United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, and it has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:

• District of Connecticut
• Eastern District of New York
• Northern District of New York
• Southern District of New York
• Western District of New York
• District of Vermont

The Second Circuit has its clerk's office and courtrooms at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at 40 Foley Square in Lower Manhattan.

Because the Second Circuit includes New York City, it has long been one of the most prestigious and influential federal appellate courts in the United States, especially in matters of contract law, securities law, and antitrust law. In the 20th century, it came to be considered one of the two most prominent federal appellate courts, along with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Several notable judges have served on the Second Circuit, including three later named Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court: John Marshall Harlan II, Thurgood Marshall, and Sonia Sotomayor. Judge Learned Hand served on the court from 1924 to 1961, as did his cousin, Augustus Noble Hand, from 1927 until 1953. Judge Henry Friendly served from 1959 to 1986.

• Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street; the court's former temporary home
  Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street; the court's former temporary home
• Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at 40 Foley Square
  Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at 40 Foley Square

Current composition of the court

since July 13, 2024Template:Dated maintenance category (articles):

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
66	Chief Judge		New York, NY	1959	2007–present	2020–present	—
69	Circuit Judge	Raymond Lohier	New York, NY	1965	2010–present	—	—
72	Circuit Judge		New York, NY	1964	2018–present	—	—
73	Circuit Judge		Central Islip, NY	1966	2019–present	—	—
74	Circuit Judge		New York, NY	1976	2019–present	—	—
75	Circuit Judge		New Haven, CT	1969	2019–present	—	—
76	Circuit Judge		New York, NY	1979	2019–present	—	—
77	Circuit Judge	Eunice C. Lee	New York, NY	1970	2021–present	—	—
78	Circuit Judge	Beth Robinson	Burlington, VT	1965	2021–present	—	—
79	Circuit Judge	Myrna Pérez	New York, NY	1974	2021–present	—	—
80	Circuit Judge	Alison Nathan	New York, NY	1972	2022–present	—	—
81	Circuit Judge	Sarah A. L. Merriam	Bridgeport, CT	1971	2022–present	—	—
82	Circuit Judge	Maria Araújo Kahn	New Haven, CT	1964	2023–present	—	—
41	Senior Circuit Judge	Jon O. Newman	Hartford, CT	1932	1979–1997	1993–1997	1997–present
42	Senior Circuit Judge	Amalya Kearse	New York, NY	1937	1979–2002	—	2002–present
50	Senior Circuit Judge	John M. Walker Jr.	New Haven, CT	1940	1989–2006	2000–2006	2006–present
52	Senior Circuit Judge	Dennis Jacobs	New York, NY	1944	1992–2019	2006–2013	2019–present
53	Senior Circuit Judge	Pierre N. Leval	New York, NY	1936	1993–2002	—	2002–present
54	Senior Circuit Judge	Guido Calabresi	New Haven, CT	1932	1994–2009	—	2009–present
55	Senior Circuit Judge	José A. Cabranes	New Haven, CT	1940	1994–2023	—	2023–present
59	Senior Circuit Judge	Robert D. Sack	New York, NY	1939	1998–2009	—	2009–present
62	Senior Circuit Judge	Barrington D. Parker Jr.	New York, NY	1944	2001–2009	—	2009–present
63	Senior Circuit Judge	Reena Raggi	Brooklyn, NY	1951	2002–2018	—	2018–present
64	Senior Circuit Judge	Richard C. Wesley	Geneseo, NY	1949	2003–2016	—	2016–present
67	Senior Circuit Judge	Gerard E. Lynch	New York, NY	1951	2009–2016	—	2016–present
68	Senior Circuit Judge	Denny Chin	New York, NY	1954	2010–2021	—	2021–present
70	Senior Circuit Judge	Susan L. Carney	New Haven, CT	1951	2011–2022	—	2022–present

