U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Characteristics
Released: 2017-08-01T00:00:00

Introduction

This report provides a profile of select demographic and background characteristics of active judges currently serving on the U.S. courts of appeals and U.S. district courts. Specifically, for active circuit and district court judges serving as of June 1, 2017, this report provides a statistical breakdown of these judges' gender; race; gender and race, combined; current age; age at the time of their appointment to the bench; length of service; and professional occupation or position at the time of their appointment. A statistical breakdown of these select demographic and background characteristics is provided first for active U.S. circuit court judges, followed by the same information for active U.S. district court judges.

U.S. Circuit Courts

Circuit courts take appeals from federal district court decisions and are also empowered to review the decisions of many administrative agencies. The court of appeals decision "usually will be the final word in [a] case, unless it sends the case back to the trial court for additional proceedings, or the parties ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case" (the Supreme Court, though, is not required to grant review of the circuit court's decision).

Altogether, 179 circuit court judgeships are currently authorized by law. These judgeships are distributed across 13 judicial circuits, 12 of which are geographic in nature (i.e., regional circuits comprised of specific groups of states). At present, among the 12 regional circuits, the First Circuit (comprised of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island) has the fewest number of authorized judgeships, with 6, while the Ninth Circuit (comprised of California, 8 other western states, and 2 U.S. territories) has the greatest number of judgeships, with 29.

U.S. District Courts

U.S. district courts are the federal trial courts of general jurisdiction. Altogether, 673 U.S. district court judgeships, as well as 4 territorial district court judgeships, are currently authorized by law.

The 673 U.S. district court judgeships are distributed across 91 district courts (89 are located in the 50 states, plus one court in the District of Columbia, and one in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico). Congress has authorized between 1 and 28 judgeships for each district court. The Eastern District of Oklahoma has 1 judgeship (the fewest among Article III district courts), while the Southern District of New York and Central District of California each have 28 judgeships (the most among Article III district courts).

Congressional Interest in Demographic and Other Background Characteristics of Judges

The demographic characteristics and professional experiences of U.S. circuit and district court judges are of ongoing interest to Congress. Such interest is demonstrated especially at the time circuit and district court nominations are considered by the Senate. For example, floor statements by Senators in support of circuit or district court nominees frequently emphasize the particular demographic characteristics of nominees that would enhance the diversity of the federal judiciary, as well as emphasize judicial nominees' professional qualifications.

Data Caveats

The statistics included in this report are based upon the demographic and background characteristics of individuals serving, as of June 1, 2017, as circuit or district court judges, and, consequently, do not include a President's circuit or district court appointees who are no longer serving as active judges. Consequently, unless otherwise noted, the statistics reported below do not reflect all of the circuit or district court appointments made by a President during his tenure in office.

Additionally, the statistics presented below do not include those individuals whose nominations to circuit or district court judgeships were unsuccessful or whose nominations are currently pending in the Senate.

As of June 1, 2017, there were 160 active circuit court judges and 19 vacant circuit court judgeships (for a total of 179 circuit court judgeships). The denominator used for the statistics presented throughout this report, unless otherwise noted, is based upon the number of active circuit court judges (160) and does not include, as of this writing, the 19 vacant judgeships. Note that, because many circuit courts have a relatively small number of authorized judgeships, small changes in the demographic characteristics of the particular judges serving on an appellate court can produce changes in the statistics reported below. Such changes might occur, for example, as vacancies that existed on June 1, 2017, are filled by new appointees.

Similarly, as of June 1, 2017, there were 570 active district court judges and 103 vacant district court judgeships (for a total of 673 district court judgeships). The denominator used for the statistics presented throughout this report, unless otherwise noted, is based upon the number of active district court judges (570) and does not include, as of this writing, the 103 vacant judgeships.

U.S. Circuit Court Judges

This section provides statistics and information related to select demographic characteristics and professional experiences of active U.S. circuit court judges.

Gender

As of June 1, 2017, a total of 59 women were serving as U.S. circuit court judges, representing 37% of all active circuit court judges (men comprised 63%).

As of June 1, 2017, there were active female judges serving on each of the nation's 13 appellate courts, with the greatest number of women serving on the Ninth Circuit (11), and the fewest number on the Eighth Circuit (1). In terms of the percentage of active judges in each circuit who are women, the Sixth Circuit has the highest percentage (with women being 7, or 47%, of 15 active judges), while the Eighth Circuit has the lowest percentage (with women being 1, or 11%, of 9 active judges).

