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U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Characteristics

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U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Characteristics

March 19, 2014August 1, 2017 (R43426)
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Contents

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Summary

This report addresses ongoing congressional interest in select characteristics of lower federal court judges. The analysis of the report focuses on demographic and other characteristics of active and senior U.S. circuit and district court judges who are currently serving on the federal bench. Consequently, the statistics provided in the report do not necessarily reflect all of a President's circuit or district court appointments during his time in office. A judge in active service has not taken senior status, retired, or resigned. A judge who has assumed senior status continues, on a part-time basis, to perform the duties of his or her office (which can include hearing cases)Demographic and Other Background Characteristics of Judges

  • Data Caveats
  • U.S. Circuit Court Judges
  • Gender
  • Race
  • Gender and Race
  • Nontraditional Judges
  • Current Age
  • Age at Time of Appointment
  • Length of Service
  • Occupation at Time of Appointment
  • U.S. District Court Judges
  • Gender
  • Race
  • Gender and Race
  • Nontraditional Judges
  • Current Age
  • Age at Time of Appointment
  • Length of Service
  • Occupation at Time of Appointment
  • Figures

    Summary

    This report addresses ongoing congressional interest in the demographic characteristics and professional experiences of those individuals nominated and appointed to fill lower federal court judgeships. It focuses on demographic and other background characteristics of active U.S. circuit and district court judges who are currently serving on the federal bench.

    Unless otherwise noted, the statistics provided in the report do not reflect all of a particular President's circuit or district court appointments during his time in office—but only active judges appointed by that President. A judge in "active service" works full-time and is appointed to one of the circuit or district court judgeships authorized by Congress. He or she has not taken senior status, retired, or resigned from office. A judge who has assumed senior status continues, on a part-time basis, to perform the duties of his or her office (which can include hearing cases)—but the demographic and background characteristics of these judges are not included in the statistics presented in the main text of the report.

    As discussed below, "nontraditional" judges are those judges who belong to demographic groups from which, historically, individuals were not often selected, if at all, for federal judgeships. Specifically, for the purposes of this report, white women, non-white men, and non-white women are considered nontraditional judges.

    Some of the report's findings include the following:

    • As of March 7, 2014, the greatest percentage of active circuit court judges were appointed by President G.W. Bush (32.1%), followed by Presidents Obama (25.3%) and Clinton (25.3%). The greatest percentage of senior circuit court judges were appointed by President Reagan (33.3%).
    • Of the active U.S. circuit court judges, 51.2% are white men, 25.3% are white women, 16.7% are non-white men, and 6.8% are non-white women. Altogether, 48.8% of active circuit court judges are nontraditional judges. In contrast, of senior circuit court judges, 80.7% are white men, 9.6% are white women, 8.8% are non-white men, and less than 1.0% are non-white women. Altogether, 19.3% of senior circuit court judges are nontraditional judges.
    • After five years in office, President Obama has appointed the greatest percentage of nontraditional active U.S. circuit court judges currently sitting on the bench (34.2%), followed by Presidents Clinton (32.9%) and G.W. Bush (25.3%). Of senior circuit court judges, President Carter appointed the greatest percentage (54.5%).
    • There is, however, variation in the percentage of active circuit court judges belonging to specific demographic groups that were appointed by particular Presidents. For example, of women serving as active circuit court judges as of March 7, 2014, Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton tied for having appointed the greatest percentage (each with 30.8%).
    • As of December 31, 2013, 32.5% of active circuit court judges were eligible, based on age and length of service as Article III judges, to assume senior status. Of those eligible for senior status, President Clinton appointed nearly half (47.2%). As of this writing, CRS has not calculated such statistics for active U.S. district court judges.
    • The greatest percentage of active district court judges were appointed by President G.W. Bush (38.8%), followed by President Obama (29.7%). The greatest percentage of senior district court judges were appointed by President Reagan (29.2%).
    • Of active U.S. district court judges, 52.7% are white men, 22.1% are white women, 15.4% are non-white men, and 9.8% are non-white women. Altogether, 47.3% of active district court judges are nontraditional judges. Of senior district court judges, 78.5% are white men, 11.0% are white women, 8.7% are non-white men, and 1.8% are non-white women. Altogether, 21.5% of senior district court judges are nontraditional judges.
    • Of nontraditional active U.S. district court judges currently on the bench, President Obama has appointed the greatest percentage (38.6%), followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (28.8%) and Clinton (22.8%). Of senior district court judges, Presidents Clinton and Carter appointed the greatest percentages (48.9% and 22.3%, respectively).
    • There is, however, variation in the percentage of active district court judges belonging to specific demographic groups that were appointed by particular Presidents. For example, of Hispanics serving as active district court judges, President G.W. Bush appointed the greatest percentage (42.6%).


