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United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

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The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citation

Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

s, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction is the power of the Supreme Court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right...

over the district courts

United States district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

in the following districts

United States federal judicial district

For purposes of the federal judicial system, Congress has divided the United States into judicial districts. There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico...

District of Maine
District of Massachusetts
District of New Hampshire
District of Puerto Rico
District of Rhode Island

The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, but the court sits for two weeks each year in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan is the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico and it is the historic colonial section of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Location:...

and occasionally at other locations within the circuit.

With six active and three senior judges, the First Circuit is the smallest of the thirteen United States courts of appeals

United States court of appeals

The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...

. Since retiring as an active Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Associate Justice

Associate Justice

Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

David Souter

David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...

has sat on the First Circuit by designation in several cases.

Active

, the active judges on the court are as follows:

#	Judge	Duty station	Born	Appointed	Chief	Appointed by
27	Sandra Lynch	Boston, MA	1946	1995	2008–	Clinton
21	Juan R. Torruella Juan R. Torruella Juan R. Torruella is a Puerto Rican jurist, who currently serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He is the first and to date only Hispanic to serve in that court.-Education:...	San Juan, PR San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...	1933	1984	1994–2001	Reagan
25	Michael Boudin Michael Boudin Michael Boudin is a Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.Boudin was born in New York City, the son of the civil liberties attorney Leonard Boudin and older brother of Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin. He received a B.A. from Harvard...	Boston, MA	1939	1992	2001–2008	G.H.W. Bush
28	Kermit Lipez Kermit Lipez Kermit Victor Lipez is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He is the only active judge from Maine currently serving on that court.-Judicial service:...	Portland, ME Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...	1941	1998	——	Clinton
29	Jeffrey R. Howard Jeffrey R. Howard Jeffrey Robert Howard is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.- Biography :Howard graduated from Plymouth State College in 1978 with a B.A., and he received a J.D...	Concord, NH Concord, New Hampshire The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....	1955	2002	——	G.W. Bush
30	O. Rogeriee Thompson Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a former Rhode Island Superior Court justice.- Early life and education :...	Providence, RI Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...	1951	2010	——	Obama

Judge Kermit Lipez has announced that he will assume senior status on Dec 31, 2011 or when his successor is confirmed.

Senior

Three judges currently serve on the court on senior status

Senior status

Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...

. Additionally, Retired Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

Justice David Souter

David Souter

frequently sits by designation.

#	Judge	Duty station	Born	Active service	Chief	Senior Senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status... since	Appointed by
18	Levin H. Campbell	(inactive)	1927	1972–1992	1983–1990	1992	Nixon
22	Bruce M. Selya	Providence, RI Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...	1934	1986–2006	——	2006	Reagan
23	Conrad K. Cyr Conrad K. Cyr Conrad Keefe Cyr is a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.- Education and early career :Born in Limestone, Maine, Cyr received a B.S. from Holy Cross College in 1953 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1956...	(inactive)	1931	1989–1997	——	1997	G.H.W. Bush
26	Norman H. Stahl Norman H. Stahl Norman H. Stahl is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.A graduate of Tufts College and Harvard Law School, Stahl was in private practice in New Hampshire for 34 years before President George H. W. Bush nominated him to the United States District Court for the...	Boston, MA	1931	1992-2001	——	2001	G.H.W. Bush

List of former judges

Twenty-one judges have served on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, but no longer do:

#	State	Born/Died	Active	Chief	Senior Senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	RI Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...	1846–1924	1891–1913	——	——	Arthur Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...	resignation
2	ME Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...	1835–1918	1892–1917	——	——		retirement
3	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1855–1911	1905–1911	——	——		death
4	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1857–1912	1911–1912	——	——		death
5	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1847–1927	1912–1918	——	——		resignation
6	NH New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...	1864–1949	1913–1939	——	1939–1949		death
7	ME Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...	1859–1930	1917–1929	——	1929–1930		death
8	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1861–1938	1918–1931	——	1931–1938		death
9	ME Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...	1870–1942	1929–1940	——	1940–1942		death
10	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1869–1940	1932–1939	——	1939–1940		death
11	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1893–1968	1939–1959	1948–1959	1959–1968		death
12	RI Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...	1882–1952	1940–1950	——	1950–1952		death
13	NH New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...	1899–1970	1941–1964	1959–1964	1964–1970		death
14	RI Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...	1887–1968	1950–1965	——	1965–1968		death
15	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1907–2002	1959–1972	1965–1972	1972–2002		death
16	RI Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...	1906–1981	1965–1976	——	1976–1981		death
17	ME Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...	1919–2009	1965–1989	1972–1983	1989–2009		death
19	NH New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...	1920–2003	1977–1990	——	1990–2003		death
20	MA Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	1938–	1980–1994	1990–1994	——		elevation to Supreme Court Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
24	NH New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...	1939–	1990	——	——		elevation to Supreme Court Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

Chief judges

class=wikitable>	Chief Judges
Magruder	1948–1959
Woodbury	1959–1964
Aldrich	1965–1972
Coffin	1972–1983
Campbell	1983–1990
Breyer	1990–1994
Torruella	1994–2001
Boudin	2001–2008
Lynch

Succession of seats

border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2>	Seat 1
Established on December 10, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 Judiciary Act of 1869 The Judiciary Act of 1869 , also called the Circuit Judges Act of 1869, was a United States statute that made two important reforms of the federal judiciary.... as a circuit judgeship United States circuit court The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate... 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 Judiciary Act of 1891 The Judiciary Act of 1891 , also known as the Evarts Act after its primary sponsor, Senator William M. Evarts, created the United States courts of appeals, and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts...
Colt	RI	1891–1913
Bingham	NH	1913–1939
Magruder	MA	1939–1959
Aldrich	MA	1959–1972
Campbell	MA	1972–1992
Boudin	MA	1992–present

border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2> Seat 2 Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891

Judiciary Act of 1891

The Judiciary Act of 1891 , also known as the Evarts Act after its primary sponsor, Senator William M. Evarts, created the United States courts of appeals, and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts...

Putnam ME 1892–1917 Johnson ME 1917–1929 Wilson ME 1929–1940 Woodbury NH 1941–1964 McEntee RI 1965–1976 Bownes NH 1977–1990 Souter NH 1990–1990 Stahl NH 1992–2001 Howard NH 2002–present border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2> Seat 3 Established on January 21, 1905 by 33 Stat. 611 Lowell MA 1905–1911 Schofield MA 1911–1912 Dodge MA 1912–1918 Anderson MA 1918–1931 Morton MA 1932–1939 Mahoney RI 1940–1950 Hartigan RI 1950–1965 Coffin ME 1965–1989 Cyr ME 1989–1997 Lipez ME 1998–present

border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2>	Seat 4
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Breyer	MA	1980–1994
Lynch	MA	1995–present

border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2> Seat 5 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Torruella PR 1984–present border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2> Seat 6 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Selya RI 1986–2006 Thompson RI 2010–present

Notable decisions

West v. Randall
West v. Randall
West v. Randall West v. Randall West v. Randall (29 F. Cas. 718 (R.I. 1820) is one of the earliest class action lawsuit related cases in early United States federal case law. The decision was written by Justice Joseph Story while serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the First...

(1820), one of the first decisions setting precedent for class action suits