List of federal judges appointed by Thomas Jefferson
Following is a list of all United States federal judges appointed by President Thomas Jefferson during his presidency.[1] In total Jefferson appointed nineteen federal judges, including three Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States, seven judges to the United States circuit courts, and nine judges to the United States district courts. Three of Jefferson's circuit court appointments were to seats that had been created by the Midnight Judges Act, signed by John Adams to allow the appointment of many of his supporters in the closing days of his administration. The service of these judges, including those appointed by Jefferson, terminated on July 1, 1802, due to the repeal of the Act and the accompanying abolition of the court.
Two of Jefferson's appointees, William Cranch (whom Jefferson elevated to Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia) and Henry Potter (appointed first to the Fifth Circuit, and then to the District of North Carolina) served into the 1850s. Potter's 55 years on the latter court remains the longest period of active service in United States federal court history.
Contents
United States Supreme Court Justices
Justice | Seat | State | Began active service |
Ended active service |
William Johnson | Seat 5 | South Carolina | March 26, 1804 | August 4, 1834 |
Henry Brockholst Livingston | Seat 4 | New York | November 10, 1806[2] | March 18, 1823 |
Thomas Todd | Seat 6 | Virginia | March 3, 1807 | February 7, 1826 |
Circuit Courts
Judge | Circuit | Began active service |
Ended active service |
William Cranch | D.C. | February 24, 1806 | September 1, 1855[3] |
Allen Bowie Duckett | D.C. | March 17, 1806 | July 19, 1809 |
Nicholas Battalle Fitzhugh | D.C. | November 25, 1803 | December 31, 1814 |
Dominic Augustin Hall | Fifth | July 1, 1801[4] | July 1, 1802[5] |
Edward Harris | Fifth | May 3, 1802 | July 1, 1802[5] |
William Kilty | D.C. | March 23, 1801[4] | January 27, 1806 |
Henry Potter | Fifth | May 9, 1801[6] | April 7, 1802 |
District courts
Judge | Court [Note 1] |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
David Leonard Barnes | D.R.I. | April 30, 1801[4] | November 3, 1812 |
Charles Willing Byrd | D. Ohio. | March 3, 1803 | August 25, 1828 |
Pierpont Edwards | D. Conn. | February 24, 1806 | April 5, 1826 |
Dominic Augustin Hall | D. Orleans | December 11, 1804 | April 30, 1812 |
James Houston | D. Md. | April 21, 1806 | June 8, 1819 |
Henry Potter | D.N.C. | April 7, 1802 | December 20, 1857 [7] |
John Samuel Sherburne | D.N.H. | March 26, 1804 | August 2, 1830 |
William Stephens | D. Ga. | October 22, 1801[6] | October 13, 1818 |
Matthias Burnett Tallmadge | D.N.Y. | June 12, 1805[8] | July 1, 1819[9] |
See also
- Marbury v. Madison (1803)
- Stuart v. Laird (1803)
- United States v. More (1805)
Notes
References
- General
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- Specific
- ↑ All information on the names, terms of service, and details of appointment of federal judges is derived from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public-domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1806, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1806, and received commission on January 16, 1807.
- ↑ Because of the unique structure of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Thomas Jefferson's elevation of William Cranch to chief judge of the Court is considered a separate appointment.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 6, 1802, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received commission on January 26, 1802.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Appointed to a seat created by the Midnight Judges Act, abolished with the repeal of that act on July 1, 1802.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 6, 1802, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received commission on January 26, 1802.
- ↑ Longest period of active service in United States federal court history.
- ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1805, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 23, 1805, and received commission on January 17, 1806.
- ↑ On April 9, 1814, the District of New York was subdivided, and Tallmadge was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, where he remained until his resignation.