# United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maine
* District of Massachusetts
* District of New Hampshire
* District of Puerto Rico
* District of Rhode Island
The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, where the court usually sits for one week most months of the year; in one of July or August, it takes a summer break and does not sit. The First Circuit also sits for one week each March and November at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and occasionally sits at other locations within the circuit.
With six active judges and four active senior judges, the First Circuit has the fewest judges of any of the thirteen United States courts of appeals. It covers most of New England, as well as Puerto Rico. Since retiring from the United States Supreme Court, Associate Justice David Souter has occasionally sat on the First Circuit by designation.

## Current composition of the court

As of February 22, 2025:
| # | 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 |
| 32 | Chief Judge | David J. Barron | Boston, MA | 1967 | 2014–present | 2022–present | — | Obama |
| 33 | Circuit Judge | Gustavo Gelpí | San Juan, PR | 1965 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 34 | Circuit Judge | Lara Montecalvo | Providence, RI | 1974 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
| 35 | Circuit Judge | Julie Rikelman | Boston, MA | 1972 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 36 | Circuit Judge | Seth Aframe | Concord, NH | 1974 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 37 | Circuit Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Senior Circuit Judge | Levin H. Campbell | inactive | 1927 | 1972–1992 | 1983–1990 | 1992–present | Nixon |
| 27 | Senior Circuit Judge | Sandra Lynch | Boston, MA | 1946 | 1995–2022 | 2008–2015 | 2022–present | Clinton |
| 28 | Senior Circuit Judge | Kermit Lipez | Portland, ME | 1941 | 1998–2011 | — | 2011–present | Clinton |
| 29 | Senior Circuit Judge | Jeffrey R. Howard | Concord, NH | 1955 | 2002–2022 | 2015–2022 | 2022–present | G.W. Bush |
| 30 | Senior Circuit Judge | O. Rogeriee Thompson | Providence, RI | 1951 | 2010–2022 | — | 2022–present | Obama |
| 31 | Senior Circuit Judge | William J. Kayatta Jr. | Portland, ME | 1953 | 2013–2024 | — | 2024–present | Obama |

## Vacancies and pending nominations

| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| 3 | Portland, ME | William J. Kayatta Jr. | Senior status | October 31, 2024 | — | — |

## List of former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | LeBaron B. Colt | RI | 1846–1924 | 1891–1913 | — | — | Arthur / Operation of law | resignation |
| 2 | William LeBaron Putnam | ME | 1835–1918 | 1892–1917 | — | — | B. Harrison | retirement |
| 3 | Francis Cabot Lowell | MA | 1855–1911 | 1905–1911 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 4 | William Schofield | MA | 1857–1912 | 1911–1912 | — | — | Taft | death |
| 5 | Frederic Dodge | MA | 1847–1927 | 1912–1918 | — | — | Taft | resignation |
| 6 | George Hutchins Bingham | NH | 1864–1949 | 1913–1939 | — | 1939–1949 | Wilson | death |
| 7 | Charles Fletcher Johnson | ME | 1859–1930 | 1917–1929 | — | 1929–1930 | Wilson | death |
| 8 | George W. Anderson | MA | 1861–1938 | 1918–1931 | — | 1931–1938 | Wilson | death |
| 9 | Scott Wilson | ME | 1870–1942 | 1929–1940 | — | 1940–1942 | Hoover | death |
| 10 | James Madison Morton Jr. | MA | 1869–1940 | 1932–1939 | — | 1939–1940 | Hoover | death |
| 11 | Calvert Magruder | MA | 1893–1968 | 1939–1959 | 1948–1959 | 1959–1968 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 12 | John Christopher Mahoney | RI | 1882–1952 | 1940–1950 | — | 1950–1952 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 13 | Peter Woodbury | NH | 1899–1970 | 1941–1964 | 1959–1964 | 1964–1970 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 14 | John Patrick Hartigan | RI | 1887–1968 | 1950–1965 | — | 1965–1968 | Truman | death |
| 15 | Bailey Aldrich | MA | 1907–2002 | 1959–1972 | 1965–1972 | 1972–2002 | Eisenhower | death |
| 16 | Edward McEntee | RI | 1906–1981 | 1965–1976 | — | 1976–1981 | L. Johnson | death |
| 17 | Frank M. Coffin | ME | 1919–2009 | 1965–1989 | 1972–1983 | 1989–2009 | L. Johnson | death |
| 19 | Hugh H. Bownes | NH | 1920–2003 | 1977–1990 | — | 1990–2003 | Carter | death |
| 20 | Stephen Breyer | MA | 1938–present | 1980–1994 | 1990–1994 | — | Carter | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 21 | Juan R. Torruella | PR | 1933–2020 | 1984–2020 | 1994–2001 | — | Reagan | death |
| 22 | Bruce M. Selya | RI | 1934–2025 | 1986–2006 | — | 2006–2025 | Reagan | death |
| 23 | Conrad K. Cyr | ME | 1931–2016 | 1989–1997 | — | 1997–2016 | G.H.W. Bush | death |
| 24 | David Souter | NH | 1939–present | 1990 | — | — | G.H.W. Bush | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 25 | Michael Boudin | MA | 1939–present | 1992–2013 | 2001–2008 | 2013–2021 | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
| 26 | Norman H. Stahl | NH | 1931–2023 | 1992–2001 | — | 2001–2023 | G.H.W. Bush | death |
* ↑ Colt was appointed as a circuit judge for the First Circuit in 1884 by Chester A. Arthur. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

