. Gardner | 8th Cir. | Hoover | May 23, 1929 | September 30, 1960 | 31 years, 130 days |
36 | Charles Henry Robb | D.C. Cir. | T. Roosevelt | October 5, 1906 [a] | November 15, 1937 | 31 years, 41 days |
37 | Danny Julian Boggs | 6th Cir. | Reagan | March 25, 1986 | February 28, 2017 | 30 years, 340 days |
38 | Carl E. Stewart | 5th Cir. | Clinton | May 9, 1994 | Incumbent | 30 years, 195 days |
39 | Kimbrough Stone | 8th Cir. | Wilson | December 21, 1916 | May 15, 1947 | 30 years, 145 days |
40 | Erskine Mayo Ross | 9th Cir. | Cleveland | February 22, 1895 | May 31, 1925 | 30 years, 98 days |
41 | Diarmuid O'Scannlain | 9th Cir. | Reagan | September 26, 1986 | December 31, 2016 | 30 years, 96 days |
42 | Josiah Alexander Van Orsdel | D.C. Cir. | T. Roosevelt | November 14, 1907 [a] | August 7, 1937 | 29 years, 266 days |
43 | David L. Bazelon | D.C. Cir. | Truman | October 21, 1949 [a] | June 30, 1979 | 29 years, 252 days |
44 | Karen Nelson Moore | 6th Cir. | Clinton | March 24, 1995 | Incumbent | 29 years, 241 days |
45 | Alfred P. Murrah | 10th Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | September 4, 1940 | May 1, 1970 | 29 years, 239 days |
46 | Julian Mack | 7th Cir. | Taft | January 31, 1911 | July 1, 1929 | 29 years, 219 days |
2nd Cir. | reassigned | July 1, 1929 | September 6, 1940 | |||
6th Cir. | June 30, 1930 | |||||
47 | R. Lanier Anderson III | 5th Cir. | Carter | July 13, 1979 | October 1, 1981 | 29 years, 202 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | January 31, 2009 | |||
48 | John Robert Brown | 5th Cir. | Eisenhower | July 27, 1955 | July 20, 1984 | 28 years, 359 days |
49 | John Biggs Jr. | 3rd Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | February 16, 1937 | October 30, 1965 | 28 years, 256 days |
50 | José A. Cabranes | 2nd Cir. | Clinton | August 10, 1994 | March 9, 2023 | 28 years, 211 days |
Rank | Judge | Court | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Ended senior status | Total service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | J. Clifford Wallace | 9th Cir. | Nixon | June 28, 1972 | April 8, 1996 | Incumbent | 52 years, 145 days |
2 | Levin H. Campbell | 1st Cir. | Nixon | June 30, 1972 | January 3, 1992 | Incumbent | 52 years, 143 days |
3 | Alfred Goodwin | 9th Cir. | Nixon | November 30, 1971 | January 31, 1991 | December 27, 2022 | 51 years, 27 days |
4 | James R. Browning | 9th Cir. | Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | September 1, 2000 | May 6, 2012 | 50 years, 231 days |
5 | Albert Branson Maris | 3rd Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | June 24, 1938 | December 31, 1958 | February 7, 1989 | 50 years, 228 days |
6 | William J. Bauer | 7th Cir. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | October 31, 1994 | Incumbent | 49 years, 336 days |
7 | Gerald Bard Tjoflat | 5th Cir. | Ford | November 21, 1975 | October 1, 1981 | — | 48 years, 365 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | November 19, 2019 | Incumbent | |||
8 | Thomas Walter Swan | 2nd Cir. | Coolidge | December 22, 1926 | July 1, 1953 | July 13, 1975 | 48 years, 203 days |
9 | Myron H. Bright | 8th Cir. | L. B. Johnson | June 7, 1968 | June 1, 1985 | December 12, 2016 | 48 years, 188 days |
10 | Wilfred Feinberg | 2nd Cir. | L. B. Johnson | March 7, 1966 | January 31, 1991 | July 31, 2014 | 48 years, 146 days |
11 | Ruggero J. Aldisert | 3rd Cir. | L. B. Johnson | July 29, 1968 | December 31, 1986 | December 28, 2014 | 46 years, 152 days |
12 | William Judson Holloway Jr. | 10th Cir. | L. B. Johnson | September 16, 1968 | May 31, 1992 | April 25, 2014 | 45 years, 221 days |
13 | Orie Leon Phillips | 10th Cir. | Hoover | April 29, 1929 | January 1, 1956 | November 14, 1974 | 45 years, 199 days |
14 | Amalya Kearse | 2nd Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | June 11, 2002 | Incumbent | 45 years, 152 days |
15 | Jon O. Newman | 2nd Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | July 1, 1997 | Incumbent | 45 years, 152 days |
16 | R. Lanier Anderson III | 5th Cir. | Carter | July 13, 1979 | October 1, 1981 | — | 45 years, 130 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | January 31, 2009 | Incumbent | |||
17 | Carolyn Dineen King | 5th Cir. | Carter | July 13, 1979 | December 31, 2013 | Incumbent | 45 years, 130 days |