Figure 1 shows the number of active female U.S. circuit court judges serving on the bench during each calendar year from 1977 to 2017. Overall, during this period, the number of female circuit court judges increased from 1 to 59. The number of female circuit court judges serving, thus, far, in 2017 (59 judges) is slightly lower than the all-time high number of female judges (61 judges) that were serving in 2015 (also shown in Figure 1 ), during the seventh year of the Obama presidency.

Race21

Of the 160 active U.S. circuit court judges serving on June 1, 2017, 120 (75%) were white, 21 (13%) were African American, 14 (9%) were Hispanic, and 5 (3%) were Asian American.

As shown by Figure 2 , as of June 1, 2017, there were African American judges serving on 12 of the nation's 13 appellate courts (all except for the Federal Circuit); Hispanic judges serving on 9 appellate courts; and Asian American judges serving on 5 appellate courts.

As of June 1, 2017, there were two circuit courts, the Ninth and Second, with at least one active judge from each of the three groups (i.e., there was as at least one African American, Hispanic, and Asian American judge serving on the court).

As of June 1, 2017, there were six U.S. circuit courts with more than one active African American judge (the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and D.C. Circuits). Each of the other circuits (with the exception of the Federal Circuit) had a single active African American judge, including the Eleventh Circuit (comprised of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida), a circuit with the largest African American population in the country. The greatest number of active African American judges were serving on the Fourth, Sixth, and D.C. Circuits, each with three judges.

As of June 1, 2017, there were two U.S. circuit courts with more than one active Hispanic judge (the Ninth and Federal Circuits). The greatest number of active Hispanic judges were serving on the Ninth Circuit (with five). As of June 1, 2017, there were no circuit courts with active Asian American judges on which more than one active Asian American judge was serving.

Figure 3 shows the number of active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American U.S. circuit court judges serving on the bench during each calendar year from 1977 to 2017. Overall, during this period, the number of African American circuit court judges increased from 4 to 21; the number of Hispanic circuit court judges increased from 0 to 14; and the number of Asian American circuit court judges increased from 2 to 5.

Gender and Race

This section provides a percentage breakdown of the 160 active U.S. circuit court judges by gender and race. As shown by Figure 4 , white men represent 45.6% of federal appellate court judges; white women represent 29.4%; African American men represent 8.7%; African American women represent 4.4%; Hispanic men represent 6.2%; Hispanic women represent 2.5%; Asian American men represent 2.5%; and Asian American women represent 0.6%.

Nontraditional Judges

As defined previously by CRS, "nontraditional" judges are those judges belonging to certain demographic groups from which individuals, historically, were not often, if ever, selected for federal judgeships. Consequently, this group includes white women, non-white women, and non-white men. For example, of the 74 white women to ever serve as U.S. circuit court judges, 72 (or 97%) were appointed to the bench between 1977 and 2017 (i.e., 2 were appointed prior to 1977). Of the 14 non-white women to ever serve as circuit court judges, all 14 were appointed to the bench at some point between 1977 and 2017. Of the 55 non-white men to ever serve as a circuit court judge, 49 (or 89%) were appointed to the bench between 1977 and 2017. In contrast, of the 600 white men to ever serve as U.S. circuit court judges, 232 (or 39%) were appointed to the bench between 1977 and 2017.

CRS noted previously that, during the Obama presidency, nontraditional judges for the first time in judicial history comprised over 50% of active federal appellate court judges (this occurred with the appointment of Pamela Harris of Maryland to the Fourth Circuit). As of June 1, 2017, this remains the case among active U.S. circuit court judges—specifically, 87, or 54.4%, of 160 active U.S. circuit court judges are white women, non-white women, or non-white men.

The change in the gender and racial composition of those serving as U.S. circuit court judges is due, in part, to the effort by President Obama and many Senators to select and support nontraditional nominees for vacant judgeships. So, for example, as shown by Figure 5 , President Obama's nontraditional circuit court appointees represent a larger percentage of all active nontraditional appellate court judges on the bench (42.5%) than do his appointees among all active appellate court judges (33.1%).

The change in the gender and racial composition of those serving as circuit court judges is further explained by Figure 6 —which shows, across presidencies, the percentage breakdown across each of the four groups for all circuit court judges appointed by each President (i.e., the percentages reflect all of a President's appointees and not just those individuals who are currently serving as active judges). So, for example, of all the appellate court judges appointed by President Carter, 61.0% were white men; 18.6% were white women; 18.6% were non-white men; and 1.7% were non-white women.

