Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

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United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
(3d Cir.)
LocationJames A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Appeals from
EstablishedJune 16, 1891
Judges14
Circuit JusticeSamuel Alito
Chief JudgeMichael Chagares
www.ca3.uscourts.gov

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:

This circuit also hears appeals from the District Court of the Virgin Islands, which is an Article IV territorial court and not a district court under Article III of the Constitution.

The court is composed of 14 active judges and is based at the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The court also conducts sittings in other venues, including the United States Virgin Islands.[1] It is one of 13 United States courts of appeals. Due to the court's appellate jurisdiction over Delaware, where more than half of publicly traded companies in the United States incorporate, the court handles a significant number of influential commercial cases in the United States.

Current composition of the court

As of October 9, 2025:[2][3]

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
61 Chief Judge Michael Chagares Newark, NJ 1962 2006–present 2021–present — G.W. Bush
63 Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman Pittsburgh, PA 1965 2007–present — — G.W. Bush
66 Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz Newark, NJ 1961 2013–present — — Obama
67 Circuit Judge Cheryl Ann Krause Philadelphia, PA 1968 2014–present — — Obama
68 Circuit Judge L. Felipe Restrepo Philadelphia, PA 1959 2016–present — — Obama
69 Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas Philadelphia, PA 1969 2017–present — — Trump
70 Circuit Judge David J. Porter Pittsburgh, PA 1966 2018–present — — Trump
71 Circuit Judge Paul Matey Newark, NJ 1971 2019–present — — Trump
72 Circuit Judge Peter J. Phipps Pittsburgh, PA 1973 2019–present — — Trump
73 Circuit Judge Arianna J. Freeman Philadelphia, PA 1978 2022–present — — Biden
74 Circuit Judge T. Montgomery-Reeves Wilmington, DE 1981 2023–present — — Biden
75 Circuit Judge Cindy K. Chung Pittsburgh, PA 1975 2023–present — — Biden
76 Circuit Judge Emil Bove Newark, NJ 1981 2025–present — — Trump
77 Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott Wilmington, DE 1976 2025–present — — Trump
45 Senior Judge Anthony Joseph Scirica Philadelphia, PA 1940 1987–2013 2003–2010 2013–present Reagan
46 Senior Judge Robert Cowen inactive 1930 1987–1998 — 1998–present Reagan
47 Senior Judge Richard Lowell Nygaard Erie, PA 1940 1988–2005 — 2005–present Reagan
49 Senior Judge Jane Richards Roth Wilmington, DE 1935 1991–2006 — 2006–present G.H.W. Bush
51 Senior Judge Theodore McKee Philadelphia, PA 1947 1994–2022 2010–2016 2022–present Clinton
53 Senior Judge Marjorie Rendell Philadelphia, PA 1947 1997–2015 — 2015–present Clinton
55 Senior Judge Thomas L. Ambro Wilmington, DE 1949 2000–2023 — 2023–present Clinton
56 Senior Judge Julio M. Fuentes inactive 1946 2000–2016 — 2016–present Clinton
57 Senior Judge D. Brooks Smith Philadelphia, PA 1951 2002–2021 2016–2021 2021–present G.W. Bush
59 Senior Judge D. Michael Fisher Pittsburgh, PA 1944 2003–2017 — 2017–present G.W. Bush