18 | Mary M. Schroeder | 9th Cir. | Carter | September 26, 1979 | December 31, 2011 | Incumbent | 45 years, 55 days |
19 | Stephanie Kulp Seymour | 10th Cir. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | October 16, 2005 | Incumbent | 45 years, 18 days |
20 | Dorothy Wright Nelson | 9th Cir. | Carter | December 20, 1979 | January 1, 1995 | Incumbent | 44 years, 336 days |
21 | Harry T. Edwards | D.C. Cir. | Carter | February 20, 1980 | November 3, 2005 | Incumbent | 44 years, 274 days |
22 | William Canby | 9th Cir. | Carter | May 23, 1980 | May 23, 1996 | Incumbent | 44 years, 181 days |
23 | Joseph William Woodrough | 8th Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | April 12, 1933 | January 3, 1961 | October 2, 1977 | 44 years, 173 days |
24 | Peter T. Fay | 5th Cir. | Ford | September 21, 1976 | October 1, 1981 | — | 44 years, 132 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | January 19, 1994 | January 31, 2021 | |||
25 | Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. | 6th Cir. | Carter | October 31, 1977 | January 17, 2001 | January 17, 2022 | 44 years, 78 days |
26 | Frank M. Coffin | 1st Cir. | L. B. Johnson | October 2, 1965 | February 1, 1989 | December 7, 2009 | 44 years, 66 days |
27 | J. Edward Lumbard | 2nd Cir. | Eisenhower | July 12, 1955 | July 20, 1971 | June 3, 1999 | 43 years, 326 days |
28 | Pierce Lively | 6th Cir. | Nixon | October 5, 1972 | January 1, 1989 | March 12, 2016 | 43 years, 159 days |
29 | John Cooper Godbold | 5th Cir. | L. B. Johnson | July 22, 1966 | October 1, 1981 | — | 43 years, 153 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | October 23, 1987 | December 22, 2009 | |||
30 | David L. Bazelon | D.C. Cir. | Truman | October 21, 1949 [a] | June 30, 1979 | February 19, 1993 | 43 years, 121 days |
31 | Dolores Sloviter | 3rd Cir. | Carter | June 21, 1979 | June 21, 2013 | October 12, 2022 | 43 years, 113 days |
32 | Leonard I. Garth | 3rd Cir. | Nixon | August 6, 1973 | June 30, 1986 | September 22, 2016 | 43 years, 47 days |
33 | Bailey Aldrich | 1st Cir. | Eisenhower | September 10, 1959 | August 31, 1972 | September 25, 2002 | 43 years, 15 days |
34 | Donald Roe Ross | 8th Cir. | Nixon | December 12, 1970 | June 13, 1987 | December 18, 2013 | 43 years, 6 days |
35 | Robert Hugh McWilliams Jr. | 10th Cir. | Nixon | October 14, 1970 | August 31, 1984 | April 10, 2013 | 42 years, 178 days |
36 | Monroe G. McKay | 10th Cir. | Carter | December 1, 1977 | December 31, 1993 | March 28, 2020 | 42 years, 118 days |
37 | Patrick Higginbotham | 5th Cir. | Reagan | July 30, 1982 | August 28, 2006 | Incumbent | 42 years, 113 days |
E. Grady Jolly | 5th Cir. | Reagan | July 30, 1982 | October 3, 2017 | Incumbent | 42 years, 113 days | |
39 | John Biggs Jr. | 3rd Cir. | F. D. Roosevelt | February 16, 1937 | October 30, 1965 | April 15, 1979 | 42 years, 58 days |
40 | Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. | 5th Cir. | Hoover | January 26, 1931 | November 4, 1964 | January 18, 1973 | 41 years, 358 days |
41 | Elbert Tuttle | 5th Cir. | Eisenhower | August 4, 1954 | October 1, 1981 | — | 41 years, 324 days |
11th Cir. | reassigned | October 1, 1981 | June 1, 1968 | June 23, 1996 | |||
42 | John Minor Wisdom | 5th Cir. | Eisenhower | June 27, 1957 | January 15, 1977 | May 15, 1999 | 41 years, 322 days |
43 | Joel Flaum | 7th Cir. | Reagan | May 5, 1983 | November 30, 2020 | Incumbent | 41 years, 199 days |
44 | Damon Keith | 6th Cir. | Carter | October 21, 1977 | May 1, 1995 | April 28, 2019 | 41 years, 189 days |
45 | Thomas Morrow Reavley | 5th Cir. | Carter | July 13, 1979 | August 1, 1990 | December 1, 2020 | 41 years, 141 days |
46 | Pasco Bowman II | 8th Cir. | Reagan | July 19, 1983 | August 1, 2003 | Incumbent | 41 years, 124 days |
47 | Kimbrough Stone | 8th Cir. | Wilson | December 21, 1916 | May 15, 1947 | February 27, 1958 | 41 years, 68 days |
48 | Joseph Buffington | 3rd Cir. | T. Roosevelt | September 25, 1906 [a] | June 1, 1938 | October 21, 1947 | 41 years, 26 days |
49 | W. Eugene Davis | 5th Cir. | Reagan | November 16, 1983 | December 31, 2016 | Incumbent | 41 years, 4 days |
50 | Joseph F. Weis Jr. | 3rd Cir. | Nixon | March 15, 1973 | April 1, 1988 | March 19, 2014 | 41 years, 4 days |
Below are lists of the 100 longest-serving judges of the district courts by active service and total service. [3]
