Following is a list of all Article III United States federal judges appointed by President Thomas Jefferson during his presidency.[1] In total Jefferson appointed 19 Article III federal judges, including 3 Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States, 7 judges to the United States circuit courts, and 9 judges to the United States district courts. Three of Jefferson's circuit court appointments were to seats that had been created by the Midnight Judges Act, signed by John Adams to allow the appointment of many of his supporters in the closing days of his administration. The service of these judges, including those appointed by Jefferson, terminated on July 1, 1802, due to the repeal of the Act and the accompanying abolition of the court.
Two of Jefferson's appointees, William Cranch (whom Jefferson elevated to Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia) and Henry Potter (appointed first to the Fifth Circuit, and then to the District of North Carolina) served into the 1850s. Potter's 55 years on the latter court remains the longest period of active service in United States federal court history.
William Johnson was Jefferson's longest serving Supreme Court appointee, and had a fiercely independent judicial philosophy.
William Cranch, initially appointed to the District of Columbia Circuit by John Adams, was elevated by Thomas Jefferson to be Chief Judge of that court, and became one of the longest-serving federal judges in U.S. history.
Contents
United States Supreme Court Justices
| # | Justice | Seat | State | Former Justice | Nomination date |
Confirmation date |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Johnson | 5 | South Carolina | Alfred Moore | March 22, 1804 | March 24, 1804 | March 26, 1804 | August 4, 1834 |
| 2 | Henry Brockholst Livingston | 1 | New York | William Paterson | December 13, 1806 | December 17, 1806 | November 10, 1806[2] | March 18, 1823 |
| 3 | Thomas Todd | 6 | Virginia | Seat established | February 28, 1807 | March 2, 1807 | March 3, 1807 | February 7, 1826 |
Circuit Courts
| # | Judge | Circuit | Nomination date |
Confirmation date |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Kilty | D.C. | January 6, 1802 | January 26, 1802 | March 23, 1801[3][4] | January 27, 1806 |
| 2 | Henry Potter | Fifth | January 6, 1802 | January 26, 1802 | May 9, 1801[3][5] | April 7, 1802 |
| 3 | Dominic Augustin Hall | Fifth | January 6, 1802 | January 26, 1802 | July 1, 1801[3][4] | July 1, 1802[6] |
| 4 | Edward Harris | Fifth | April 27, 1802 | April 29, 1802 | May 3, 1802[5] | July 1, 1802[6] |
| 5 | Nicholas Battalle Fitzhugh | D.C. | November 21, 1803 | November 25, 1803 | November 25, 1803[5] | December 31, 1814 |
| 6 | William Cranch | D.C. | February 21, 1806 | February 24, 1806 | February 24, 1806[7] | September 1, 1855 |
| 7 | Allen Bowie Duckett | D.C. | February 28, 1806 | March 3, 1806 | March 17, 1806[5] | July 19, 1809 |
District Courts
| # | Judge | Court [Note 1] |
Nomination date |
Confirmation date |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Leonard Barnes | D.R.I. | January 6, 1802 | January 26, 1802 | April 30, 1801[3] | November 3, 1812 |
| 2 | William Stephens | D. Ga. | January 6, 1802 | January 26, 1802 | October 22, 1801[3] | October 13, 1818 |
| 3 | Henry Potter | D.N.C. | April 6, 1802 | April 7, 1802 | April 7, 1802 | December 20, 1857 |
| 4 | Charles Willing Byrd | D. Ohio | March 1, 1803 | March 3, 1803 | March 3, 1803 | August 25, 1828 |
| 5 | John Samuel Sherburne | D.N.H. | March 22, 1804 | March 24, 1804 | March 26, 1804 | August 2, 1830 |
| 6 | Dominic Augustin Hall | D. Orleans | November 30, 1804 | November 30, 1804 | December 11, 1804 | April 30, 1812 |
| 7 | Matthias B. Tallmadge | D.N.Y. | December 20, 1805 | December 23, 1805 | June 12, 1805[8] | April 9, 1814[9] |
| 8 | Pierpont Edwards | D. Conn. | February 21, 1806 | February 24, 1806 | February 24, 1806 | April 5, 1826 |
| 9 | James Houston | D. Md. | April 19, 1806 | April 21, 1806 | April 21, 1806 | June 8, 1819 |
See also
- Marbury v. Madison (1803)
- Stuart v. Laird (1803)
- United States v. More (1805)
Notes
References
- General
- "Judges of the United States Courts". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- Specific
- ^ All information on the names, terms of service, and details of appointment of federal judges is derived from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public-domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 13, 1806, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1806, and received commission on January 16, 1807.
- ^ a b c d e Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 6, 1802, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received commission on January 26, 1802.
- ^ a b Appointed as Chief Judge.
- ^ a b c d Appointed as an Associate Judge.
- ^ a b Appointed to a seat created by the Midnight Judges Act, abolished with the repeal of that act on July 1, 1802.
- ^ Appointed as Chief Judge after previously serving as an Associate Judge of the same court.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1805, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 23, 1805, and received commission on January 17, 1806.
- ^ Reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York on April 9, 1814.
Sources
This page was last edited on 20 September 2019, at 20:52