The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:

• District of Maryland
• Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of North Carolina
• District of South Carolina
• Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia
• Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia

The court is based at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.

Judges

The judges on the court (as of December 3, 2004) are:

• Chief Judge William W. Wilkins , Greenville, South Carolina
• Circuit Judge H. Emory Widener, Jr. , Abingdon, Virginia
• Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Circuit Judge Paul V. Niemeyer , Baltimore, Maryland
• Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig, Alexandria, Virginia
• Circuit Judge Karen J. Williams , Richmond, Virginia
• Circuit Judge M. Blane Michael , Charleston, West Virginia
• Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz , Baltimore, Maryland
• Circuit Judge William B. Traxler, Jr. , Greenville, South Carolina
• Circuit Judge Robert B. King , Charleston, West Virginia
• Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory , Richmond, Virginia
• Circuit Judge Dennis W. Shedd , Columbia, South Carolina
• Circuit Judge Allyson K. Duncan , Raleigh, North Carolina
• Senior Circuit Judge Clyde H. Hamilton , Columbia, South Carolina
• Senior Circuit Judge John D. Butzner, Jr. (retired)
• Senior Circuit Judge J. Dickson Phillips, Jr. (retired)
• Senior Circuit Judge Robert F. Chapman (retired)

(Here circuit judges and senior circuit judges are listed in order of seniority.)

There are two vacant judgeships in this circuit.

Trivia

The Fourth Circuit has never seen one of its judges promoted to the United States Supreme Court. However, Judges Wilkinson and Luttig are considered to be front-runners for a justiceship if there is a vacancy during the George W. Bush presidential administration. The Fourth is widely regarded as the most ideologically conservative court in the federal appellate system.

External links

• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Recent opinions from Findlaw
• Federal Judicial Center