Rank | Judge | Court | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Total active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Henry Potter | D.N.C. | Jefferson | April 7, 1802 | December 20, 1857 | 55 years, 257 days |
2 | Manuel Real | C.D. Cal. | L. B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | November 4, 2018 | 52 years, 1 day |
3 | Willard Hall | D. Del. | Monroe | May 6, 1823 [a] | December 6, 1871 | 48 years, 214 days |
4 | Ashur Ware | D. Me. | Monroe | February 15, 1822 | May 31, 1866 | 44 years, 105 days |
5 | Harold P. Burke | W.D.N.Y. | F. D. Roosevelt | June 18, 1937 | June 15, 1981 | 43 years, 362 days |
6 | John Jay Jackson Jr. | W.D. Va. | Lincoln | August 3, 1861 | June 11, 1864 | 43 years, 224 days |
D. W. Va. | reassigned | June 11, 1864 | July 1, 1901 | |||
N.D. W. Va. | July 1, 1901 | March 15, 1905 | ||||
7 | David Norton Edelstein | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | November 1, 1951 [a] | November 1, 1994 | 43 years, 0 days |
8 | Paul Jones | N.D. Ohio | Harding | March 2, 1923 | August 4, 1965 | 42 years, 155 days |
9 | John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. | S.D. W. Va. | Ford | September 3, 1976 | November 1, 2018 | 42 years, 59 days |
10 | Ricardo Hinojosa | S.D. Tex. | Reagan | May 5, 1983 | Incumbent | 41 years, 199 days |
11 | Elijah Paine | D. Vt. | J. Adams | March 3, 1801 | April 1, 1842 | 41 years, 29 days |
12 | Joseph L. Tauro | D. Mass. | Nixon | October 17, 1972 | September 26, 2013 | 40 years, 344 days |
13 | Carmen Consuelo Cerezo | D.P.R. | Carter | June 30, 1980 | February 28, 2021 | 40 years, 243 days |
14 | Terrence Boyle | E.D.N.C. | Reagan | May 3, 1984 | Incumbent | 40 years, 201 days |
15 | Ogden Hoffman Jr. | N.D. Cal. | Fillmore | February 27, 1851 | July 27, 1866 | 40 years, 163 days |
S.D. Cal. | reassigned | August 31, 1852 | January 18, 1854 | |||
D. Cal. | July 27, 1866 | August 5, 1886 | ||||
N.D. Cal. | August 5, 1886 | August 9, 1891 | ||||
16 | James William Locke | S.D. Fla. | Grant | February 1, 1872 | July 4, 1912 | 40 years, 154 days |
17 | John Davis | D. Mass. | J. Adams | February 20, 1801 | July 10, 1841 | 40 years, 140 days |
18 | Samuel Betts | S.D.N.Y. | J. Q. Adams | December 21, 1826 | April 30, 1867 | 40 years, 130 days |
19 | John Pitman | D.R.I. | Monroe | August 4, 1824 [a] | November 17, 1864 | 40 years, 105 days |
20 | Harold Loyd Murphy | N.D. Ga. | Carter | July 29, 1977 | March 31, 2017 | 39 years, 245 days |
21 | Stephen Victor Wilson | C.D. Cal. | Reagan | October 17, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 34 days |
Henry Travillion Wingate | S.D. Miss. | Reagan | October 17, 1985 | Incumbent | 39 years, 34 days | |
23 | Alan Bond Johnson | D. Wyo. | Reagan | December 17, 1985 | Incumbent | 38 years, 339 days |
24 | J. Robert Elliott | M.D. Ga. | Kennedy | February 17, 1962 | December 31, 2000 | 38 years, 318 days |
25 | Martin Leach-Cross Feldman | E.D. La. | Reagan | October 5, 1983 | January 26, 2022 | 38 years, 113 days |
26 | Charles Ronald Norgle Sr. | N.D. Ill. | Reagan | October 4, 1984 | October 4, 2022 | 38 years, 0 days |
27 | Rensselaer Nelson | D. Minn. | Buchanan | May 20, 1858 | May 16, 1896 | 37 years, 362 days |
28 | Joseph Peter Stadtmueller | E.D. Wis. | Reagan | June 1, 1987 | Incumbent | 37 years, 172 days |
29 | Edward Roscoe Meek | N.D. Tex. | McKinley | July 13, 1898 [a] | December 31, 1935 | 37 years, 171 days |
30 | Mac Swinford | E.D. Ky. W.D. Ky. | F. D. Roosevelt | August 21, 1937 | February 3, 1975 | 37 years, 166 days |
31 | Edward Weinfeld | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | August 5, 1950 | January 17, 1988 | 37 years, 165 days |
32 | Lynn Hughes | S.D. Tex. | Reagan | December 17, 1985 | February 12, 2023 | 37 years, 57 days |
33 | John C. Knox | S.D.N.Y. | Wilson | April 12, 1918 | April 30, 1955 | 37 years, 18 days |
34 | Mary Lou Robinson | N.D. Tex. | Carter | April 26, 1979 | February 11, 2016 | 36 years, 291 days |
35 | Elizabeth A. Kovachevich | M.D. Fla. | Reagan | March 9, 1982 | December 14, 2018 | 36 years, 280 days |
36 | Humphrey H. Leavitt | D. Ohio | Jackson | June 30, 1834 | February 10, 1855 | 36 years, 275 days |
S.D. Ohio | reassigned | February 10, 1855 | April 1, 1871 | |||