## Chief judges

Chief Judge :
| Magruder | 1948–1959 |
| Woodbury | 1959–1964 |
| Aldrich | 1965–1972 |
| Coffin | 1972–1983 |
| Campbell | 1983–1990 |
| Breyer | 1990–1994 |
| Torruella | 1994–2001 |
| Boudin | 2001–2008 |
| Lynch | 2008–2015 |
| Howard | 2015–2022 |
| Barron | 2022–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 six 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 First Circuit ||||
| Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891 ||||
| Colt | RI | 1891–1913 |
| Bingham | NH | 1913–1939 |
| Magruder | MA | 1939–1959 |
| Aldrich | MA | 1959–1972 |
| Campbell | MA | 1972–1992 |
| Boudin | MA | 1992–2013 |
| Barron | MA | 2014–present |
Seat 2 :
| Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891 ||||
| Putnam | ME | 1892–1917 |
| Johnson | ME | 1917–1929 |
| Wilson | ME | 1929–1940 |
| Woodbury | NH | 1941–1964 |
| McEntee | RI | 1965–1976 |
| Bownes | NH | 1977–1990 |
| Souter | NH | 1990 |
| Stahl | NH | 1992–2001 |
| Howard | NH | 2002–2022 |
| Aframe | NH | 2024–present |
Seat 3 :
| Established on January 21, 1905 by 33 Stat. 611 ||||
| Lowell | MA | 1905–1911 |
| Schofield | MA | 1911–1912 |
| Dodge | MA | 1912–1918 |
| Anderson | MA | 1918–1931 |
| Morton Jr. | MA | 1932–1939 |
| Mahoney | RI | 1940–1950 |
| Hartigan | RI | 1950–1965 |
| Coffin | ME | 1965–1989 |
| Cyr | ME | 1989–1997 |
| Lipez | ME | 1998–2011 |
| Kayatta Jr. | ME | 2013–2024 |
| vacant | ME | 2024–present |
Seat 4 :
| Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Breyer | MA | 1980–1994 |
| Lynch | MA | 1995–2022 |
| Rikelman | MA | 2023–present |
Seat 5 :
| Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 353 ||||
| Torruella | PR | 1984–2020 |
| Gelpí | PR | 2021–present |
Seat 6 :
| Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 353 ||||
| Selya | RI | 1986–2006 |
| Thompson | RI | 2010–2022 |
| Montecalvo | RI | 2022–present |

## Notable decisions

* West v. Randall (1820), one of the first decisions setting precedent for class action suits