List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1		NY	1837–1917	1891–1907	—	—	/ Operation of law	retirement
2		NY	1846–1924	1891–1916	—	—	/ Operation of law	retirement
3		CT	1828–1906	1892–1902	—	—		retirement
4		CT	1849–1907	1902–1907	—	—		death
5		NY	1847–1923	1902–1917	—	—		retirement
6		NY	1851–1933	1907–1921	—	1921–1924		retirement
7		CT	1865–1926	1907–1913	—	—		resignation
8		NY	1843–1923	1910–1916	—	—	Template:Efn	reassigned to the 4th Circuit
9		CT	1853–1926	1913–1926	—	—		death
10		NY	1858–1927	1916–1927	—	—		death
11		NY	1880–1946	1918–1939	—	—		resignation
12		NY	1865–1925	1921–1924	—	—		resignation
13		NY	1872–1961	1924–1951	1948–1951	1951–1961		death
14		CT	1877–1975	1926–1953	1951–1953	1953–1975		death
15		NY	1869–1954	1927–1953	—	1953–1954		death
16		VT	1889–1969	1929–1954	1953–1954	1954–1969		death
17		IL	1866–1943	1929–1940	—	1940–1943	Template:Efn	death
18		CT	1889–1963	1939–1963	1954–1959	—		death
19		NY	1891–1952	1939–1940	—	—		resignation
20		NY	1889–1957	1941–1957	—	—		death
21		NY	1888–1990	1951–1958	—	1958–1980		retirement
22		CT	1889–1964	1953–1959	—	1959–1964		death
23		NY	1899–1971	1954–1955	—	—		elevation to Supreme Court
24		NY	1901–1999	1955–1971	1959–1971	1971–1999		death
25		VT	1901–1984	1955–1970	—	1970–1984		death
26		NY	1898–1982	1957–1971	—	1971–1982		death
27		NY	1903–1986	1959–1974	1971–1973	1974–1986		death
28		CT	1904–1980	1960–1971	—	1971–1980		death
29		NY	1910–1992	1961–1987	1973–1980	1987–1992		death
30		NY	1903–1980	1961–1974	—	1974–1980		death
31		NY	1908–1993	1961–1965	—	—		resignation
32		CT	1906–1978	1964–1971	—	1971–1978		death
33		NY	1920–2014	1966–1991	1980–1988	1991–2014		death
34		NY	1911–1987	1971–1981	—	1981–1987		death
35		NY	1918–1996	1971–1981	—	—		resignation
36		VT	1924–2007	1971–1992	1988–1992	1992–2007		death
37		CT	1915–1994	1971–1981	—	1981–1994		death
38		NY	1907–1979	1974–1979	—	—	Template:Efn	death
39		NY	1915–2004	1974–1985	—	1985–2004		death
40		CT	1928–2007	1975–1993	1992–1993	1993–2007		death
43		NY	1925–2015	1981–1993	—	1993–2015		death
44		NY	1924–2020	1981–1990	—	1990–1995		retirement
45	Ralph K. Winter Jr.	CT	1935–2020	1981–2000	1997–2000	2000–2020		death
46		NY	1928–2025	1982–1993	—	1993–1995		retirement
47		NY	1934–2012	1985–1997	—	1997–2012		death
48		NY	1928–1998	1985–1996	—	1996–1998		death
49		NY	1931–1996	1986–1996	—	—		death
51		NY	1933–2013	1990–1998	—	1998–2013		death
56		VT	1938–2003	1994–2003	—	—		death
57		NY	1938–2023	1998–2022	—	2022–2023		death
58		NY	1937–2024	1998–2008	—	2008–2024		death
60		NY	1954–present	1998–2009	—	—		elevation to Supreme Court
61		NY	1953–2021	1999–2021	2013–2020	2021		death
65		VT	1948–2021	2004–2021	—	2021		death
71		CT	1954–present	2011–2019	—	2019–2020		retirement

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Hand	1948–1951
Swan	1951–1953
Chase	1953–1954
Clark	1954–1959
Lumbard	1959–1971
Friendly	1971–1973
Kaufman	1973–1980
Feinberg	1980–1988
Oakes	1988–1992
Meskill	1992–1993
Newman	1993–1997
Winter	1997–2000
Walker	2000–2006
Jacobs	2006–2013
Katzmann	2013–2020
Livingston	2020–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.