Notably, as shown by Figure 6 , President Obama was the first President for whom nontraditional nominees (i.e., white women, non-white women, and non-white men) comprised a majority of all those he appointed as federal appellate court judges. Specifically, nearly 70% of President Obama's circuit court nominees who were confirmed by the Senate were nontraditional nominees. Consequently, the Obama presidency was the first time a majority or plurality of any President's appellate court appointees were not white men; instead, a plurality (34.5%) of President Obama's appointees to the nation's federal appellate courts were white women (compared to 30.9% of his appointees being white men).

Current Age

The average age, as of June 1, 2017, of active U.S. circuit court judges is 64.7 years (the median age is 65.3).

Of the 160 active circuit court judges:

2 (1.2%) are 40-44 years old 8 (5.0%) are 45-49 years old 9 (11.9%) are 50-54 years old 21 (13.1%) are 55-59 years old 29 (18.1%) are 60-64 years old 39 (24.4%) are 65-69 years old 42 (26.3%) are 70 years of age or older

Of the 160 active judges, a plurality (26.3%) are 70 years or older. Combining the two age groups with the greatest number of active judges (the 65-69 and 70+ groups) reveals that 81 (or 50.7%) of all active federal appellate court judges are 65 years or older.

Age at Time of Appointment

The average age at the time appointment to the bench of active U.S. circuit court judges was 50.6 (the median age was 50.4).

Of the 160 active circuit court judges,

5 (3.1%) were appointed between the ages of 35 and 39, 26 (16.2%) were appointed between the ages of 40 and 44, 40 (25.0%) were appointed between the ages of 45 and 49, 54 (33.7%) were appointed between the ages of 50 and 54, 27 (16.9%) were appointed between the ages of 55 and 59, 7 (4.4%) were appointed between the ages of 60 and 64, and 1 (0.6%) was appointed between the ages of 65 and 69.

Altogether, 94 (or 58.7%) of all active federal appellate court judges were appointed between the ages of 45 and 54.

Of the 20 active circuit court judges who were appointed at the youngest ages (each under the age of 44 at the time of appointment) of all 160 active judges, 16 (or 80%) were appointed by Republican Presidents—including the three youngest at the time of appointment being appointed by President Reagan. In contrast, of the 20 active circuit court judges who were appointed at the oldest ages (each over the age of 57 at the time of appointment), 15 (or 75%) were appointed by Democratic Presidents.

The average and median difference, however, in the age at the time of appointment between Democratic and Republican appointees is relatively smaller among the entire group of 160 active circuit court judges. For Democratic appointees, the average age at the time of appointment was 51.8 years (with a median age of 50.8 years). For Republican appointees, the average age at the time of appointment was 49.0 years (with a median age of 49.6 years).

Length of Service

The length of service for each active judge is calculated as the number of years from when the judge received his or her commission to June 1, 2017 (which, for the purposes of this report, is the cut-off date used for this calculation). So, for example, the length of service for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat (the longest-serving circuit court judge) is calculated as 41.6 years (the period of time from November 21, 1975, when Judge Tjoflat received his commission after his confirmation by the Senate, to June 1, 2017).

The average length of service of active U.S. circuit court judges is 14.1 years (while the median, represented by the reference line in Figure 7 , is 12.9 years).

As expected, and as shown by the figure, there is a positive relationship between a judge's current age and the length of time he or she has served as a judge. Figure 7 also shows the clustering of each President's cohort of appointed circuit court nominees by length of service and current age.

Overall, of 160 active circuit court judges as of June 1, 2017, President Obama appointed a plurality (33.0%) of circuit court judges with a median length of service of 5.0 years and a median age of 56.9 years, followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (29.4% of active judges with a median length of service of 12.9 years and median age of 64.4 years); Clinton (22.5% of active judges with a median length of service of 19.4 years and a median age of 69.2 years; Reagan (7.5% of active judges with a median length of service of 32.4 years and a median age of 78.5 years); and G.H.W. Bush (5.6% of active judges with a median length of service of 25.5 years and a median age of 76.2 years). The remaining judges were appointed by Presidents Ford, Carter, and Trump (each with one).

Occupation at Time of Appointment

This section provides data related to the occupation or professional background of active U.S. circuit court judges at the time of their appointment to the bench.

