# United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

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:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western District of Arkansas
* Northern District of Iowa
* Southern District of Iowa
* District of Minnesota
* Eastern District of Missouri
* Western District of Missouri
* District of Nebraska
* District of North Dakota
* District of South Dakota
The court is composed of 11 active judges and is based primarily at the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri, and secondarily at the Warren E. Burger United States Courthouse in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is one of 13 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.

## Current composition of the court

As of September 12, 2024:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 55 | Chief Judge | Steven Colloton | Des Moines, IA | 1963 | 2003–present | 2024–present | — | G.W. Bush |
| 46 | Circuit Judge | James B. Loken | Minneapolis, MN | 1940 | 1990–present | 2003–2010 | — | G.H.W. Bush |
| 54 | Circuit Judge | Lavenski Smith | Little Rock, AR | 1958 | 2002–present | 2017–2024 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 56 | Circuit Judge | Raymond Gruender | Saint Louis, MO | 1963 | 2004–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 57 | Circuit Judge | Duane Benton | Kansas City, MO | 1950 | 2004–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 58 | Circuit Judge | Bobby Shepherd | El Dorado, AR | 1951 | 2006–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 59 | Circuit Judge | Jane L. Kelly | Cedar Rapids, IA | 1964 | 2013–present | — | — | Obama |
| 60 | Circuit Judge | Ralph R. Erickson | Fargo, ND | 1959 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
| 61 | Circuit Judge | L. Steven Grasz | Omaha, NE | 1961 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 62 | Circuit Judge | David Stras | Minneapolis, MN | 1974 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 63 | Circuit Judge | Jonathan A. Kobes | Sioux Falls, SD | 1974 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 42 | Senior Circuit Judge | Pasco Bowman II | inactive | 1933 | 1983–2003 | 1998–1999 | 2003–present | Reagan |
| 43 | Senior Circuit Judge | Roger Leland Wollman | inactive | 1934 | 1985–2018 | 1999–2002 | 2018–present | Reagan |
| 45 | Senior Circuit Judge | C. Arlen Beam | inactive | 1930 | 1987–2001 | — | 2001–present | Reagan |
| 47 | Senior Circuit Judge | David R. Hansen | inactive | 1938 | 1991–2003 | 2002–2003 | 2003–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 48 | Senior Circuit Judge | Morris S. Arnold | Little Rock, AR | 1941 | 1992–2006 | — | 2006–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 53 | Senior Circuit Judge | Michael Joseph Melloy | inactive | 1948 | 2002–2013 | — | 2013–present | G.W. Bush |

