# 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.

## Current composition of the court

As of December 4, 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 |
| 53 | Chief Judge | Diane S. Sykes | Milwaukee, WI | 1957 | 2004–present | 2020–present | — | G.W. Bush |
| 45 | Circuit Judge | Frank Easterbrook | Chicago, IL | 1948 | 1985–present | 2006–2013 | — | Reagan |
| 57 | Circuit Judge | Michael B. Brennan | Milwaukee, WI | 1963 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 58 | Circuit Judge | Michael Y. Scudder | Chicago, IL | 1971 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 59 | Circuit Judge | Amy St. Eve | Chicago, IL | 1965 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 60 | Circuit Judge | Thomas Kirsch | Hammond, IN | 1974 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 61 | Circuit Judge | Candace Jackson-Akiwumi | Chicago, IL | 1979 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 62 | Circuit Judge | John Z. Lee | Chicago, IL | 1968 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
| 63 | Circuit Judge | Doris Pryor | Indianapolis, IN | 1977 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
| 64 | Circuit Judge | Joshua P. Kolar | Hammond, IN | 1976 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 65 | Circuit Judge | Nancy L. Maldonado | Chicago, IL | 1975 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 38 | Senior Circuit Judge | William J. Bauer | inactive | 1926 | 1974–1994 | 1986–1993 | 1994–present | Ford |
| 46 | Senior Circuit Judge | Kenneth Francis Ripple | South Bend, IN | 1943 | 1985–2008 | — | 2008–present | Reagan |
| 49 | Senior Circuit Judge | Ilana Rovner | Chicago, IL | 1938 | 1992–2024 | — | 2024–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 55 | Senior Circuit Judge | David Hamilton | Bloomington, IN | 1957 | 2009–2022 | — | 2022–present | Obama |