    U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Characteristics

    Introduction

    This report provides a profile of select demographic characteristics of judges currently serving on U.S. courts of appeals and U.S. district courts.1 The report also provides statistical information related to the percentage of circuit and district court judges appointed by particular Presidents (as well as by party of the appointing President).

    During the Obama presidency, nontraditional judges for the first time in judicial history comprised over 50% of active U.S. circuit court judges. As of June 1, 2017, this remains the case among active circuit court judges—specifically, 54.4% of active judges are white women, non-white women, or non-white men.
  • President Obama was the first President for whom nontraditional nominees comprised a majority (69.0%) of all those he appointed as circuit court judges.
  • A plurality of active U.S. circuit court judges (26.3%) are 70 years or older.
  • Immediately prior to being appointed as U.S. circuit court judges, a plurality of circuit court judges were either serving as U.S. district court judges (26.9%) or as attorneys in private practice (also 26.9%).
  • During the Obama presidency, nontraditional judges for the first time in judicial history comprised over 50% of active U.S. district court judges. As of June 1, 2017, this remains the case among active district court judges—specifically, 51.0% of active judges are white women, non-white women, or non-white men.
  • President Obama was the first President for whom nontraditional nominees comprised a majority (62.0%) of all those he appointed as district court judges.
  • A plurality of active U.S. district court judges (29.5%) are 60 to 64 years of age.
  • Immediately prior to being appointed as U.S. district court judges, a plurality of district court judges were working as attorneys in private practice (35.4%) followed by those serving as state or local judges (30.5%).
  • U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Characteristics

    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.1 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.2 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).2

    of the circuit court's decision).3

    Altogether, 179 circuit court judgeships are currently authorized by law.34 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).4 The smallest court is5 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 , with 6 judgeships, while the largest court is the Ninth Circuit (comprised of California, 8 other western states, and 2 U.S. territories) has the greatest number of judgeships, with 29.6, with 29 judgeships.

    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.5 7 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).68 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).7

    9

    Congressional Interest in Judicial Diversity

    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.810 For example, floor statements by Senators in support of circuit or district court nominees have frequently emphasizedemphasize the particular demographic characteristics of nominees that would enhance the diversity of the federal judiciary, as well as emphasize judicial nominees' professional qualifications.11 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.12 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.13

    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,14 representing 37% of all active circuit court judges (men comprised 63%).15

    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).16 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),17 while the Eighth Circuit has the lowest percentage (with women being 1, or 11%, of 9 active judges).18

    Figure 1 shows the number of active female U.S. circuit court judges serving on the bench during each calendar year from 1977 to 2017.19 Overall, during this period, the number of female circuit court judges increased from 1 to 59.20 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.

    Figure 1. Number of Female U.S. Circuit Court Judges, 1977-2017

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows, by calendar year, the number of active female U.S. circuit court judges from 1977 to 2017 (as of June 1). During this period, the all-time high of 61 female judges occurred in 2015.

    Race21

    Of the 160 active U.S. circuit court judges serving on June 1, 2017, 120 (75%) were white, 21 (13%) were African American,22 14 (9%) were Hispanic,23 and 5 (3%) were Asian American.24

    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;25 and Asian American judges serving on 5 appellate courts.26

    As of June 1, 2017, there were two circuit courts, the Ninth and Second,27 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).

    Figure 2. Active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American U.S. Circuit Court Judges by Judicial Circuit

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the judicial circuits (shaded in darker color) where active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American circuit court judges are serving on the bench.

