United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:

• Central District of Illinois
• Northern District of Illinois
• Southern District of Illinois
• Northern District of Indiana
• Southern District of Indiana
• Eastern District of Wisconsin
• Western District of Wisconsin

The court is based at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago and is composed of eleven appellate judges. It is one of 13 United States courts of appeals.

The court offers a relatively unique internet presence that includes wiki and RSS feeds of opinions and oral arguments. It is also notable for having one of the most prominent law and economics scholars, Judge Frank Easterbrook, on its court. Richard Posner, another prominent law and economics scholar, also served on this court until his retirement in 2017. Three judges from the Seventh Circuit, Sherman Minton, John Paul Stevens, and Amy Coney Barrett, have been appointed as Associate Justices of the Supreme Court.

File:Dirksen Federal Building.jpg

The Dirksen Federal Building, seat of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Current composition of the court

since December 15, 2025Template:Dated maintenance category (articles):

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
57	Chief Judge		Milwaukee, WI	1963	2018–present	2025–present	—
45	Circuit Judge		Chicago, IL	1948	1985–present	2006–2013	—
58	Circuit Judge		Chicago, IL	1971	2018–present	—	—
59	Circuit Judge		Chicago, IL	1965	2018–present	—	—
60	Circuit Judge		Hammond, IN	1974	2020–present	—	—
61	Circuit Judge	Candace Jackson-Akiwumi	Chicago, IL	1979	2021–present	—	—
62	Circuit Judge	John Z. Lee	Chicago, IL	1968	2022–present	—	—
63	Circuit Judge	Doris Pryor	Indianapolis, IN	1977	2022–present	—	—
64	Circuit Judge	Joshua P. Kolar	Hammond, IN	1976	2024–present	—	—
65	Circuit Judge	Nancy L. Maldonado	Chicago, IL	1975	2024–present	—	—
66	Circuit Judge		Milwaukee, WI	1983	2025–present	—	—
46	Senior Circuit Judge	Kenneth Francis Ripple	South Bend, IN	1943	1985–2008	—	2008–present
49	Senior Circuit Judge		Chicago, IL	1938	1992–2024	—	2024–present
53	Senior Circuit Judge		Milwaukee, WI	1957	2004–2025	2020–2025	2025–present
55	Senior Circuit Judge		Bloomington, IN	1957	2009–2022	—	2022–present

List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1		IN	1832–1895	1891–1893	—	—	/ Operation of law	resignation
2		IN	1837–1901	1892–1901	—	—		death
3		WI	1834–1921	1893–1905	—	—		retirement
4		IL	1844–1898	1895–1898	—	—		death
5		IL	1852–1921	1899–1911	—	—		resignation
6		IN	1860–1924	1902–1924	—	—		death
7		WI	1842–1915	1905–1915	—	—		death
8		IL	1844–1918	1905–1918	—	—		death
9		IL	1866–1943	1911–1929	—	—		reassigned to the 6th Circuit
10		IL	1859–1939	1915–1936	—	1936–1939		death
11		WI	1876–1948	1916–1948	—	—		death
12		IL	1859–1941	1919–1930	—	1930–1941		death
13		IN	1857–1938	1925–1929	—	1929–1938		death
14		IN	1872–1950	1929–1948	1948	1948–1950		death
15		IL	1870–1935	1933–1935	—	—		death
16		IL	1887–1972	1937–1956	1948–1954	1956–1972		death
17		IN	1883–1941	1937–1941	—	—		death
18		IL	1884–1952	1938–1952	—	—		death
19		IN	1890–1965	1941–1949	—	—		elevation to Supreme Court
20		WI	1888–1979	1949–1966	1954–1959	1966–1979		death
21		IL	1886–1959	1949–1959	—	—		death
22		IL	1880–1958	1949–1958	—	—		death
23		IN	1880–1957	1949–1957	—	—		death
24		IL	1889–1968	1953–1968	—	—		death
25		IN	1898–1977	1957–1969	1959–1968	1969–1977		death
26		IN	1902–1959	1957–1959	—	—		death
27		IL	1895–1983	1958–1967	—	1967–1983		death
28		IL	1900–1986	1959–1970	1968–1970	1970–1986		death
29		IL	1900–1974	1961–1974	—	1974		death
30		IN	1905–1988	1961–1981	1970–1975	1981–1988		death
31		WI	1912–2007	1966–1981	1975–1981	1981–2007		death
32		IL	1916–1999	1966–1999	1981–1986	—		death
33		IL	1908–1976	1968–1974	—	—		resignation
34		IN	1915–2000	1970–1984	—	1984–2000		death
35		IL	1920–2019	1970–1975	—	—		elevation to Supreme Court
36		IL	1917–1982	1971–1982	—	—		death
37		IL	1923–2001	1974–1980	—	—		resignation
38		IL	1926–2025	1974–1994	1986–1993	1994–2025		death
39		IL	1920–2008	1976–1992	—	1992–2008		death
40		WI	1926–2015	1979–1994	—	1994–2015		death
41		IN	1920–2005	1981–1985	—	1985–2005		death
42		IL	1939–present	1981–2017	1993–2000	—		retirement
43		WI	1922–2012	1982–2004	—	2004–2012		death
44		IL	1936–2024	1983–2020	2000–2006	2020–2024		death
47		IN	1942–2024	1986–2007	—	2007–2024		death
48		IN	1938–2022	1987–2022	—	—		death
50		IL	1950–present	1995–2022	2013–2020	2022–2024		retirement
51		WI	1940–2011	1995–2010	—	2010–2011		death
52		IL	1949–present	1999–2017	—	2017–2018		retirement
54		IN	1950–present	2007–2015	—	2015		retirement
56		IN	1972–present	2017–2020	—	—		elevation to Supreme Court