37 | William Elwood Steckler | S.D. Ind. | Truman | April 7, 1950 | December 31, 1986 | 36 years, 268 days |
38 | Richard Peters | D. Pa. | Washington | January 12, 1792 | April 20, 1818 | 36 years, 223 days |
E.D. Pa. | reassigned | April 20, 1818 | August 22, 1828 | |||
39 | John McNairy | D. Tenn. | Washington | February 20, 1797 | April 29, 1802 | 36 years, 193 days |
E.D. Tenn. W.D. Tenn. | reassigned | April 29, 1802 | September 1, 1833 | |||
40 | William G. Young | D. Mass. | Reagan | April 4, 1985 | July 1, 2021 | 36 years, 88 days |
41 | Gunnar Nordbye | D. Minn. | Hoover | March 18, 1931 [a] | March 6, 1967 | 35 years, 353 days |
42 | Charles L. Brieant | S.D.N.Y. | Nixon | July 29, 1971 | May 31, 2007 | 35 years, 306 days |
43 | James M. Love | D. Iowa | Pierce | October 5, 1855 [a] | July 20, 1882 | 35 years, 270 days |
S.D. Iowa | reassigned | July 20, 1882 | July 2, 1891 | |||
44 | Matthew Harvey | D.N.H. | Jackson | November 2, 1830 [a] | April 7, 1866 | 35 years, 156 days |
45 | Alexander Boarman | W.D. La. | Garfield | May 18, 1881 | August 30, 1916 | 35 years, 104 days |
46 | Robert Love Taylor | E.D. Tenn. | Truman | November 2, 1949 [a] | January 15, 1985 | 35 years, 74 days |
47 | James Edmund Boyd | W.D.N.C. | McKinley | July 11, 1900 [a] | August 21, 1935 | 35 years, 41 days |
48 | Rya W. Zobel | D. Mass. | Carter | March 23, 1979 | April 1, 2014 | 35 years, 9 days |
49 | Robert Alexander Inch | E.D.N.Y. | Harding | April 28, 1923 [a] | January 6, 1958 | 34 years, 253 days |
50 | Thomas Charles Munger | D. Neb. | T. Roosevelt | March 1, 1907 | July 31, 1941 | 34 years, 152 days |
51 | David C. Norton | D.S.C. | G. H. W. Bush | July 12, 1990 | Incumbent | 34 years, 131 days |
52 | Allen Sharp | N.D. Ind. | Nixon | October 11, 1973 | November 1, 2007 | 34 years, 21 days |
53 | Matthew Deady | D. Ore. | Buchanan | March 9, 1859 | March 24, 1893 | 34 years, 15 days |
54 | Thomas Blake Kennedy | D. Wyo. | Harding | October 25, 1921 | November 6, 1955 | 34 years, 12 days |
55 | Francis Ford | D. Mass. | F. D. Roosevelt | June 24, 1938 | July 1, 1972 | 34 years, 7 days |
56 | Emory Speer | S.D. Ga. | Arthur | February 18, 1885 | December 13, 1918 | 33 years, 298 days |
57 | Tillman Davis Johnson | D. Utah | Wilson | November 2, 1915 [a] | May 28, 1949 | 33 years, 207 days |
58 | William Truslow Newman | N.D. Ga. | Cleveland | August 13, 1886 [a] | February 14, 1920 | 33 years, 185 days |
59 | Charles Nelson Pray | D. Mont. | Coolidge | February 8, 1924 | April 10, 1957 | 33 years, 61 days |
60 | William Bondy | S.D.N.Y. | Harding | March 2, 1923 | May 1, 1956 | 33 years, 60 days |
61 | John Calvin Pollock | D. Kan. | T. Roosevelt | December 1, 1903 | January 24, 1937 | 33 years, 54 days |
62 | Andrew McConnell January Cochran | E.D. Ky. | McKinley | April 24, 1901 [a] | June 12, 1934 | 33 years, 49 days |
63 | Ross Wilkins | D. Mich. | Jackson | January 26, 1837 | February 24, 1863 | 33 years, 23 days |
E.D. Mich. | reassigned | February 24, 1863 | February 18, 1870 | |||
64 | William E. Baker | N.D. W. Va. | Harding | April 4, 1921 [a] | April 3, 1954 | 32 years, 364 days |
65 | Allen Burroughs Hannay | S.D. Tex. | F. D. Roosevelt | August 12, 1942 | August 6, 1975 | 32 years, 359 days |
66 | Thomas John Morris | D. Md. | Hayes | July 1, 1879 | June 6, 1912 | 32 years, 341 days |
67 | Myron H. Thompson | M.D. Ala. | Carter | September 29, 1980 | August 22, 2013 | 32 years, 327 days |
68 | Steven Douglas Merryday | M.D. Fla. | G. H. W. Bush | February 10, 1992 | Incumbent | 32 years, 284 days |
K. Michael Moore | S.D. Fla. | G. H. W. Bush | February 10, 1992 | Incumbent | 32 years, 284 days | |
70 | Lee H. Rosenthal | S.D. Tex. | G. H. W. Bush | May 13, 1992 | Incumbent | 32 years, 191 days |
71 | Frank J. Battisti | N.D. Ohio | Kennedy | September 22, 1961 | April 1, 1994 | 32 years, 191 days |
72 | Sidney A. Fitzwater | N.D. Tex. | Reagan | March 19, 1986 | September 22, 2018 | 32 years, 187 days |
73 | Jennings Bailey | S.C.D.C. | Wilson | May 22, 1918 | June 25, 1936 | 32 years, 163 days |
D.D.C. | reassigned | June 25, 1936 | November 1, 1950 | |||
74 | Stephen Sanders Chandler Jr. | W.D. Okla. | F. D. Roosevelt | May 13, 1943 | October 20, 1975 | 32 years, 160 days |
75 | Arthur J. Tuttle | E.D. Mich. | Taft | August 6, 1912 | December 2, 1944 | 32 years, 118 days |