## List of former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Walter Q. Gresham | IN | 1832–1895 | 1891–1893 | — | — | Arthur / Operation of law | resignation |
| 2 | William Allen Woods | IN | 1837–1901 | 1892–1901 | — | — | B. Harrison | death |
| 3 | James Graham Jenkins | WI | 1834–1921 | 1893–1905 | — | — | Cleveland | retirement |
| 4 | John William Showalter | IL | 1844–1898 | 1895–1898 | — | — | Cleveland | death |
| 5 | Peter S. Grosscup | IL | 1852–1921 | 1899–1911 | — | — | McKinley | resignation |
| 6 | Francis Elisha Baker | IN | 1860–1924 | 1902–1924 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 7 | William Henry Seaman | WI | 1842–1915 | 1905–1915 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 8 | Christian Cecil Kohlsaat | IL | 1844–1918 | 1905–1918 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 9 | Julian Mack | IL | 1866–1943 | 1911–1929 | — | — | | reassigned to the 6th Circuit |
| 10 | Samuel Alschuler | IL | 1859–1939 | 1915–1936 | — | 1936–1939 | Wilson | death |
| 11 | Evan Alfred Evans | WI | 1876–1948 | 1916–1948 | — | — | Wilson | death |
| 12 | George True Page | IL | 1859–1941 | 1919–1930 | — | 1930–1941 | Wilson | death |
| 13 | Albert Barnes Anderson | IN | 1857–1938 | 1925–1929 | — | 1929–1938 | Coolidge | death |
| 14 | William Morris Sparks | IN | 1872–1950 | 1929–1948 | 1948 | 1948–1950 | Hoover | death |
| 15 | Louis Fitzhenry | IL | 1870–1935 | 1933–1935 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 16 | James Earl Major | IL | 1887–1972 | 1937–1956 | 1948–1954 | 1956–1972 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 17 | Walter Emanuel Treanor | IN | 1883–1941 | 1937–1941 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 18 | Otto Kerner Sr. | IL | 1884–1952 | 1938–1952 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 19 | Sherman Minton | IN | 1890–1965 | 1941–1949 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 20 | F. Ryan Duffy | WI | 1888–1979 | 1949–1966 | 1954–1959 | 1966–1979 | Truman | death |
| 21 | Philip J. Finnegan | IL | 1886–1959 | 1949–1959 | — | — | Truman | death |
| 22 | Walter C. Lindley | IL | 1880–1958 | 1949–1958 | — | — | Truman | death |
| 23 | Hardress Nathaniel Swaim | IN | 1880–1957 | 1949–1957 | — | — | Truman | death |
| 24 | Elmer Jacob Schnackenberg | IL | 1889–1968 | 1953–1968 | — | — | Eisenhower | death |
| 25 | John Simpson Hastings | IN | 1898–1977 | 1957–1969 | 1959–1968 | 1969–1977 | Eisenhower | death |
| 26 | William Lynn Parkinson | IN | 1902–1959 | 1957–1959 | — | — | Eisenhower | death |
| 27 | Winfred George Knoch | IL | 1895–1983 | 1958–1967 | — | 1967–1983 | Eisenhower | death |
| 28 | Latham Castle | IL | 1900–1986 | 1959–1970 | 1968–1970 | 1970–1986 | Eisenhower | death |
| 29 | Roger Kiley | IL | 1900–1974 | 1961–1974 | — | 1974 | Kennedy | death |
| 30 | Luther Merritt Swygert | IN | 1905–1988 | 1961–1981 | 1970–1975 | 1981–1988 | Kennedy | death |
| 31 | Thomas E. Fairchild | WI | 1912–2007 | 1966–1981 | 1975–1981 | 1981–2007 | L. Johnson | death |
| 32 | Walter J. Cummings Jr. | IL | 1916–1999 | 1966–1999 | 1981–1986 | — | L. Johnson | death |
| 33 | Otto Kerner Jr. | IL | 1908–1976 | 1968–1974 | — | — | L. Johnson | resignation |
| 34 | Wilbur Frank Pell Jr. | IN | 1915–2000 | 1970–1984 | — | 1984–2000 | Nixon | death |
| 35 | John Paul Stevens | IL | 1920–2019 | 1970–1975 | — | — | Nixon | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 36 | Robert Arthur Sprecher | IL | 1917–1982 | 1971–1982 | — | — | Nixon | death |
| 37 | Philip Willis Tone | IL | 1923–2001 | 1974–1980 | — | — | Nixon | resignation |
| 39 | Harlington Wood Jr. | IL | 1920–2008 | 1976–1992 | — | 1992–2008 | Ford | death |
| 40 | Richard Dickson Cudahy | WI | 1926–2015 | 1979–1994 | — | 1994–2015 | Carter | death |
| 41 | Jesse E. Eschbach | IN | 1920–2005 | 1981–1985 | — | 1985–2005 | Reagan | death |
| 42 | Richard Posner | IL | 1939–present | 1981–2017 | 1993–2000 | — | Reagan | retirement |
| 43 | John Louis Coffey | WI | 1922–2012 | 1982–2004 | — | 2004–2012 | Reagan | death |
| 44 | Joel Flaum | IL | 1936–2024 | 1983–2020 | 2000–2006 | 2020–2024 | Reagan | death |
| 47 | Daniel Anthony Manion | IN | 1942–2024 | 1986–2007 | — | 2007–2024 | Reagan | death |
| 48 | Michael Stephen Kanne | IN | 1938–2022 | 1987–2022 | — | — | Reagan | death |
| 50 | Diane Wood | IL | 1950–present | 1995–2022 | 2013–2020 | 2022–2024 | Clinton | retirement |
| 51 | Terence T. Evans | WI | 1940–2011 | 1995–2010 | — | 2010–2011 | Clinton | death |
| 52 | Ann Claire Williams | IL | 1949–present | 1999–2017 | — | 2017–2018 | Clinton | retirement |
| 54 | John Daniel Tinder | IN | 1950–present | 2007–2015 | — | 2015 | G.W. Bush | retirement |
| 56 | Amy Coney Barrett | IN | 1972–present | 2017–2020 | — | — | Trump | 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–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–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 |