Active African-American Article III Judges
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices. At its discretion, and within certain guidelines established by Congress, the Supreme Court each year hears a limited number of the cases it is asked to decide. Those cases may begin in the federal or state courts and usually involve important questions about the Constitution or federal law.
Judge | Court | Commission | Status | Gender |
---|---|---|---|---|
Clarence Thomas | Supreme Court | 10/18/1991 | Active | Male |
Court of Appeals
The 94 U.S. judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a United States Court of Appeals. This court hears appeals from the district courts located within its circuit and appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies. In addition, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals in specialized cases, such as those involving patent laws and cases decided by the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims.
Judge | Court | Commission | Status | Gender |
---|---|---|---|---|
Allyson K. Duncan | Fourth Circuit | 8/15/2003 | Active | Female |
Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr. | Third Circuit | 10/11/1977 | Terminated/Retired 3/5/93 | Male |
Amalya L. Kearse | Second Circuit | 6/21/1979 | Senior Status 6/11/02 | Female |
Andre M. Davis | Fourth Circuit | 11/10/2009 | Terminated/Retired 8/31/17 | Male |
Ann Claire Williams | Seventh Circuit | 11/15/1999 | Terminated/Retired 1/16/18 | Female |
Barrington Parker, Jr. | Second Circuit | 10/16/2001 | Senior Status 10/10/09 | Male |
Bernice B. Donald | Sixth Circuit | 9/8/2011 | Active | Female |
Carl E. Stewart*** | Fifth Circuit | 5/9/1994 | Active | Male |
Charles R. Wilson | Eleventh Circuit | 8/9/1999 | Active | Male |
Damon J. Keith | Sixth Circuit | 10/21/1977 | Terminated/Death 4/28/19 | Male |
Eric L. Clay | Sixth Circuit | 8/1/1997 | Active | Male |
Harry T. Edwards | DC Circuit | 2/20/1980 | Senior Status 11/3/05 | Male |
James A. Wynn Jr. | Fourth Circuit | 8/10/2010 | Active | Male |
James E. Graves, Jr. | Fifth Circuit | 2/15/2011 | Active | Male |
Janice Rogers Brown | DC Circuit | 6/10/2005 | Terminated/Retired 8/31/17 | Female |
Jerome Holmes | Tenth Circuit | 8/9/2006 | Active | Male |
Johnnie B. Rawlinson | Ninth Circuit | 7/26/2000 | Active | Female |
Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. | Third Circuit | 2/12/2010 | Active | Male |
Joseph Jerome Farris | Ninth Circuit | 9/27/1979 | Senior Status 3/4/95 | Male |
Joseph W. Hatchett | Eleventh Circuit | 10/1/1981 | Terminated/Retired 5/4/99 | Male |
Judith W. Rogers | DC Circuit | 3/11/1994 | Active | Female |
Lavenski R. Smith*** | Eighth Circuit | 7/19/2002 | Active | Male |
Lawrence Warren Pierce | Second Circuit | 11/18/1981 | Terminated/Retired 3/31/95 | Male |
O. Rogeriee Thompson | First Circuit | 3/30/2010 | Active | Female |
Paul J. Watford | Ninth Circuit | 5/22/2012 | Active | Male |
R. Guy Cole, Jr.*** | Sixth Circuit | 12/26/1995 | Active | Male |
Raymond J. Lohier, Jr. | Second Circuit | 12/20/2010 | Active | Male |
Robert L. Wilkins | DC Circuit | 1/15/2014 | Active | Male |
Roger L. Gregory*** | Fourth Circuit | 7/25/2001 | Active | Male |
Theodore McKee | Third Circuit | 6/9/1994 | Active | Male |
Timothy K. Lewis | Third Circuit | 10/9/1992 | Terminated/Resigned 6/30/99 | Male |
District Courts
The United States District Courts are the trial courts of the federal court system. Within limits set by Congress and the Constitution, the District Courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases, including both civil and criminal matters.
There are 94 federal district courts, including at least one district court in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Three territories of the United States—the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands—have District Courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy cases.