76 | Nathaniel M. Gorton | D. Mass. | G. H. W. Bush | September 24, 1992 | Incumbent | 32 years, 57 days |
77 | Samuel H. Treat | S.D. Ill. | Pierce | March 3, 1855 | March 27, 1887 | 32 years, 24 days |
78 | William H. Atwell | N.D. Tex. | Harding | January 9, 1923 | December 31, 1954 | 31 years, 356 days |
79 | Walter Scott Smith Jr. | W.D. Tex. | Reagan | October 4, 1984 | September 14, 2016 | 31 years, 346 days |
80 | Charles L. Benedict | E.D.N.Y. | Lincoln | March 9, 1865 | January 1, 1897 | 31 years, 298 days |
81 | Charles F. Amidon | D.N.D. | Cleveland | August 31, 1896 [a] | June 2, 1928 | 31 years, 276 days |
82 | David Lynn Russell | E.D. Okla. N.D. Okla. | Reagan | December 17, 1981 | December 1, 1990 | 31 years, 202 days |
W.D. Okla. | December 17, 1981 | July 7, 2013 | ||||
83 | Barbara Jacobs Rothstein | W.D. Wash. | Carter | February 20, 1980 | September 1, 2011 | 31 years, 193 days |
84 | Samuel Hugh Dillin | S.D. Ind. | Kennedy | September 22, 1961 | March 31, 1993 | 31 years, 190 days |
85 | Colin Neblett | D.N.M. | Wilson | February 5, 1917 | July 6, 1948 | 31 years, 152 days |
86 | James Thomas Foley | N.D.N.Y. | Truman | February 2, 1949 | June 30, 1980 | 31 years, 149 days |
87 | William J. Zloch | S.D. Fla. | Reagan | November 4, 1985 | January 31, 2017 | 31 years, 88 days |
88 | William H. Kirkpatrick | E.D. Pa. | Coolidge | March 3, 1927 | May 1, 1958 | 31 years, 59 days |
89 | John Alden Riner | D. Wyo. | B. Harrison | September 22, 1890 | October 31, 1921 | 31 years, 39 days |
90 | George Clinton Sweeney | D. Mass. | F. D. Roosevelt | August 24, 1935 | September 30, 1966 | 31 years, 37 days |
91 | Leonie Brinkema | E.D. Va. | Clinton | October 20, 1993 | Incumbent | 31 years, 31 days |
92 | Henry W. Goddard | S.D.N.Y. | Harding | January 4, 1923 | February 1, 1954 | 31 years, 28 days |
93 | Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr. | D. Wyo. | Ford | September 16, 1975 | September 27, 2006 | 31 years, 11 days |
94 | Patti B. Saris | D. Mass. | Clinton | November 24, 1993 | Incumbent | 30 years, 362 days |
Richard G. Stearns | D. Mass. | Clinton | November 24, 1993 | Incumbent | 30 years, 362 days | |
96 | Sim Lake | S.D. Tex. | Reagan | August 12, 1988 | July 5, 2019 | 30 years, 327 days |
97 | Nathaniel Pope | D. Ill. | Monroe | March 3, 1819 | January 23, 1850 | 30 years, 326 days |
98 | John R. Hazel | W.D.N.Y. | McKinley | June 5, 1900 | March 5, 1931 | 30 years, 273 days |
99 | Arthur Lewis Brown | D.R.I. | Cleveland | October 15, 1896 [a] | June 30, 1927 | 30 years, 258 days |
100 | Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. | W.D. Tex. | Clinton | March 11, 1994 | Incumbent | 30 years, 254 days |
Orlando Luis Garcia | W.D. Tex. | Clinton | March 11, 1994 | Incumbent | 30 years, 254 days |
Rank | Judge | Court | Appointed by | Began active service | Ended active service | Ended senior status | Total service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Joseph Nealon Jr. | M.D. Pa. | Kennedy | December 13, 1962 [a] | January 1, 1989 | August 30, 2018 | 55 years, 260 days |
2 | Henry Potter | D.N.C. | Jefferson | April 7, 1802 | December 20, 1857 | — | 55 years, 257 days |
3 | Seybourn Harris Lynne | N.D. Ala. | Truman | January 3, 1946 | January 9, 1973 | September 10, 2000 | 54 years, 251 days |
4 | Edward J. McManus | N.D. Iowa | Kennedy | July 16, 1962 | February 9, 1985 | March 20, 2017 | 54 years, 247 days |
5 | Jack B. Weinstein | E.D.N.Y. | L. B. Johnson | April 15, 1967 | March 1, 1993 | June 15, 2021 | 54 years, 61 days |
6 | James Lawrence King | S.D. Fla. | Nixon | October 19, 1970 | December 20, 1992 | Incumbent | 54 years, 32 days |
7 | George C. Young | N.D. Fla. S.D. Fla. | Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | September 17, 1966 | — | 53 years, 218 days |
M.D. Fla. | reassigned | October 29, 1962 | October 19, 1981 | April 24, 2015 | |||
8 | Manuel Real | C.D. Cal. | L. B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | November 4, 2018 | June 26, 2019 | 52 years, 235 days |
9 | John P. Fullam | E.D. Pa. | L. B. Johnson | August 11, 1966 | April 1, 1990 | March 8, 2018 | 51 years, 209 days |
10 | Alexander Harvey II | D. Md. | L. B. Johnson | September 22, 1966 | March 8, 1991 | December 4, 2017 | 51 years, 73 days |