    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.28 The greatest number of active African American judges were serving on the Fourth, Sixth, and D.C. Circuits, each with three judges.29

    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).30 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 2017.31 Overall, during this period, the number of African American circuit court judges increased from 4 to 21;32 the number of Hispanic circuit court judges increased from 0 to 14;33 and the number of Asian American circuit court judges increased from 2 to 5.34

    Figure 3. African American, Hispanic, and Asian American Circuit Court Judges, 1977-2017

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows, by calendar year, the number of active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American circuit court judges from 1977 to 2017 (as of June 1). During this period, the all-time high of 22 African American judges occurred in 2014; the all-time high of 15 Hispanic judges occurred in 2012 and 2016; and the all-time high of 5 Asian American judges occurred in 2017.

    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;35 white women represent 29.4%;36 African American men represent 8.7%;37 African American women represent 4.4%;38 Hispanic men represent 6.2%;39 Hispanic women represent 2.5%;40 Asian American men represent 2.5%;41 and Asian American women represent 0.6%.42

    Figure 4. Active U.S. Circuit Court Judges by Gender and Race

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the percentage of active U.S. circuit court judges by gender and race. The percentages reported in the figure might not add to 100 due to rounding. The white racial category refers to non-Hispanic white judges.

    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.43 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 2017.44

    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).45 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%).

    Figure 5. Percentage of All Active and Non-Traditional the particular demographic characteristics of nominees that would enhance the diversity of the federal judiciary. Recent examples of such statements include the following:

    • A Senator stating that he "was thrilled and honored to be part of this historic moment" for the state he represents and highlighting that a district court nominee for the Northern District of Mississippi, if confirmed, would "be the first female African-American district judge" in Mississippi. The Senator also noted that the nominee "was the second African-American to graduate from the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University and the first member of her family to earn a law degree."9
    • A Senator stating that the confirmation of a female nominee to the D.C. Circuit would "be another step toward expanding the diversity of our Federal bench" and noting that "about half of all law graduates today are women, and we have a tremendous number of qualified women in the country who are serving as lawyers. So they ought to be represented on the Court."10
    • A Senator noting that it was a "big day" for her state and its "legal history" because the Senate was considering the nomination of "the first woman to be nominated for United States district court judge" for the District of Alaska. Consequently, the Senator stated that it was "a privilege to speak in support of her nomination ... "11
    • A Senator noting that a nominee to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals "became the first African-American female judge in the history" of Tennessee as well as that state's "first African-American female district court judge," serving "in that capacity for 15 years." The Senator also noted that it was fitting that the nominee, "a pioneer in so many ways ..., will be the first nomination for the federal bench that [the Senate] will consider after the opening of the Martin Luther King Memorial in the Nation's Capital."12
    • A Senator stating that a Hispanic nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit would "bring much-needed diversity to the Federal circuit" and noting that the nominee had, throughout his career, "shown a strong commitment to diversity and racial equality, not only through his service to the Hispanic community, but also through his service" with the American Bar Association. The Senator also noted that the nominee "would be the first Latino to serve on the Federal circuit in its history" and that with the nominee's confirmation, "the Senate has another opportunity to further increase the diversity of the Federal bench."13
    • A Senator noting that a nominee is "a man who grew up in less than ideal circumstances, ... has been a prosecutor, has been a defender, has been an advocate for those who are less fortunate, and will be the first African American ever to be on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals." The Senator stated that the nominee "also has life experiences that will make him more valuable on the court in terms of his compassion. He has experienced discrimination" as an African American man and is "someone of whom we in our country should be proud, who recognizes the diversity of our country ... "14

    In light of ongoing congressional interest in the demographic characteristics of those nominated to circuit and district court judgeships, this report seeks to inform Congress by providing statistics related to select demographic characteristics of active and senior judges currently serving on U.S. circuit courts of appeals and district courts.