Judge | Court | Commission | Status | Gender |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abdul K. Kallon | Alabama (ND) | 1/4/2010 | Active | Male |
Ada E. Brown | Texas (ND) | 9/13/2019 | Active | Female |
Alexander Williams, Jr. | Maryland | 8/18/1994 | Terminated/Retired 1/3/14 | Male |
Alfred Homer Bennett | Texas (SD) | 4/15/2015 | Active | Male |
Algenon L. Marbley | Ohio (SD) | 11/7/1997 | Active | Male |
Alvin Thompson | Connecticut | 10/11/1994 | Active | Male |
Analisa Torres | New York (SD) | 4/23/2013 | Active | Female |
Ancer Lee Haggerty | Oregon | 3/28/1994 | Senior Status 8/26/09 | Male |
Andre Birotte Jr. | California (CD) | 8/8/2014 | Active | Male |
Andrea R. Wood | Illinois (ND) | 10/15/2013 | Active | Female |
Andrew L. Carter, Jr. | New York (SD) | 12/8/2011 | Active | Male |
Anna Diggs Taylor | Michigan (ED) | 11/2/1979 | Senior Status 12/31/98 | Female |
Anne E. Thompson | New Jersey | 11/2/1979 | Senior Status 6/1/01 | Female |
Arenda L. Wright Allen | Virginia (ED) | 5/12/2011 | Active | Female |
Audrey B. Collins | California (CD) | 5/9/1994 | Terminated/Retired 8/1/14 | Female |
Benita Yolanda Pearson | Ohio (ND) | 12/27/2010 | Active | Female |
Bernard M. Jones | Oklahoma (WD) | 12/31/2019 | Active | Male |
Blanche M. Manning | Illinois (ND) | 8/10/1994 | Senior Status 2/1/10 | Female |
Brian A. Jackson | Louisiana (MD) | 6/15/2010 | Active | Male |
Brian C. Wimes | Missouri (ED, WD) | 4/30/2012 | Active | Male |
Brian J. Davis | Florida (MD) | 12/26/2013 | Active | Male |
Brian Stacy Miller*** | Arkansas (ED) | 4/17/2008 | Active | Male |
C. Darnell Jones II | Pennsylvania (ED) | 10/30/2008 | Active | Male |
Carlton W. Reeves | Mississippi (SD) | 12/20/2010 | Active | Male |
Carol E. Jackson | Missouri (ED) | 8/17/1992 | Terminated/Retired 8/31/17 | Female |
Charlene E. Honeywell | Florida (MD) | 11/12/2009 | Active | Female |
Charles N. Clevert | Wisconsin (ED) | 7/29/1996 | Terminated/Retired 3/31/17 | Male |
Charles Shaw | Missouri (ED) | 11/22/1993 | Senior Status 12/31/09 | Male |
Christopher R. Cooper | District of Columbia | 3/28/2014 | Active | Male |
Clarence Cooper | Georgia (ND) | 5/9/1994 | Senior Status 2/9/09 | Male |
Consuelo B. Marshall | California (CD) | 9/30/1980 | Senior Status 10/24/05 | Female |
Curtis Lynn Collier | Tennessee (ED) | 5/10/1995 | Senior Status 10/31/14 | Male |
Darrin Phillip Gayles ± | Florida (SD) | 6/19/2014 | Active | Male |
Deborah Batts ± | New York (SD) | 5/9/1994 | Terminated/Death 2/3/20 | Female |
Debra M. Brown | Mississippi (ND) | 11/5/2013 | Active | Female |
Denise Jefferson Casper | Massachusetts | 12/20/2010 | Active | Female |
Denise Page Hood*** | Michigan (ED) | 6/16/1994 | Active | Female |
Donald L. Graham | Florida (SD) | 9/16/1991 | Senior Status 12/15/13 | Male |
Eleanor Louise Ross | Georgia (MD) | 11/20/2014 | Active | Female |
Emmet G. Sullivan | District of Columbia | 6/16/1994 | Active | Male |
Fernando J. Gaitan | Missouri (WD) | 8/2/1991 | Senior Status 1/3/14 | Male |
Franklin Ulyses Valderrama | Illinois (ND) | 9/23/2020 | Active | Male |
Garland E. Burrell, Jr. | California (ED) | 3/2/1992 | Senior Status 7/4/12 | Male |
George B. Daniels | New York (SD) | 3/9/2000 | Active | Male |
George Carol Hanks, Jr. | Texas (SD) | 4/22/2015 | Active | Male |
George J. Hazel | Maryland | 5/2/2014 | Active | Male |
George Levi Russell, III | Maryland | 5/22/2012 | Active | Male |
Gerald Bruce Lee | Virginia (ED) | 10/1/1998 | Terminated/Retired 9/30/17 | Male |
Gershwin Allen Drain | Michigan (ED) | 8/8/2012 | Active | Male |
Gregory H. Woods III | New York (SD) | 11/18/2013 | Active | Male |
Gregory M. Sleet | Delaware | 4/30/1998 | Senior Status 5/1/17 | Male |