11 | William Augustus Bootle | M.D. Ga. | Eisenhower | May 20, 1954 | March 11, 1972 | January 25, 2005 | 50 years, 250 days |
12 | Myron Donovan Crocker | S.D. Cal. | Eisenhower | September 21, 1959 | September 18, 1966 | — | 50 years, 134 days |
E.D. Cal. | reassigned | September 18, 1966 | January 1, 1981 | February 2, 2010 | |||
13 | Charles Miller Metzner | S.D.N.Y. | Eisenhower | September 10, 1959 | September 30, 1977 | November 30, 2009 | 50 years, 81 days |
14 | Walter T. McGovern | W.D. Wash. | Nixon | April 23, 1971 | September 30, 1987 | July 8, 2021 | 50 years, 76 days |
15 | Carl Olaf Bue Jr. | S.D. Tex. | Nixon | October 15, 1970 | September 2, 1987 | December 24, 2020 | 50 years, 70 days |
16 | William Terrell Hodges | M.D. Fla. | Nixon | December 15, 1971 | May 2, 1999 | January 4, 2022 | 50 years, 20 days |
17 | Donald Alsop | D. Minn. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | August 28, 1992 | Incumbent | 49 years, 336 days |
18 | Wesley E. Brown | D. Kan. | Kennedy | April 4, 1962 | September 1, 1979 | January 23, 2012 | 49 years, 294 days |
19 | William Henry Stafford Jr. | N.D. Fla. | Ford | May 14, 1975 | May 31, 1996 | Incumbent | 49 years, 190 days |
20 | John Thomas Curtin | W.D.N.Y. | L. B. Johnson | December 14, 1967 | July 1, 1989 | April 14, 2017 | 49 years, 121 days |
21 | Daniel Holcombe Thomas | S.D. Ala. | Truman | March 9, 1951 | August 25, 1971 | April 13, 2000 | 49 years, 35 days |
22 | David Norton Edelstein | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | November 1, 1951 [a] | November 1, 1994 | August 19, 2000 | 48 years, 292 days |
23 | Charles S. Haight Jr. | S.D.N.Y. | Ford | March 29, 1976 | September 23, 1995 | Incumbent | 48 years, 236 days |
24 | Donald West VanArtsdalen | E.D. Pa. | Nixon | October 15, 1970 | October 21, 1985 | May 21, 2019 | 48 years, 218 days |
25 | Willard Hall | D. Del. | Monroe | May 6, 1823 [a] | December 6, 1871 | — | 48 years, 214 days |
26 | John William Ditter Jr. | E.D. Pa. | Nixon | October 15, 1970 | October 19, 1986 | April 7, 2019 | 48 years, 174 days |
27 | Edwin F. Hunter | W.D. La. | Eisenhower | October 3, 1953 [a] | February 19, 1976 | February 22, 2002 | 48 years, 142 days |
28 | Frederick Jacob Reagan Heebe | E.D. La. | L. B. Johnson | March 26, 1966 | August 26, 1992 | August 10, 2014 | 48 years, 137 days |
29 | John C. Knox | S.D.N.Y. | Wilson | April 12, 1918 | April 30, 1955 | August 23, 1966 | 48 years, 133 days |
30 | John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. | S.D. W. Va. | Ford | September 3, 1976 | November 1, 2018 | Incumbent | 48 years, 78 days |
31 | Albert Vickers Bryan Jr. | E.D. Va. | Nixon | July 29, 1971 | December 1, 1991 | August 27, 2019 | 48 years, 29 days |
32 | William Joseph Campbell | N.D. Ill. | F. D. Roosevelt | October 10, 1940 | March 19, 1970 | October 19, 1988 | 48 years, 9 days |
33 | Samuel Conti | N.D. Cal. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | November 1, 1987 | August 29, 2018 | 47 years, 317 days |
34 | Albert L. Reeves | W.D. Mo. | Harding | June 24, 1923 | February 2, 1954 | March 24, 1971 | 47 years, 273 days |
35 | William Benner Enright | S.D. Cal. | Nixon | June 30, 1972 | July 12, 1990 | March 7, 2020 | 47 years, 251 days |
36 | Edward Louis Filippine | E.D. Mo. | Carter | July 22, 1977 | June 11, 1995 | Incumbent | 47 years, 121 days |
37 | Garnett Thomas Eisele | E.D. Ark. | Nixon | August 6, 1970 | August 1, 1991 | November 26, 2017 | 47 years, 112 days |
38 | Marion Speed Boyd | W.D. Tenn. | F. D. Roosevelt | September 27, 1940 | August 1, 1966 | January 9, 1988 | 47 years, 104 days |
39 | James Hughes Hancock | N.D. Ala. | Nixon | April 17, 1973 | May 1, 1996 | July 24, 2020 | 47 years, 98 days |
40 | Warren Keith Urbom | D. Neb. | Nixon | April 24, 1970 | December 31, 1990 | July 28, 2017 | 47 years, 95 days |
41 | James von der Heydt | D. Alaska | L. B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | July 15, 1984 | December 1, 2013 | 47 years, 28 days |
42 | John L. Kane Jr. | D. Colo. | Carter | December 16, 1977 | April 8, 1988 | Incumbent | 46 years, 340 days |
43 | William Clark O'Kelley | N.D. Ga. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | October 1, 1996 | July 5, 2017 | 46 years, 262 days |
44 | George M. Bourquin | D. Mont. | Taft | March 8, 1912 | March 9, 1934 | November 15, 1958 | 46 years, 252 days |