    Active circuit and district court judges are those individuals who are appointed, respectively, to one of the 179 circuit court judgeships or to one of the 673 district court judgeships currently authorized by law. Consequently, a judge in active service is one who has not taken senior status, retired, or resigned. Senior status judges are those judges who have retired from full-time service but continue, on a part-time basis, to hear cases or perform other duties related to judicial administration.15 According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, senior judges typically handle about 15% of the federal courts' annual workload.16

    Caveats

    Note that the statistics included in this report are based upon the demographic characteristics of individuals serving, as of March 7, 2014, 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 either active or senior status judges. Consequently, the statistics reported below do not necessarily reflect all of a President's circuit or district court appointments during his tenure in office.17

    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.18

    As of March 7, 2014, there were 162 active circuit court judges and 17 vacant circuit court judgeships (for a total of 179 circuit court judgeships). The denominator used for the statistics presented throughout this report is based upon the number of active circuit court judges and does not include, as of this writing, the 17 vacant judgeships. Additionally, as of March 7, 2014, there were 114 senior-status U.S. circuit court judges. Consequently, this is the denominator used throughout this report for statistics related to senior circuit court judges.

    Similarly, as of March 7, 2014, there were 603 active district court judges and 70 vacant district court judgeships (for a total of 673 district court judgeships). The denominator used for the statistics presented throughout this report is based upon the number of active district court judges and does not include, as of this writing, the 70 vacant judgeships. Additionally, as of March 7, 2014, there were 438 senior district court judges. Consequently, this is the denominator used throughout this report for statistics related to senior district court judges.

    Note that, because many individual circuit and district courts have a relatively small number of judgeships, relatively small changes in the demographic characteristics of judges sitting on a particular court can produce relatively large swings in many of the statistics reported below. The First Circuit, for example, has only six authorized judgeships. Consequently, a change in the sex or racial background of one or more judges can produce large changes in statistics related to the demographic characteristics of judges serving on that particular court.

    The statistics presented and discussed below are current as of March 7, 2014, and were compiled using information provided by the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges.19 This report will be updated annually at the beginning of each calendar year by CRS.

    By Appointing President

    This section provides statistics related to the percentage of circuit and district court judges who are currently sitting on the bench and who were appointed by a particular President. As stated above, the statistics included in this report are based upon individuals serving, as of March 7, 2014, as circuit or district court judges and, thus, do not include a President's circuit or district court appointees who are no longer serving as either active or senior status judges.

    U.S. Circuit Court Judges

    As shown by Figure 1, the greatest percentage of active circuit court judges currently serving on the bench were appointed by President G.W. Bush (32.1%), followed by Presidents Obama and Clinton (each with 25.3%).20 Other Presidents with active circuit court appointees include Presidents G.H.W. Bush (6.2%), Reagan (9.3%), Carter (1.2%), and Ford (0.6%).21

    Figure 1. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. Circuit Court Judges
    by Appointing President

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges by appointing President.

    Figure 1 also shows that, for senior status judges currently serving on the bench, President Reagan appointed the greatest percentage (33.3%). Other Presidents with senior circuit court appointees currently serving include G.H.W. Bush (19.3%), Carter (18.4%), Clinton (13.2%), Nixon (5.3%), G.W. Bush (3.5%), Johnson (3.5%), Ford (2.6%), and Obama (0.9%).22

    Note that, given the age and service requirements for active judges to assume senior status, more recent Presidents will have fewer, if any, judges serving as senior judges. For example, as of March 7, 2014, President Obama has had only one of his judicial appointees assume senior status.23

    U.S. District Court Judges

    As shown in Figure 2, President G.W. Bush has appointed the greatest percentage of active district court judges, 38.8%. Presidents Obama and Clinton have appointed 29.7% and 20.4%, respectively. Other Presidents with active district court appointees include Presidents G. H. W. Bush (5.6%), Reagan (4.5%), Carter (0.7%), Ford (0.2%), and Johnson (0.2%).24

    Figure 2. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. District Court Judges
    by Appointing President

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. district court judges by appointing President.