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.

Succession of seats

The court has thirteen 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 6, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 as a circuit judgeship for the Second Circuit
Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the newly formed U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Wallace	NY	1891–1907
Ward	NY	1907–1921
Mayer	NY	1921–1924
L. Hand	NY	1924–1951
Medina	NY	1951–1958
Friendly	NY	1959–1974
Van Graafeiland	NY	1974–1985
Altimari	NY	1985–1996
Pooler	NY	1998–2022
Nathan	NY	2022–present

Seat 2
Established on March 3, 1887 by 24 Stat. 492 as a circuit judgeship for the Second Circuit
Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the newly formed U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Lacombe	NY	1891–1916
Hough	NY	1916–1927
A. Hand	NY	1927–1953
Harlan II	NY	1954–1955
Lumbard	NY	1955–1971
Mulligan	NY	1971–1981
Cardamone	NY	1981–1993
Cabranes	CT	1994–2023
Kahn	CT	2023–present

Seat 3
Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Shipman	CT	1892–1902
Townsend	CT	1902–1907
Noyes	CT	1907–1913
Rogers	CT	1913–1926
Swan	CT	1926–1953
Hincks	CT	1953–1959
Smith	CT	1960–1971
Meskill	CT	1975–1993
Calabresi	CT	1994–2009
Droney	CT	2011–2019
Nardini	CT	2019–present

Seat 4
Established on April 17, 1902 by 32 Stat. 106
Coxe	NY	1902–1917
Manton	NY	1918–1939
Patterson	NY	1939–1940
Frank	NY	1941–1957
Moore	NY	1958–1971
Mansfield	NY	1971–1981
Winter	CT	1981–2000
B. Parker	NY	2001–2009
Carney	CT	2011–2022
Merriam	CT	2022–present

Seat 5
Established on January 17, 1929 by 45 Stat. 1081
Chase	VT	1929–1954
Waterman	VT	1955–1970
Oakes	VT	1971–1992
F. Parker	VT	1994–2003
Hall	VT	2004–2021
Robinson	VT	2021–present

Seat 6
Established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 584
Clark	CT	1939–1963
Anderson	CT	1964–1971
Timbers	CT	1971–1981
Pratt	NY	1982–1993
Leval	NY	1993–2002
Wesley	NY	2003–2016
Sullivan	NY	2018–present

Seat 7
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Kaufman	NY	1961–1987
Walker	NY	1989–2006
Livingston	NY	2007–present

Seat 8
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Hays	NY	1961–1974
Gurfein	NY	1974–1979
Pierce	NY	1981–1990
McLaughlin	NY	1990–1998
Straub	NY	1998–2008
Lynch	NY	2009–2016
Park	NY	2019–present

Seat 9
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Marshall	NY	1961–1965
Feinberg	NY	1966–1991
Jacobs	NY	1992–2019
Menashi	NY	2019–present

Seat 10
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Newman	CT	1979–1997
Katzmann	NY	1999–2021
Lee	NY	2021–present

Seat 11
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Kearse	NY	1979–2002
Raggi	NY	2002–2018
Bianco	NY	2019–present

Seat 12
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Miner	NY	1985–1997
Sack	NY	1998–2009
Chin	NY	2010–2021
Pérez	NY	2021–present

Seat 13
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Mahoney	NY	1986–1996
Sotomayor	NY	1998–2009
Lohier	NY	2010–present

See also

• Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts#Second Circuit
• List of current United States circuit judges

External links

• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Recent opinions from FindLaw