List of former judges

# Judge State Born–died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
termination
1 Marcus Wilson Acheson PA 1828–1906 1891–1906[Note 1] — — B. Harrison / Operation of law death
2 George M. Dallas PA 1839–1917 1892–1909 — — B. Harrison retirement
3 George Gray DE 1840–1925 1899–1914[4] — — McKinley retirement
4 Joseph Buffington PA 1855–1947 1906–1938[4] — 1938–1947 T. Roosevelt death
5 William M. Lanning NJ 1849–1912 1909–1912 — — Taft death
6 Robert W. Archbald PA 1848–1926 1911–1913 — — [5] removal
7 John Bayard McPherson PA 1846–1919 1912–1919 — — Taft death
8 Victor Baynard Woolley DE 1867–1945 1914–1938 — 1938–1945 Wilson death
9 Thomas Griffith Haight NJ 1879–1942 1919–1920[4] — — Wilson resignation
10 John Warren Davis NJ 1867–1945 1920–1939 — 1939–1941 Wilson resignation
11 Joseph Whitaker Thompson PA 1861–1946 1931–1938 — 1938–1946 Hoover death
12 John Biggs Jr. DE 1895–1979 1937–1965 1948–1965 1965–1979 F. Roosevelt death
13 Albert Branson Maris PA 1893–1989 1938–1958 — 1958–1989 F. Roosevelt death
14 William Clark NJ 1891–1957 1938–1943 — — F. Roosevelt resignation
15 Francis Biddle PA 1886–1968 1939–1940 — — F. Roosevelt resignation
16 Charles Alvin Jones PA 1887–1966 1939–1944 — — F. Roosevelt resignation
17 Herbert Funk Goodrich PA 1889–1962 1940–1962 — — F. Roosevelt death
18 Gerald McLaughlin NJ 1893–1977 1943–1968 — 1968–1977 F. Roosevelt death
19 John Joseph O'Connell PA 1894–1949 1945–1949 — — Truman death
20 Harry Ellis Kalodner PA 1896–1977 1946–1969 1965–1966 1969–1977 Truman death
21 William H. Hastie VI 1904–1976 1949–1971[4] 1968–1971 1971–1976 Truman death
22 Austin Leander Staley PA 1902–1978 1950–1967 1966–1967 1967–1978 Truman death
23 Phillip Forman NJ 1895–1978 1959–1961 — 1961–1978 Eisenhower death
24 James Cullen Ganey PA 1899–1972 1961–1966 — 1966–1972 Kennedy death
25 William Francis Smith NJ 1903–1968 1961–1968 — — Kennedy death
26 Abraham Lincoln Freedman PA 1904–1971 1964–1971 — — L. Johnson death
27 Collins J. Seitz DE 1914–1998 1966–1989 1971–1984 1989–1998 L. Johnson death
28 Francis Lund Van Dusen PA 1912–1993 1967–1977 — 1977–1993 L. Johnson death
29 Ruggero J. Aldisert PA 1919–2014 1968–1986 1984–1986 1986–2014 L. Johnson death
30 David Henry Stahl PA 1920–1970 1968–1970 — — L. Johnson death
31 Arlin M. Adams PA 1921–2015 1969–1987 — — Nixon retirement
32 John Joseph Gibbons NJ 1924–2018 1969–1990 1987–1990 — Nixon retirement
33 Max Rosenn PA 1910–2006 1970–1981 — 1981–2006 Nixon death
34 James Rosen NJ 1909–1972 1971–1972 — — Nixon death
35 James Hunter III NJ 1916–1989 1971–1986 — 1986–1989 Nixon death
36 Joseph F. Weis Jr. PA 1923–2014 1973–1988 — 1988–2014 Nixon death
37 Leonard I. Garth NJ 1921–2016 1973–1986 — 1986–2016 Nixon death
38 A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. PA 1928–1998 1977–1991 1990–1991 1991–1993 Carter retirement
39 Dolores Sloviter PA 1932–2022 1979–2013 1991–1998 2013–2022 Carter death
40 Edward R. Becker PA 1933–2006 1981–2003 1998–2003 2003–2006 Reagan death
41 Carol Los Mansmann PA 1942–2002 1985–2002 — — Reagan death
42 Walter King Stapleton DE 1934–2024 1985–1999 — 1999–2024 Reagan death
43 Morton Ira Greenberg NJ 1933–2021 1987–2000 — 2000–2021 Reagan death
44 William D. Hutchinson PA 1932–1995 1987–1995 — — Reagan death
48 Samuel Alito NJ 1950–present 1990–2006 — — G.H.W. Bush elevation
50 Timothy K. Lewis PA 1954–present 1992–1999 — — G.H.W. Bush resignation
52 H. Lee Sarokin NJ 1928–2023 1994–1996 — — Clinton retirement
54 Maryanne Trump Barry NJ 1937–2023 1999–2011 — 2011–2019 Clinton retirement
58 Michael Chertoff NJ 1953–present 2003–2005 — — G.W. Bush resignation
60 Franklin Van Antwerpen PA 1941–2016 2004–2006 — 2006–2016 G.W. Bush death
62 Kent A. Jordan DE 1957–present 2006–2025 — — G.W. Bush retirement
64 Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. NJ 1957–present 2010–2023 — — Obama retirement
65 Thomas I. Vanaskie PA 1953–present 2010–2018 — 2018–2019 Obama retirement
  1. Acheson was appointed as a circuit judge for the Third Circuit in 1891 by Benjamin Harrison. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Biggs Jr.1948–1965
Kalodner1965–1966
Staley1966–1967
Hastie1968–1971
Seitz1971–1984
Aldisert1984–1986
Gibbons1987–1990
Higginbotham1990–1991
Sloviter1991–1998
Becker1998–2003
Scirica2003–2010
McKee2010–2016
D. Smith2016–2021
Chagares2021–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.[6]

