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United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Current United States federal appellate court

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, where the court usually sits for one week most months of the year; in one of July or August, it takes a summer break and does not sit. The First Circuit also sits for one week each March and November at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and occasionally sits at other locations within the circuit.

With six active judges and four active senior judges, the First Circuit has the fewest judges of any of the thirteen United States courts of appeals. It covers most of New England, as well as Puerto Rico. Following his retirement from the Supreme Court in 2009, Associate Justice David Souter occasionally sat on the First Circuit by designation. Former justice Stephen Breyer began to do so in 2025.

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Current composition of the court

As of February 22, 2025:

#TitleJudgeDuty stationBornTerm of serviceAppointed by
ActiveChiefSenior
32Chief JudgeDavid J. BarronBoston, MA19672014–present2022–present—Obama
33Circuit JudgeGustavo GelpíSan Juan, PR19652021–present——Biden
34Circuit JudgeLara MontecalvoProvidence, RI19742022–present——Biden
35Circuit JudgeJulie RikelmanBoston, MA19722023–present——Biden
36Circuit JudgeSeth AframeConcord, NH19742024–present——Biden
37Circuit Judgevacant——————
18Senior Circuit JudgeLevin H. Campbellinactive19271972–19921983–19901992–presentNixon
27Senior Circuit JudgeSandra LynchBoston, MA19461995–20222008–20152022–presentClinton
28Senior Circuit JudgeKermit LipezPortland, ME19411998–2011—2011–presentClinton
29Senior Circuit JudgeJeffrey R. HowardConcord, NH19552002–20222015–20222022–presentG.W. Bush
30Senior Circuit JudgeO. Rogeriee ThompsonProvidence, RI19512010–2022—2022–presentObama
31Senior Circuit JudgeWilliam J. Kayatta Jr.Portland, ME19532013–2024—2024–presentObama

Vacancies and pending nominations

SeatPrior judge's duty stationSeat last held byVacancy reasonDate of vacancyNomineeDate of nomination
3Portland, MEWilliam J. Kayatta Jr.Senior statusOctober 31, 2024——

List of former judges

#JudgeStateBorn–diedActive serviceChief JudgeSenior statusAppointed byReason fortermination
1LeBaron B. ColtRI1846–19241891–19133—— Arthur / Operation of lawresignation
2William LeBaron PutnamME1835–19181892–1917——B. Harrisonretirement
3Francis Cabot LowellMA1855–19111905–1911——T. Rooseveltdeath
4William SchofieldMA1857–19121911–1912—— Taftdeath
5Frederic DodgeMA1847–19271912–1918—— Taftresignation
6George Hutchins BinghamNH1864–19491913–1939—1939–1949 Wilsondeath
7Charles Fletcher JohnsonME1859–19301917–1929—1929–1930 Wilsondeath
8George W. AndersonMA1861–19381918–1931—1931–1938 Wilsondeath
9Scott WilsonME1870–19421929–1940—1940–1942 Hooverdeath
10James Madison Morton Jr.MA1869–19401932–1939—1939–1940 Hooverdeath
11Calvert MagruderMA1893–19681939–19591948–19591959–1968F. Rooseveltdeath
12John Christopher MahoneyRI1882–19521940–1950—1950–1952F. Rooseveltdeath
13Peter WoodburyNH1899–19701941–19641959–19641964–1970F. Rooseveltdeath
14John Patrick HartiganRI1887–19681950–1965—1965–1968 Trumandeath
15Bailey AldrichMA1907–20021959–19721965–19721972–2002 Eisenhowerdeath
16Edward McEnteeRI1906–19811965–1976—1976–1981L. Johnsondeath
17Frank M. CoffinME1919–20091965–19891972–19831989–2009L. Johnsondeath
19Hugh H. BownesNH1920–20031977–1990—1990–2003 Carterdeath
20Stephen BreyerMA1938–present1980–19941990–1994— Carterelevation to Supreme Court
21Juan R. TorruellaPR1933–20201984–20201994–2001— Reagandeath
22Bruce M. SelyaRI1934–20251986–2006—2006–2025 Reagandeath
23Conrad K. CyrME1931–20161989–1997—1997–2016G.H.W. Bushdeath
24David SouterNH1939–20251990——G.H.W. Bushelevation to Supreme Court
25Michael BoudinMA1939–20251992–20132001–20082013–2021G.H.W. Bushretirement
26Norman H. StahlNH1931–20231992–2001—2001–2023G.H.W. Bushdeath

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Magruder1948–1959
Woodbury1959–1964
Aldrich1965–1972
Coffin1972–1983
Campbell1983–1990
Breyer1990–1994
Torruella1994–2001
Boudin2001–2008
Lynch2008–2015
Howard2015–2022
Barron2022–present

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.4

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, 1982.5

Succession of seats

The court has six 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.

Seat 1
Established on December 10, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 as a circuit judgeship for the First Circuit
Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891
ColtRI1891–1913
BinghamNH1913–1939
MagruderMA1939–1959
AldrichMA1959–1972
CampbellMA1972–1992
BoudinMA1992–2013
BarronMA2014–present
Seat 2
Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891
PutnamME1892–1917
JohnsonME1917–1929
WilsonME1929–1940
WoodburyNH1941–1964
McEnteeRI1965–1976
BownesNH1977–1990
SouterNH1990
StahlNH1992–2001
HowardNH2002–2022
AframeNH2024–present
Seat 3
Established on January 21, 1905 by 33 Stat. 611
LowellMA1905–1911
SchofieldMA1911–1912
DodgeMA1912–1918
AndersonMA1918–1931
Morton Jr.MA1932–1939
MahoneyRI1940–1950
HartiganRI1950–1965
CoffinME1965–1989
CyrME1989–1997
LipezME1998–2011
Kayatta Jr.ME2013–2024
vacantME2024–present
Seat 4
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
BreyerMA1980–1994
LynchMA1995–2022
RikelmanMA2023–present
Seat 5
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 353
TorruellaPR1984–2020
GelpíPR2021–present
Seat 6
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 353
SelyaRI1986–2006
ThompsonRI2010–2022
MontecalvoRI2022–present

Notable decisions

  • West v. Randall (1820), one of the first decisions setting precedent for class action suits

See also

Specific General
  • Dargo, George (1993). A History of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit: Volume I, 1891–1960.

References

  1. "Court Calendar". United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Retrieved October 26, 2012. In January through June, and October through December, the Court usually sits for one week starting on the first Monday of the month. In either July or August, the court sits for one week. In September, the Court starts on the Wednesday after Labor Day and sits for the 3 days in that week and the 5 days in the following week. In November and March the court sits two weeks, with one week in Boston and one week in Puerto Rico. Court sittings are held in the morning, typically between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/?content=calendar.htm ↩

  2. Raymond, Nate (April 6, 2024). "Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer to hear cases on appeals court". Reuters. Retrieved August 22, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/retired-us-supreme-court-justice-breyer-hear-cases-appeals-court-2024-04-05/ ↩

  3. Colt was appointed as a circuit judge for the First Circuit in 1884 by Chester A. Arthur. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. /wiki/United_States_circuit_court ↩

  4. 28 U.S.C. § 45 /wiki/Title_28_of_the_United_States_Code ↩

  5. 62 Stat. 871, 72 Stat. 497, 96 Stat. 51 /wiki/United_States_Statutes_at_Large ↩