    As for district court judges currently serving as senior status judges, the greatest percentage were appointed by President Reagan (29.2%), followed by President Clinton (26.3%). Other Presidents with appointees currently serving as senior district court judges include Presidents Carter (16.2%), G.H.W. Bush (16.0%), Nixon (6.4%), G.W. Bush (2.3%), Ford (1.8%), Johnson (1.1%), and Kennedy (0.7%).25

    By Party of Appointing President

    This section provides statistics related to the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit and district court judges appointed by Democratic and Republican Presidents. Note that it is an open question as to whether there is a relationship (and, if so, the strength of such a relationship) between the party of an appointing President (which might serve as a proxy for the partisan or ideological leanings of a President's judicial appointees) and judicial outcomes.26 At least one circuit court judge has argued that such a relationship is not as strong as might be assumed, arguing that judges "are much less Democratic and Republican than their counterparts in elected officialdom, often to the chagrin of appointing Presidents. Appointment to life-tenured positions liberates federal judges at all levels from partisan commitments."27

    As stated above, active circuit and district court judges are those individuals who are appointed, respectively, to one of the 179 circuit court judgeships or to one of the 673 district court judgeships currently authorized by law. Consequently, a judge in active service is one who has not taken senior status, retired, or resigned. Senior status judges are those judges who have retired from full-time service but continue, on a part-time basis, to hear cases or perform other duties related to judicial administration.

    U.S. Circuit Court Judges

    Figure 3 displays the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges by party of the appointing President. For active circuit court judges, Democratic Presidents have appointed 51.9%, while Republican Presidents have appointed 48.1%. In contrast, for senior status judges, Democratic Presidents have appointed 36.0% and Republican Presidents have appointed 64.0%.28 Of active circuit court judges, the two most recent Democratic Presidents (Clinton and Obama) appointed 50.6%, while of current senior status judges, Republican Presidents G.H.W. Bush and Reagan appointed 52.6%.

    Figure 3. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. Circuit Court Judges
    by Party of Appointing President

    (as of March 7, 2014 U.S. Circuit Court Judges Appointed by President Obama Compared to Other Presidents (As of June 1, 2017)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges appointed by Democratic and Republican Presidents.

    There is variation across judicial circuits on the percentage of active circuit court judges appointed by Democratic or Republican Presidents.29 For example, Democratic Presidents have appointed a majority of active circuit court judges currently serving in eight circuits (the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh, D.C., and Federal Circuits). Republican Presidents have appointed a majority of active circuit judges in four (the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits).30

    When senior judges are included, however, Democratic Presidents have appointed a majority of sitting circuit court judges (i.e., a majority of active and senior judges combined) in three circuits rather than eight—the Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits—while Republican Presidents have appointed a majority of sitting circuit court judges in 9 of the 10 remaining circuits (the D.C., First, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits). When considering all sitting circuit court judges, the Federal Circuit has an equal number of Democratic and Republican appointees.31

    U.S. District Court Judges

    As shown by Figure 4, of active district court judges, Democratic Presidents have appointed 50.9%, while Republican Presidents have appointed 49.1%. Of district court judges who are currently serving as senior judges, Democratic Presidents appointed 44.3% and Republican Presidents appointed 55.1%.32

    CRS has not, as of this writing, calculated the percentage of active (or senior) district court judges appointed by Democratic or Republican Presidents in each of the 91 judicial districts. There is, however, variation across the districts. Democratic Presidents, for example, appointed 13 active judges to the Northern District of California, while Republican Presidents appointed 1 judge. In contrast, Republican Presidents appointed 8 active judges to the Northern District of Texas, while Democratic Presidents appointed 3 judges.

    Figure 4. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. District Court Judges
    by Party of Appointing President

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. district court judges appointed by Democratic and Republican Presidents.

    Demographic Characteristics

    This section provides statistics related to select demographic characteristics of active and senior U.S. circuit and district court judges.33 Additionally, this section provides statistics related to the age and length of service of active U.S. circuit court judges, as well as identifies the percentage of active circuit judges who are eligible to take senior status.34

    As discussed above, the demographic characteristics of judges and judicial nominees have been of ongoing interest to Congress. Additionally, scholars and others have expressed interest in the demographic characteristics of federal judges. Some argue, for example, that those serving as public officials in government should "stand for others by being sufficiently like them."35 The emphasis on having government officials reflect the demographic characteristics of the nation or community they serve is referred to as "descriptive representation."