## List of former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Henry Clay Caldwell | AR | 1832–1915 | 1891–1903 | — | — | B. Harrison / Operation of law | retirement |
| 2 | Walter Henry Sanborn | MN | 1845–1928 | 1892–1928 | — | — | B. Harrison | death |
| 3 | Amos Madden Thayer | MO | 1841–1905 | 1894–1905 | — | — | Cleveland | death |
| 4 | Willis Van Devanter | WY | 1859–1941 | 1903–1910 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 5 | William Cather Hook | KS | 1857–1921 | 1903–1921 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 6 | Elmer Bragg Adams | MO | 1842–1916 | 1905–1916 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 7 | John Emmett Carland | SD | 1853–1922 | 1911–1922 | — | — | | death |
| 8 | Walter I. Smith | IA | 1862–1922 | 1911–1922 | — | — | Taft | death |
| 9 | Kimbrough Stone | MO | 1875–1958 | 1916–1947 | — | 1947–1958 | Wilson | death |
| 10 | Robert E. Lewis | CO | 1857–1941 | 1921–1929 | — | — | Harding | reassignment to 10th Cir. |
| 11 | William Squire Kenyon | IA | 1869–1933 | 1922–1933 | — | — | Harding | death |
| 12 | Wilbur F. Booth | MN | 1861–1944 | 1925–1932 | — | 1932–1944 | Coolidge | death |
| 13 | Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh | MO | 1862–1944 | 1925–1933 | — | 1933–1944 | Coolidge | death |
| 14 | John Hazelton Cotteral | OK | 1864–1933 | 1928–1929 | — | — | Coolidge | reassignment to 10th Cir. |
| 15 | Archibald K. Gardner | SD | 1867–1962 | 1929–1960 | 1948–1959 | 1960–1962 | Hoover | death |
| 16 | John B. Sanborn Jr. | MN | 1883–1964 | 1932–1958 | — | 1959–1964 | Hoover | death |
| 17 | Joseph William Woodrough | NE | 1873–1977 | 1933–1961 | — | 1961–1977 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 18 | Charles Breckenridge Faris | MO | 1864–1938 | 1935 | — | 1935–1938 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 19 | Seth Thomas | IA | 1873–1962 | 1935–1954 | — | 1954–1962 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 20 | Harvey M. Johnsen | NE | 1895–1975 | 1940–1965 | 1959–1965 | 1965–1975 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 21 | Walter Garrett Riddick | AR | 1883–1953 | 1941–1953 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 22 | John Caskie Collet | MO | 1898–1955 | 1947–1955 | — | — | Truman | death |
| 23 | Charles Joseph Vogel | ND | 1898–1980 | 1954–1968 | 1965–1968 | 1968–1980 | Eisenhower | death |
| 24 | Martin Donald Van Oosterhout | IA | 1900–1979 | 1954–1971 | 1968–1970 | 1971–1979 | Eisenhower | death |
| 25 | Charles Evans Whittaker | MO | 1901–1973 | 1956–1957 | — | — | Eisenhower | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 26 | Marion Charles Matthes | MO | 1906–1980 | 1958–1973 | 1970–1973 | 1973–1980 | Eisenhower | death |
| 27 | Harry Blackmun | MN | 1908–1999 | 1959–1970 | — | — | Eisenhower | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 28 | Albert Alphonso Ridge | MO | 1898–1967 | 1961–1965 | — | 1965–1967 | Kennedy | death |
| 29 | Pat Mehaffy | AR | 1904–1981 | 1963–1974 | 1973–1974 | 1974–1981 | Kennedy | death |
| 30 | Floyd Robert Gibson | MO | 1910–2001 | 1965–1979 | 1974–1979 | 1979–2001 | L. Johnson | death |
| 31 | Donald P. Lay | MN | 1926–2007 | 1966–1992 | 1979–1992 | 1992–2007 | L. Johnson | death |
| 32 | Gerald Heaney | MN | 1918–2010 | 1966–1988 | — | 1988–2006 | L. Johnson | retirement |
| 33 | Myron H. Bright | ND | 1919–2016 | 1968–1985 | — | 1985–2016 | L. Johnson | death |
| 34 | Donald Roe Ross | NE | 1922–2013 | 1970–1987 | — | 1987–2013 | Nixon | death |
| 35 | Roy Laverne Stephenson | IA | 1917–1982 | 1971–1982 | — | 1982–1982 | Nixon | death |
| 36 | William H. Webster | MO | 1924–present | 1973–1978 | — | — | Nixon | resignation |
| 37 | J. Smith Henley | AR | 1917–1997 | 1975–1982 | — | 1982–1997 | Ford | death |
| 38 | Theodore McMillian | MO | 1919–2006 | 1978–2003 | — | 2003–2006 | Carter | death |
| 39 | Richard S. Arnold | AR | 1936–2004 | 1980–2001 | 1992–1998 | 2001–2004 | Carter | death |
| 40 | John R. Gibson | MO | 1925–2014 | 1982–1994 | — | 1994–2014 | Reagan | death |
| 41 | George Gardner Fagg | IA | 1934–2015 | 1982–1999 | — | 1999–2015 | Reagan | death |
| 44 | Frank J. Magill | ND | 1927–2013 | 1986–1997 | — | 1997–2013 | Reagan | death |
| 49 | Diana E. Murphy | MN | 1934–2018 | 1994–2016 | — | 2016–2018 | Clinton | death |
| 50 | John David Kelly | ND | 1934–1998 | 1998 | — | — | Clinton | death |
| 51 | Kermit Edward Bye | ND | 1937–2021 | 2000–2015 | — | 2015–2016 | Clinton | retirement |
| 52 | William J. Riley | NE | 1947–2023 | 2001–2017 | 2010–2017 | 2017–2023 | G.W. Bush | death |