Haywood Stirling Gilliam, Jr. | California (ND) | 12/19/2014 | Active | Male |
Henry Edward Autrey | Missouri (ED) | 8/2/2002 | Active | Male |
Henry Harold Kennedy, Jr. | District of Columbia | 9/18/1997 | Senior Status 11/18/11 | Male |
Henry Lee Adams | Florida (MD) | 11/24/1993 | Senior Status 4/8/10 | Male |
Henry T. Wingate | Mississippi (SD) | 10/17/1985 | Active | Male |
Horace T. Ward | Georgia (ND) | 12/6/1979 | Terminated/Death 4/23/16 | Male |
Irene C. Berger | West Virginia (SD) | 11/9/2009 | Active | Female |
Ivan L.R. Lemelle | Louisiana (ED) | 4/7/1998 | Senior Status 6/29/15 | Male |
J. Curtis Joyner | Pennsylvania (ED) | 4/13/1992 | Senior Status 5/1/13 | Male |
James A. Beaty, Jr. | N. Carolina (MD) | 10/11/1994 | Senior Status 6/30/14 | Male |
James R. Spencer | Virginia (ED) | 10/14/1986 | Terminated/Retired 6/2/17 | Male |
James Ware | California (ND) | 10/1/1990 | Terminated/Retired 8/31/12 | Male |
Jason K. Pulliam | Texas (WD) | 8/5/2019 | Active | Male |
Joe Billy McDade | Illinois (CD) | 11/25/1991 | Senior Status 2/28/10 | Male |
John A. Houston | California (SD) | 10/7/2003 | Senior Status 2/6/18 | Male |
John T. Fowlkes, Jr. | Tennessee (WD) | 8/1/2012 | Active | Male |
Julian A. Cook, Jr. | Michigan (ED) | 9/23/1978 | Terminated/Death 5/16/17 | Male |
Julianna Michelle Childs | South Carolina | 8/20/2010 | Active | Female |
Julie A. Robinson*** | Kansas | 12/13/2001 | Active | Female |
Kenneth Hoyt | Texas (SD) | 4/1/1988 | Senior Status 3/2/13 | Male |
Ketanji Brown Jackson | District of Columbia | 3/26/2013 | Active | Female |
LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall | New York (ED) | 11/17/2015 | Active | Female |
Laura Taylor Swain | New York (SD) | 7/11/2000 | Active | Female |
Legrome D. Davis | Pennsylvania (ED) | 4/23/2002 | Terminated/Retired 9/28/17 | Male |
Leslie Joyce Abrams | Georgia (MD) | 11/20/2014 | Active | Female |
Linda Vivienne Parker | Michigan (ED) | 3/17/2014 | Active | Female |
Loretta Copeland Biggs | N. Carolina (MD) | 12/19/2014 | Active | Female |
Marcia G. Cooke | Florida (SD) | 5/18/2004 | Active | Female |
Margaret B. Seymour | South Carolina | 10/22/1998 | Senior Status 1/16/13 | Female |
Margo K. Brodie | New York (ED) | 2/29/2012 | Active | Female |
Mary Stenson Scriven | Florida (MD) | 9/30/2008 | Active | Female |
Michael James Davis | Minnesota | 3/28/1994 | Senior Status 8/1/15 | Male |
Michael Andre Shipp | New Jersey | 7/26/2012 | Active | Male |
Morrison C. England, Jr. | California (ED) | 8/2/2002 | Active | Male |
Myron H. Thompson | Alabama (MD) | 9/29/1980 | Senior Status 8/22/13 | Male |
Nannette Jolivette Brown*** | Louisiana (ED) | 10/4/2011 | Active | Female |
Otis D. Wright II | California (CD) | 4/16/2007 | Active | Male |
Percy Anderson | California (CD) | 5/1/2002 | Active | Male |
Petrese B. Tucker | Pennsylvania (ED) | 6/1/2000 | Active | Female |
Phyllis J. Hamilton*** | California (ND) | 5/25/2000 | Active | Female |
Raner C. Collins | Arizona | 8/3/1998 | Senior Status 3/4/19 | Male |
Raymond A. Jackson | Virginia (ED) | 11/22/1993 | Active | Male |
Raymond P. Moore | Colorado | 3/26/2013 | Active | Male |
Reggie B. Walton | District of Columbia | 9/24/2001 | Senior Status 12/31/15 | Male |
Richard A. Jones | Washington (WD) | 10/29/2007 | Active | Male |
Richard Ernest Myers II | North Carolina (ED) | 12/10/2019 | Active | Male |
Richard Franklin Boulware II | Nevada | 6/10/2014 | Active | Male |
Richard W. Roberts | District of Columbia | 6/23/1998 | Senior Status 3/16/16 | Male |
Roderick Charles Young | Virginia (ED) | 9/29/2020 | Active | Male |
Rodney Smith | Florida (SD) | 6/14/2019 | Active | Male |
