United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | |
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(8th Cir.) | |
Location | Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse St. Louis, Missouri |
Appeals from | |
Established | December 10, 1869 |
Chief judge | William J. Riley |
Active judges | 11 |
Senior judges | 6 |
Circuit justice | Samuel Alito |
Official website |
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
The court is composed of eleven active judges and is based at the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals. In 1929 Congress passed a statute dividing the Eighth Circuit that placed Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas in the Eighth Circuit and created a Tenth Circuit that included Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Republican Presidents have appointed a greater percentage of judges to the Eighth Circuit (eight of nine active judges, or 88.9%) than any other Court of Appeals in the United States.
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their circuits, and preside over any panel on which they serve unless the circuit justice (i.e., 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. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.