As shown by Figure 8 , most active U.S. circuit court judges were either serving as U.S. district court judges or working as attorneys in private practice immediately prior to being appointed to the bench (each accounting for 26.9% of active judges). Altogether, 53.8% of all active circuit court judges were either serving as district court judges or attorneys in private practice immediately prior to being appointed to the bench.

The third most common occupation or position immediately prior to appointment was working as an official or staff member in the executive branch of the federal government. These positions include several types of positions with the U.S. Department of Justice (e.g., U.S. attorney; assistant U.S. attorney; assistant attorney general) as well as positions in other executive branch departments or agencies (e.g., deputy general counsel in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; deputy general counsel in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office).

Figure 8 also provides summary statistics taking into account whether active circuit court judges, immediately prior to being appointed to the bench, were serving as judges (either at the federal or state level) or in the executive or legislative branch of government (federal or state level). Nearly half of active U.S. circuit court judges (49.4%) were serving as a federal or state judge, while 13.7% were serving as an official or staff in the executive or legislative branch at the federal or state level. Altogether, 63.1% of active U.S. circuit court judges were serving in either federal or state government immediately prior to being appointed to the bench.

U.S. District Court Judges

This section provides statistics and information related to select demographic characteristics and professional experiences of active U.S. district court judges.

Gender

As of June 1, 2017, a total of 194 women were serving as U.S. district court judges, representing 34% of all active district court judges (men comprised 66%).

As of June 1, 2017, there were active female judges serving on 80, or 88%, of the nation's 91 U.S. district courts, with the greatest number of women serving as judges for the Southern District of New York (10, or 38%, of 26 active judges) and the Eastern District of New York (8, or 73%, of 11 active judges), and a single woman serving as an active judge on 37 U.S. district courts (representing 29% of the 129 active judges serving on the 37 district courts).

Figure 9 shows the number of active female U.S. district court judges serving on the bench during each calendar year from 1977 to 2017. Overall, during this period, the number of female district court judges increased from 5 to 194. The number of female district court judges serving, thus far, in 2017 (194 judges) is lower than the all-time high number of female judges (219) that were serving in 2014 (also shown in Figure 9 ), during the sixth year of the Obama presidency.

Race63

Of the 570 active U.S. district court judges serving on June 1, 2017, 406 (71%) were white, 81 (14%) were African American, 58 (10%) were Hispanic, 16 (3%) were Asian American, 1 (0.2%) was American Indian, and 8 (1.4%) were multiracial.

As shown by Figure 10 , as of June 1, 2017, there were African American judges serving on 44, or 48%, of the nation's 91 U.S. district courts; Hispanic judges serving on 24 (26%) of the courts; and Asian American judges serving on 12 (13%) of the courts.

As of June 1, 2017, there were 7 U.S. district courts with at least one active judge from each of the three groups (i.e., there was as at least one active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American judge serving on the court): the Northern District of California; Eastern District of California; Southern District of California; Northern District of Illinois; District of Nevada; Eastern District of New York; and Southern District of New York.

As of June 1, 2017, of the 44 district courts with active African American judges, 21 (48%) had more than one active African American judge (with the greatest number serving on U.S. district courts for the District of Columbia, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of Missouri, and Southern District of New York, each with 4 judges).

Each of the remaining 23 district courts had a single active African American judge. As calculated previously by CRS, of the 10 judicial districts with the greatest percentage of population that is African American (each with an African American population that is over 33%), there are no African Americans currently serving as active U.S. district court judges in 4 of the districts: the Southern District of Alabama; Middle District of Alabama; Southern District of Georgia; and the Western District of Louisiana.

As of June 1, 2017, of the 24 district courts with active Hispanic judges, 13 (54%) had more than one active Hispanic judge (with the greatest number serving on U.S. district courts for the Southern District of Texas and Western District of Texas, each with 7 judges). Altogether, 40 (69%) of the 58 active Hispanic judges were serving, as of June 1, 2017, on U.S. district courts in California (10 judges), Florida (6), New Mexico (4), Texas (14), or Puerto Rico (6).

As of June 1, 2017, of the 12 district courts with active Asian American judges, 4 (33%) had more than one active Asian American judge (with the greatest number serving on U.S. district courts for the Northern District of California and Northern District of Illinois, each with 3 judges). Altogether, 12 (75%) of the 16 active Asian American judges were serving, as of June 1, 2017, on U.S. district courts in California (6 judges), Illinois (3), or New York (3).