45 | Gunnar Nordbye | D. Minn. | Hoover | March 18, 1931 [a] | March 6, 1967 | November 5, 1977 | 46 years, 232 days |
46 | Roy Winfield Harper | E.D. Mo. W.D. Mo. | Truman | August 7, 1947 [a] | December 19, 1947 | — | 46 years, 187 days |
December 20, 1947 [a] | June 20, 1948 | ||||||
June 22, 1948 [a] | January 5, 1971 | February 13, 1994 | |||||
47 | Charles William Kraft Jr. | E.D. Pa. | Eisenhower | August 12, 1955 [a] | November 11, 1970 | January 18, 2002 | 46 years, 159 days |
48 | Jose Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. | S.D. Fla. | Carter | July 28, 1978 | November 30, 1996 | Incumbent | 46 years, 115 days |
49 | Joseph L. Tauro | D. Mass. | Nixon | October 17, 1972 | September 26, 2013 | November 30, 2018 | 46 years, 44 days |
50 | Stephen Sanders Chandler Jr. | W.D. Okla. | F. D. Roosevelt | May 13, 1943 | October 20, 1975 | April 27, 1989 | 45 years, 349 days |
51 | Caleb Merrill Wright | D. Del. | Eisenhower | July 27, 1955 | October 8, 1973 | May 12, 2001 | 45 years, 289 days |
52 | Rya W. Zobel | D. Mass. | Carter | March 23, 1979 | April 1, 2014 | Incumbent | 45 years, 242 days |
53 | Maurice B. Cohill Jr. | W.D. Pa. | Ford | May 21, 1976 | November 28, 1994 | January 1, 2022 | 45 years, 225 days |
54 | R. James Harvey | E.D. Mich. | Nixon | December 19, 1973 | March 31, 1984 | July 20, 2019 | 45 years, 213 days |
55 | Dan Monroe Russell Jr. | S.D. Miss. | L. B. Johnson | October 2, 1965 | October 25, 1983 | April 16, 2011 | 45 years, 196 days |
56 | James Paul Churchill | E.D. Mich. | Ford | December 20, 1974 | December 31, 1989 | June 29, 2020 | 45 years, 192 days |
57 | Thomas Virgil Pittman | M.D. Ala. | L. B. Johnson | June 29, 1966 | June 2, 1970 | — | 45 years, 191 days |
S.D. Ala. | July 15, 1981 | January 6, 2012 | |||||
58 | Elijah Allen Cox | N.D. Miss. | Coolidge | March 2, 1929 | March 22, 1957 | August 28, 1974 | 45 years, 179 days |
59 | Thomas P. Griesa | S.D.N.Y. | Nixon | June 30, 1972 | March 13, 2000 | December 24, 2017 | 45 years, 177 days |
60 | Joyce Hens Green | D.D.C. | Carter | May 11, 1979 | July 1, 1995 | October 10, 2024 | 45 years, 152 days |
Harold Loyd Murphy | N.D. Ga. | Carter | July 29, 1977 | March 31, 2017 | December 28, 2022 | 45 years, 152 days | |
62 | William Daniel Murray | D. Mont. | Truman | May 9, 1949 | December 31, 1965 | October 3, 1994 | 45 years, 147 days |
63 | Marvin Aspen | N.D. Ill. | Carter | July 24, 1979 | July 1, 2002 | Incumbent | 45 years, 119 days |
Orinda Dale Evans | N.D. Ga. | Carter | July 24, 1979 | December 31, 2008 | Incumbent | 45 years, 119 days | |
65 | Robert Earl Maxwell | N.D. W. Va. | L. B. Johnson | August 11, 1965 | July 19, 1995 | November 20, 2010 | 45 years, 101 days |
66 | Richard Paul Matsch | D. Colo. | Nixon | March 8, 1974 | July 1, 2003 | May 26, 2019 | 45 years, 79 days |
67 | Howard F. Sachs | W.D. Mo. | Carter | September 26, 1979 | October 31, 1992 | Incumbent | 45 years, 55 days |
68 | Bruce Sterling Jenkins | D. Utah | Carter | September 22, 1978 | September 30, 1994 | November 7, 2023 | 45 years, 46 days |
69 | Sylvia H. Rambo | M.D. Pa. | Carter | July 24, 1979 | April 18, 2001 | August 30, 2024 | 45 years, 37 days |
70 | Joseph Putnam Willson | W.D. Pa. | Eisenhower | July 14, 1953 | October 18, 1968 | August 3, 1998 | 45 years, 20 days |
71 | Barbara Brandriff Crabb | W.D. Wis. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | March 24, 2010 | Incumbent | 45 years, 18 days |
Frank Howell Seay | E.D. Okla. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | September 25, 2003 | Incumbent | 45 years, 18 days | |
Anne Elise Thompson | D.N.J. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | June 1, 2001 | Incumbent | 45 years, 18 days | |
74 | William Bertelsman | E.D. Ky. | Carter | November 27, 1979 | February 1, 2001 | Incumbent | 44 years, 359 days |
Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. | S.D. Ga. | Carter | November 27, 1979 | June 25, 2006 | Incumbent | 44 years, 359 days | |
76 | Alan N. Bloch | W.D. Pa. | Carter | November 2, 1979 | April 12, 1997 | October 6, 2024 | 44 years, 339 days |
77 | Terry J. Hatter Jr. | C.D. Cal. | Carter | December 20, 1979 | April 22, 2005 | Incumbent | 44 years, 336 days |