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Sparks	1948
Major	1948–1954
Duffy	1954–1959
Hastings	1959–1968
Castle	1968–1970
Swygert	1970–1975
Fairchild	1975–1981
Cummings, Jr.	1981–1986
Bauer	1986–1993
Posner	1993–2000
Flaum	2000–2006
Easterbrook	2006–2013
D. Wood	2013–2020
Sykes	2020–2025
Brennan	2025–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 eleven 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 Seventh Circuit
Reassigned to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Gresham	IN	1891–1893
Jenkins	WI	1893–1905
Seaman	WI	1905–1915
E. Evans	WI	1916–1948
Duffy	WI	1949–1966
Fairchild	WI	1966–1981
Coffey	WI	1982–2004
Sykes	WI	2004–2025
Taibleson	WI	2025–present

Seat 2
Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891
Woods	IN	1892–1901
Baker	IN	1902–1924
Anderson	IN	1925–1929
Sparks	IN	1929–1948
Finnegan	IL	1949–1959
Castle	IL	1959–1970
Sprecher	IL	1971–1982
Flaum	IL	1983–2020
Jackson-Akiwumi	IL	2021–present

Seat 3
Established on February 8, 1895 by 28 Stat. 643
Showalter	IL	1895–1898
Grosscup	IL	1899–1911
Alschuler	IL	1915–1936
Treanor	IN	1937–1941
Minton	IN	1941–1949
Lindley	IL	1949–1958
Knoch	IL	1958–1967
Kerner, Jr.	IL	1968–1974
Bauer	IL	1974–1994
D. Wood	IL	1995–2022
Lee	IL	2022–present

Seat 4
Established on March 3, 1905 by 33 Stat. 992
Kohlsaat	IL	1905–1918
Page	IL	1919–1930
FitzHenry	IL	1933–1935
Major	IL	1937–1956
Hastings	IN	1957–1969
Pell, Jr.	IN	1970–1984
Manion	IN	1986–2007
Tinder	IN	2007–2015
Barrett	IN	2017–2020
Kirsch	IN	2020–present

Seat 5
Established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 584
Kerner, Sr.	IL	1938–1952
Schnackenberg	IL	1954–1968
Stevens	IL	1970–1975
H. Wood, Jr.	IL	1976–1992
Rovner	IL	1992–2024
Maldonado	IL	2024–present

Seat 6
Established on August 3, 1949 by 63 Stat. 493
Swaim	IN	1950–1957
Parkinson	IN	1957–1959
Kiley	IL	1961–1974
Tone	IL	1974–1980
Posner	IL	1981–2017
Scudder, Jr.	IL	2018–present

Seat 7
Established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Swygert	IN	1961–1981
Eschbach	IN	1981–1985
Kanne	IN	1987–2022
Kolar	IN	2024–present

Seat 8
Established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Cummings, Jr.	IL	1966–1999
Williams	IL	1999–2017
St. Eve	IL	2018–present

Seat 9
Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629, 1632
Cudahy	WI	1979–1994
T. Evans	WI	1995–2010
Brennan	WI	2018–present

Seat 10
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Easterbrook	IL	1985–present

Seat 11
Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Ripple	IN	1985–2008
Hamilton	IN	2009–2022
Pryor	IN	2022–present

See also

• Courts of Illinois
• Template:Section link
• List of current United States circuit judges

References

• • primary but incomplete source for the duty stations
• • secondary source for the duty stations
  • data is current to 2002
• • source for the state, lifetime, term of active judgeship, term of chief judgeship, term of senior judgeship, appointer, termination reason, and seat information

External links

• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Official wiki of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit — Launched April 18, 2007
• The Seventh Circuit Review