Figure 11 shows the number of active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American U.S. district court judges serving on the bench during each calendar year from 1977 to 2017. Overall, during this period, the number of African American district court judges increased from 16 to 85; the number of Hispanic district court judges increased from 5 to 64; and the number of Asian American district court judges increased from 3 to 20.

The current number of active African American district court judges, 85, is lower than the all-time high number of African American judges (94) that were serving in 2014 (also shown in Figure 11 ), during the sixth year of the Obama presidency.

The current number of active Hispanic circuit court judges, 64, is lower than the all-time high number of Hispanic judges (67) that were serving in 2016, during the eighth year of the Obama presidency.

The current number of active Asian American district court judges, 20, is lower than the all-time high number of Asian American judges (22) that were serving in 2014 and 2015, during the sixth and seventh years of the Obama presidency.

Gender and Race

This section provides a percentage breakdown of the 570 active U.S. district court judges by gender and race. As shown by Figure 12 , white men represent 49.3% of federal district court judges; white women represent 21.9%; African American men represent 8.1%; African American women represent 6.1%; Hispanic men represent 6.5%; Hispanic women represent 3.7%; Asian American men represent 1.6%; and Asian American women represent 1.2%. Additionally, there is one American Indian female U.S. district court judge and eight multiracial district court judges (four men and four women).

Nontraditional Judges

As discussed above, "nontraditional" judges are those belonging to certain demographic groups from which individuals, historically, were not often, if ever, selected for federal judgeships. Consequently, this group includes white women, non-white women, and non-white men. So, for example, of the 247 white women to ever serve as U.S. district court judges, 242 (or 98%) were appointed to the bench between 1977 and 2016 (i.e., 5 were appointed prior to 1977). Of the 93 non-white women to ever serve as a district court judge, 92 (or 99%) were appointed to the bench at some point between 1977 and 2016. And of the 240 non-white men to ever serve as a district court judge, 213 (or 89%) were appointed to the bench between 1977 and 2016. In contrast, of the 2,334 white men to ever serve as U.S. district court judges, 928 (or 40%) were appointed to the bench between 1977 and 2016.

As with circuit court appointees during the Obama presidency, nontraditional judges for the first time in judicial history comprised over 50% of active federal district court judges. As of June 1, 2017, this remains the case among active U.S. district court judges—specifically, 289, or 51%, of 570 active U.S. district court judges are white women, non-white women, or non-white men.

The change in the gender and racial composition of those serving as U.S. district court judges is due, in part, to the effort by President Obama and many Senators to select and support nontraditional nominees for vacant judgeships. So, for example, as shown by Figure 13 , President Obama's nontraditional district court appointees represent a larger percentage of all active nontraditional district court judges on the bench (56.1%) than do his appointees among all active district court judges (46.0%).

The change in the gender and racial composition of those serving as district court judges is further explained by Figure 14 —which shows, across presidencies, the percentage breakdown across each of the four groups for all district court judges appointed by each President (i.e., the percentages reflect all of a President's appointees and not just those individuals who are currently serving as active judges). So, for example, of all the district court judges appointed by President Carter, 67% were white men; 11% were white women; 19% were non-white men; and 3% were non-white women.

Notably, as shown by the figure (and as with his circuit court appointees), President Obama was the first President for whom nontraditional nominees (i.e., white women, non-white women, and non-white men) comprised a majority of all those he appointed as U.S. district court judges. Specifically, 62% of President Obama's district court nominees who were confirmed by the Senate were nontraditional nominees. While a plurality of President Obama's district court appointees were white men (38.1%), a greater percentage of his district court appointees were white women, non-white women, and non-white men (25.4%, 15.7%, and 20.9%, respectively) than any of his predecessors.

Another notable change during the Obama presidency was the increase in the number of non-white women who were appointed as district court judges. While this group represented the smallest percentage (15.7%) of the four groups (i.e., white men, white women, non-white men, and non-white women) appointed by President Obama, he nonetheless appointed 42 (or 45%) of the 93 non-white women to ever serve as U.S. district court judges. Among Asian American women specifically, President Obama appointed 7 (78%) of 9 to ever serve as federal district court judges. He also appointed each of the four multiracial women to ever serve as district court judges.

Current Age

The average age, as of June 1, 2017, of active U.S. district court judges is 60.8 years (the median age is 61.3).