78 | William Elwood Steckler | S.D. Ind. | Truman | April 7, 1950 | December 31, 1986 | March 8, 1995 | 44 years, 335 days |
79 | Solomon Blatt Jr. | D.S.C. | Nixon | May 28, 1971 | May 7, 1990 | April 20, 2016 | 44 years, 328 days |
80 | Barbara Jacobs Rothstein | W.D. Wash. | Carter | February 20, 1980 | September 1, 2011 | Incumbent | 44 years, 274 days |
81 | Charles Wycliffe Joiner | E.D. Mich. | Nixon | June 9, 1972 | August 15, 1984 | March 10, 2017 | 44 years, 274 days |
82 | Gordon Thompson Jr. | S.D. Cal. | Nixon | October 16, 1970 | December 28, 1994 | July 5, 2015 | 44 years, 262 days |
83 | Charles Edward Wyzanski Jr. | D. Mass. | F. D. Roosevelt | December 19, 1941 | September 1, 1971 | September 3, 1986 | 44 years, 258 days |
84 | Jennings Bailey | S.C.D.C. | Wilson | May 22, 1918 | June 25, 1936 | — | 44 years, 232 days |
D.D.C. | reassigned | June 25, 1936 | November 1, 1950 | January 9, 1963 | |||
85 | Frederick Alvin Daugherty | E.D. Okla. N.D. Okla. W.D. Okla. | Kennedy | October 5, 1961 [a] | January 12, 1982 | April 7, 2006 | 44 years, 184 days |
86 | William Earl Britt | E.D.N.C. | Carter | May 23, 1980 | December 7, 1997 | Incumbent | 44 years, 181 days |
Walter Herbert Rice | S.D. Ohio | Carter | May 23, 1980 | November 30, 2004 | Incumbent | 44 years, 181 days | |
88 | Matthew Francis McGuire | D.D.C. | F. D. Roosevelt | August 1, 1941 | October 7, 1966 | January 24, 1986 | 44 years, 176 days |
89 | Samuel Hugh Dillin | S.D. Ind. | Kennedy | September 22, 1961 | March 31, 1993 | March 13, 2006 | 44 years, 172 days |
90 | Thelton Henderson | N.D. Cal. | Carter | June 30, 1980 | November 28, 1998 | Incumbent | 44 years, 143 days |
91 | Justin L. Quackenbush | E.D. Wash. | Carter | June 18, 1980 | June 27, 1995 | October 27, 2024 | 44 years, 131 days |
92 | Thomas Francis Murphy | S.D.N.Y. | Truman | July 2, 1951 | December 3, 1970 | October 26, 1995 | 44 years, 116 days |
93 | Ashur Ware | D. Me. | Monroe | February 15, 1822 | May 31, 1866 | — | 44 years, 105 days |
94 | Myron H. Thompson | M.D. Ala. | Carter | September 29, 1980 | August 22, 2013 | Incumbent | 44 years, 52 days |
95 | Charles P. Kocoras | N.D. Ill. | Carter | September 30, 1980 | June 30, 2006 | Incumbent | 44 years, 51 days |
Consuelo Bland Marshall | C.D. Cal. | Carter | September 30, 1980 | October 24, 2005 | Incumbent | 44 years, 51 days | |
97 | John Clyde Bowen | W.D. Wash. | F. D. Roosevelt | March 20, 1934 | June 5, 1961 | April 27, 1978 | 44 years, 38 days |
98 | Harold P. Burke | W.D.N.Y. | F. D. Roosevelt | June 18, 1937 | June 15, 1981 | July 17, 1981 | 44 years, 29 days |
99 | John F. Grady | N.D. Ill. | Ford | November 21, 1975 | May 23, 1994 | December 2, 2019 | 44 years, 11 days |
100 | Kevin Duffy | S.D.N.Y. | Nixon | October 17, 1972 | January 10, 1998 | September 30, 2016 | 43 years, 349 days |
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal appellate court over the following U.S. district courts:
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals from the court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789. The Court initially had a single judge, and remained so composed until March 3, 1927, when a second judge was added by 1927 44 Stat. 1348. Six additional judgeships were created between 1961 and 1990 to bring about the current total of eight judges. Court offices at Hartford and New Haven are located in the Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and the Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse.
Deaths of United States federal judges in active service have profound political and procedural effects. Due to their implications for the political composition of the courts on which they serve, they can result in unexpected political conflicts regarding appointments to fill those seats. Such incidences can also disrupt the operations of the court with respect to active cases assigned to the deceased judge, and with opinions written by the deceased judge but not yet distributed. Historically, the rate of judges dying in active service was highest in the early days of the country, but declined sharply as lifespans increased, and as various legislation was introduced first allowing retiring judges to collect a pension, and later allowing judges to transition from active service to senior status, continuing to do judicial work in a semi-retired state.