## Chief judges

Chief Judge :
| Gardner | 1948–1959 |
| Johnsen | 1959–1965 |
| Vogel | 1965–1968 |
| Van Oosterhout | 1968–1970 |
| Matthes | 1970–1973 |
| Mehaffy | 1973–1974 |
| Gibson | 1974–1979 |
| Lay | 1979–1992 |
| R. Arnold | 1992–1998 |
| Bowman II | 1998–1999 |
| Wollman | 1999–2002 |
| Hansen | 2002–2003 |
| Loken | 2003–2010 |
| Riley | 2010–2017 |
| L. Smith | 2017–2024 |
| Colloton | 2024–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 had thirteen seats for active judges. Two of these seats were reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, leaving a eleven-seat court. The seats are 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 Eighth Circuit |||
| Reassigned to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891 |||
| Caldwell | AR | 1891–1903 |
| Hook | KS | 1903–1921 |
| Lewis | CO | 1921–1929 |
| Reassigned on February 28, 1929, to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit by 45 Stat. 1346 |||
Seat 2 :
| Established on June 16, 1891, by the Judiciary Act of 1891 |||
| W. Sanborn | MN | 1892–1928 |
| Cotteral | OK | 1928–1929 |
| Reassigned on February 28, 1929, to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit by 45 Stat. 1346 |||
Seat 3 :
| Established on July 23, 1894, by 28 Stat. 115 ||||
| Thayer | MO | 1894–1905 |
| Adams | MO | 1905–1916 |
| Stone | MO | 1916–1947 |
| Collet | MO | 1947–1955 |
| Whittaker | MO | 1956–1957 |
| Matthes | MO | 1958–1973 |
| Webster | MO | 1973–1978 |
| McMillian | MO | 1978–2003 |
| Benton | MO | 2004–present |
Seat 4 :
| Established on January 31, 1903, by 32 Stat. 791 ||||
| Van Devanter | WY | 1903–1910 |
| W. Smith | IA | 1911–1922 |
| Kenyon | IA | 1922–1933 |
| Faris | MO | 1935 |
| Thomas | IA | 1936–1954 |
| Van Oosterhout | IA | 1954–1971 |
| Stephenson | IA | 1971–1982 |
| Fagg | IA | 1982–1999 |
| Melloy | IA | 2002–2013 |
| J.L. Kelly | IA | 2013–present |
Seat 5 :
| Established on March 3, 1925, by 43 Stat. 1116 ||||
| Booth | MN | 1925–1932 |
| J. Sanborn, Jr. | MN | 1932–1959 |
| Blackmun | MN | 1959–1970 |
| Ross | NE | 1970–1987 |
| Beam | NE | 1987–2001 |
| Riley | NE | 2001–2017 |
| Grasz | NE | 2018–present |
Seat 6 :
| Established on March 3, 1925, by 43 Stat. 1116 ||||
| Van Valkenburgh | MO | 1925–1933 |
| Woodrough | NE | 1933–1961 |
| Mehaffy | AR | 1963–1974 |
| Henley | AR | 1975–1982 |
| Bowman II | MO | 1983–2003 |
| Gruender | MO | 2004–present |
Seat 7 :
| Established on February 28, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1346 ||||
| Gardner | SD | 1929–1960 |
| Ridge | MO | 1961–1965 |
| F. Gibson | MO | 1965–1979 |
| J. Gibson | MO | 1982–1994 |
| Murphy | MN | 1994–2016 |
| Stras | MN | 2018–present |
Seat 8 :
| Established on May 24, 1940, by 54 Stat. 219 ||||
| Johnsen | NE | 1940–1965 |
| Lay | MN | 1966–1992 |
| M. Arnold | AR | 1992–2006 |
| Shepherd | AR | 2006–present |
Seat 9 :
| Established on May 24, 1940, by 54 Stat. 219 ||||
| Riddick | AR | 1941–1953 |
| Vogel | ND | 1954–1968 |
| Bright | ND | 1968–1985 |
| Magill | ND | 1986–1997 |
| J.D. Kelly | ND | 1998 |
| Bye | ND | 2000–2015 |
| Erickson | ND | 2017–present |
Seat 10 :
| Established on March 18, 1966, by 80 Stat. 75 ||||
| Heaney | MN | 1966–1988 |
| Loken | MN | 1990–present |
Seat 11 :
| Established on October 20, 1978, by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| R. Arnold | AR | 1980–2001 |
| L. Smith | AR | 2002–present |
Seat 12 :
| Established on July 10, 1984, by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Wollman | SD | 1985–2018 |
| Kobes | SD | 2018–present |
Seat 13 :
| Established on December 1, 1990, by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Hansen | IA | 1991–2003 |
| Colloton | IA | 2003–present |