Of the 570 active district court judges:

8 (1.4%) are 40-44 years old 44 (7.7%) are 45-49 years old 96 (16.8%) are 50-54 years old 100 (17.5%) are 55-59 years old 168 (29.5%) are 60-64 years old 101 (17.7%) are 65-69 years old 53 (9.3%) are 70 years of age or older

Of the 570 active judges, a plurality (29.5%) are 60-64 years old. Combining the two age groups with the greatest number of active judges (the 60-64 and 65-69 age groups) reveals that 269 (or 47.2%) of all active federal district court judges are between the ages of 60 and 69.

Age at Time of Appointment

The average age at the time appointment to the bench of active U.S. district court judges was 50.0 (the median age was 49.8).

Of the 570 active district court judges:

2 (0.3%) were appointed under the age of 35 20 (3.5%) were appointed between the ages of 35 and 39 108 (18.9%) were appointed between the ages of 40 and 44 163 (28.6%) were appointed between the ages of 45 and 49 147 (25.8%) were appointed between the ages of 50 and 54 93 (16.3%) were appointed between the ages of 55 and 59 36 (6.3%) were appointed between the ages of 60 and 64 1 (0.2%) was appointed between the ages of 65 and 69

Altogether, 310 (or 54.4%) of all active federal district court judges were appointed between the ages of 45 and 54.

Of the 20 active district court judges who were appointed at the youngest ages (each under the age of 40 at the time of appointment) of all 570 active judges, 13 (or 65%) were appointed by Republican Presidents—including the two youngest at the time of appointment being appointed by President Reagan. In contrast, of the 20 active circuit court judges who were appointed at the oldest ages (each over the age of 61 at the time of appointment), 13 (or 65%) were appointed by Democratic Presidents.

The average and median differences, though, in the age at the time of appointment between Democratic and Republican appointees is relatively small among the entire group of 570 active district court judges. For Democratic appointees, the average age at the time of appointment was 50.7 years (with a median age of 50.3 years). For Republican appointees, the average age at the time of appointment was 49.0 years (with a median age of 49.2 years).

Length of Service

The length of service for each active judge is calculated as the number of years from when the judge received his or her commission to June 1, 2017 (which, for the purposes of this report, is the cut-off date used for this calculation). So, for example, the length of service for Judge Manuel L. Real (the longest-serving district court judge) is calculated as 50.6 years (the period of time from November 3, 1966, when Judge Real received his commission after his confirmation by the Senate, to June 1, 2017).

The average length of service of active U.S. district court judges is 10.8 years (while the median, represented by the reference line in Figure 15 , is 9.1 years).

As expected, and as shown by the figure, there is a positive relationship between a judge's current age and the length of time he or she has served as a judge. Figure 15 also shows the clustering of each President's cohort of appointed circuit court nominees by length of service and current age.

Overall, of 570 active district court judges as of June 1, 2017, President Obama appointed a plurality (46.0%) of district court judges, with a median length of service of 4.4 years and a median age of 55.9 years, followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (35.3% of active judges, with a median length of service of 13.0 years and median age of 62.9 years); Clinton (13.2% of active judges, with a median length of service of 19.6 years and a median age of 65.4 years); G.H.W. Bush (2.6% of active judges, with a median length of service of 25.3 years and a median age of 67.0 years); and Reagan (2.5% of active judges, with a median length of service of 31.6 years and a median age of 75.8 years). The remaining judges were appointed by Presidents Carter, Ford, and Johnson (each with one judge).

Occupation at Time of Appointment

This section provides data related to the occupation or professional background of active U.S. district court judges at the time of their appointment to the bench.

As shown by Figure 16 , a plurality of U.S. district court judges, immediately prior to appointment, were working as attorneys in private practice (35.4% of all active judges). The second most common type of professional experience immediately prior to being appointed was serving as a state or local judge (30.5% of all active judges), followed by serving as a U.S. magistrate judge (14.6%).

Figure 16 also provides summary statistics taking into account whether active district court judges, immediately prior to being appointed to the bench, were serving as judges (either at the federal or state level) or in the executive or legislative branch of government (federal or state level). Overall, 46.1% of active district court judges were serving as a federal or state judge, while 16.5% were serving as an official or staff in the executive or legislative branch at the federal or state level. Altogether, 62.6% of active U.S. district court judges were serving in either federal or state government immediately prior to being appointed to the bench.