Ronnie L. White | Missouri (ED) | 7/17/2014 | Active | Male |
Rossie David Alston, Jr. | Virginia (ED) | 6/12/2019 | Active | Male |
Sam A. Lindsay | Texas (ND) | 3/17/1998 | Active | Male |
Sandra L. Townes | New York (ED) | 8/2/2004 | Terminated/Death 2/18/18 | Female |
Sara L. Ellis | Illinois (ND) | 10/8/2013 | Active | Female |
Saundra Brown Armstrong | California (ND) | 6/18/1991 | Senior Status 3/23/12 | Female |
Sharon Johnson Coleman | Illinois (ND) | 7/13/2010 | Active | Female |
Solomon Oliver, Jr. | Ohio (ND) | 5/9/1994 | Active | Male |
Staci Michelle Yandle ± | Illinois (SD) | 6/19/2014 | Active | Female |
Stephan P. Mickle | Florida (ND) | 5/22/1998 | Senior Status 6/22/11 | Male |
Stephanie Dawkins Davis | Michigan (ED) | 12/31/2019 | Active | Female |
Stephen C. Robinson | New York (SD) | 9/22/2003 | Terminated/Retired 8/11/10 | Male |
Sterling Johnson Jr. | New York (ED) | 7/2/1991 | Senior Status 6/1/03 | Male |
Steve C. Jones | Georgia (ND) | 3/3/2011 | Active | Male |
Steven P. Logan | Arizona | 5/16/2014 | Active | Male |
Susan D. Wigenton | New Jersey | 6/12/2006 | Active | Female |
Tanya S. Chutkan | District of Columbia | 6/5/2014 | Active | Female |
Tanya Walton Pratt | Indiana (SD) | 6/15/2010 | Active | Female |
Terry Hatter, Jr. | California (CD) | 12/20/1979 | Senior Status 4/22/05 | Male |
Terry Fitzgerald Moorer | Alabama (SD) | 9/4/2018 | Active | Male |
Thelton E. Henderson | California (ND) | 6/30/1980 | Senior Status 1/28/98 | Male |
Troy L. Nunley | California (ED) | 3/26/2013 | Active | Male |
U.W. Clemon | Alabama (ND) | 6/30/1980 | Terminated/Retired 1/31/09 | Male |
Vanessa L. Bryant | Connecticut | 4/2/2007 | Active | Female |
Vanessa Gilmore | Texas (SD) | 6/9/1994 | Active | Female |
Vernon S. Broderick | New York (SD) | 9/10/2013 | Active | Male |
Vicki Miles–LaGrange | Oklahoma (WD) | 11/28/1994 | Senior Status 11/5/18 | Female |
Victor Allen Bolden | Connecticut | 11/21/2014 | Active | Male |
Victoria Roberts | Michigan (ED) | 6/29/1998 | Active | Female |
W. Louis Sands | Georgia (MD) | 5/9/1994 | Senior Status 4/12/14 | Male |
Waverly David Crenshaw Jr.*** | Tennessee (MD) | 4/12/2016 | Active | Male |
Wendy Beetlestone | Pennsylvania (ED) | 11/21/2014 | Active | Female |
Wiley Young Daniel | Colorado | 6/30/1995 | Terminated/Death 5/10/19 | Male |
Wilhelmina Marie Wright | Minnesota | 2/18/2016 | Active | Female |
William F. Kuntz | New York (ED) | 10/4/2011 | Active | Male |
William D. Quarles, Jr. | Maryland | 3/14/2003 | Terminated/Retired 2/1/16 | Male |
William Joseph Haynes, Jr. | Tennessee (MD) | 11/15/1999 | Terminated/Retired 1/16/17 | Male |
Williams Walls | New Jersey | 10/11/1994 | Senior Status 1/31/05 | Male |
Legend
CD - Central District | ED - Eastern District | MD - Middle District | ND - Northern District | SD - Southern District |
WD - Western District | ± LGBTQ+ | *** Current Chief Judge |
Data is based on information collected through May 7, 2020. To learn more about the federal courts go to www.fjc.gov.
Judge William Henry Hastie
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed William H. Hastie as the first African-American to serve a term on the federal court in the Virgin Islands
Active Article III Judges
Click below to view a complete list of Article III judges based on race, ethnicity or find out which president appointed them.
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United States Circuit Courts
First Circuit Second Circuit Third Circuit Fourth Circuit Fifth Circuit Sixth Circuit |
Seventh Circuit Eighth Circuit Ninth Circuit Tenth Circuit Eleventh Circuit Fed/DC Circuit |
Supreme Court and USCIT
U.S. Supreme Court | U.S. Court of International Trade |