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.[7]

Succession of seats

The court has fourteen 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 Third Circuit
Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the newly formed United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891
AchesonPA1892–1906
BuffingtonPA1906–1938
BiddlePA1939–1940
GoodrichPA1940–1962
FreedmanPA1964–1971
Weis, Jr.PA1973–1988
NygaardPA1988–2005
HardimanPA2007–present
Seat 2
Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891
DallasPA1892–1909
LanningNJ1909–1912
McPhersonPA1912–1919
HaightNJ1919–1920
DavisNJ1920–1939
JonesPA1939–1944
KalodnerPA1946–1969
AdamsPA1969–1987
HutchinsonPA1987–1995
RendellPA1997–2015
BibasPA2017–present
Seat 3
Established on February 23, 1899 by 30 Stat. 846
GrayDE1899–1914
WoolleyDE1914–1938
MarisPA1938–1958
FormanNJ1959–1961
W. SmithNJ1961–1968
Hunter IIINJ1971–1986
CowenNJ1987–1998
FuentesNJ2000–2016
MateyNJ2019–present
Seat 4
Established on June 10, 1930 by 46 Stat. 538
ThompsonPA1931–1938
ClarkNJ1938–1943
McLaughlinNJ1943–1968
GibbonsNJ1969–1990
AlitoNJ1990–2006
Greenaway, Jr.NJ2010–2023
Bove IIINJ2025–present

Seat 5
Established as a temporary judgeship on June 24, 1936 by 49 Stat. 1903
Made permanent on May 31, 1938, by 52 Stat. 584
Biggs, Jr.DE1937–1965
SeitzDE1966–1989
RothDE1991–2006
JordanDE2006–2025
MascottDE2025–present
Seat 6
Established on December 7, 1944, by 58 Stat. 796
O'ConnellPA1945–1949
StaleyPA1950–1967
AldisertPA1968–1986
SciricaPA1987–2013
RestrepoPA2016–present
Seat 7
Established on August 3, 1949 by 63 Stat. 493
HastieVI1950–1971
RosenNJ1971–1972
GarthNJ1973–1986
GreenbergNJ1987–2000
ChertoffNJ2003–2005
ChagaresNJ2006–present
Seat 8
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
GaneyPA1961–1966
Van DusenPA1967–1977
Higginbotham, Jr.PA1977–1991
McKeePA1994–2022
FreemanPA2022–present

Seat 9
Established on June 18, 1968 by 82 Stat. 184
StahlPA1968–1970
RosennPA1970–1981
BeckerPA1981–2003
Van AntwerpenPA2004–2006
VanaskiePA2010–2018
PhippsPA2019–present
Seat 10
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
SloviterPA1979–2013
KrausePA2014–present
Seat 11
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
MansmannPA1985–2002
FisherPA2003–2017
PorterPA2018–present

Seat 12
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
StapletonDE1985–1999
AmbroDE2000–2023
Montgomery-ReevesDE2023–present
Seat 13
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
LewisPA1992–1999
D. SmithPA2002–2021
ChungPA2023–present
Seat 14
Established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
SarokinNJ1994–1996
BarryNJ1999–2011
ShwartzNJ2013–present

See also

References

  1. "Notice for Sitting in Virgin Islands" (PDF). Official website of the Third Circuit. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  2. "U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit". Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on May 25, 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2005.
  3. "Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judges" (PDF). Official website of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2005.
  4. Recess appointment, confirmed by the United States Senate at a later date.
  5. Archbald did not have a permanent seat on this court. Instead, he was appointed to the ill-fated United States Commerce Court in 1910 by William Howard Taft. Aside from their duties on the Commerce Court, the judges of the Commerce Court also acted as at-large appellate judges, able to be assigned by the chief justice of the United States to whichever circuit most needed help. Archbald was assigned to the Third Circuit upon his commission.
  6. 28 U.S.C. § 45
  7. 62 Stat. 871, 72 Stat. 497, 96 Stat. 51