    According to some scholars, descriptive representation is important because, symbolically, it enhances the legitimacy of government and "signals to underrepresented groups that 'certain features of one's identity do not mark one as less able to govern.'"36 Additionally, "a descriptive representative may serve as a role model who stands as a symbol to others in her group that they too can achieve success at the highest echelons of government."37 Critics of descriptive representation, however, "contend that minority and gender groups are not necessarily served by leaders who are descriptively representative of them ... Others argue that descriptive representation incorrectly assumes that all members of a single group are alike."38

    Empirical studies of descriptive representation have most often involved Congress.39 One scholar, however, has argued that "descriptive representation is even more critical in the courts than it is in the elected branches [since] 'judges have a more direct and irrevocable impact in the lives of many Americans than local or even national legislators.'"40

    Scholars have also analyzed representation in terms of public officials "acting for others, an activity in behalf of, in the interest of, as the agent of, someone else."41 Such an approach to understanding representation focuses on the official "as [an] agent or actor-for-others"42 and is often referred to as "substantive representation."

    In the context of demographic diversity on the federal courts, it has been argued, "to the extent that minority and female judges have unique perspectives that influence their decisionmaking ... their presence on the bench is necessary to ensure that the views of more Americans are considered in the judicial decisionmaking process."43 If, however, "diversity appointees were to decide cases in the same manner as white males (assuming similar political ideologies), then diversity on the bench may not be necessary or sufficient to further the substantive representation of minorities and women."44 The theory of substantive representation, of course, assumes that certain groups, including demographic groups, have identifiable and distinct interests—a premise that might not be accepted, at least in the context of the judiciary, by some judges or other policy makers. Additionally, some female or minority judges might, themselves, reject the notion that their sex, race, or some other attribute influences their decisionmaking on the bench.45

    As with studies of descriptive representation, empirical studies of substantive representation have focused primarily on Congress.46 One study, however, analyzing the potential effects of gender on judging did not find sex-based differences in judicial rulings in 12 of 13 areas of law (the study did, however, find sex-based effects in cases involving sex discrimination).47 Additionally, another scholar, analyzing differences in voting patterns between black and white judges, suggests that there might be a difference in how the two groups of judges approach cases dealing with Fourth Amendment rights as well as race discrimination cases.48

    U.S. Circuit Court Judges

    Sex

    As shown by Figure 5, women comprise 32.1% of active U.S. circuit court judges and 10.5% of senior status circuit judges (while men comprise 67.9% and 89.5% of active and senior circuit court judges, respectively).

    Of the 52 active circuit court judges currently serving who are women, the greatest percentage were appointed by Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton (each with 30.8%), followed by President Obama (28.8%).49 Of the 12 senior circuit court judges who are women, 8 (or two-thirds of them) were appointed by President Carter (followed by 2 judges each for Presidents Clinton and G.H.W. Bush). As mentioned above, given the age and service requirements for active judges to assume senior status, more recent Presidents will have fewer, if any, judges serving as senior judges.

    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).48 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).49

    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.50 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).51

    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).

    Figure 7. Active U.S. Circuit Court Judges
    by Select Demographic Characteristics

    by Current Age and Years of Service

    (as of March 7, 2014As of June 1, 2017)

    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.52

    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.53

    Figure 8. Occupation or Position of Active U.S. Circuit Court Judges at Time of Appointment

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    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).54

    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)55 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.56

    Gender

    As of June 1, 2017, a total of 194 women were serving as U.S. district court judges,57 representing 34% of all active district court judges (men comprised 66%).58

    As of June 1, 2017, there were active female judges serving on 80, or 88%, of the nation's 91 U.S. district courts,59 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).60

    Figure 9. Number of Female U.S. District Court Judges, 1977-2017

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    Figure 9 shows the number of active female U.S. district court judges serving on the bench during each calendar year from 1977 to 2017.61 Overall, during this period, the number of female district court judges increased from 5 to 194.62 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,64 58 (10%) were Hispanic,65 16 (3%) were Asian American,66 1 (0.2%) was American Indian,67 and 8 (1.4%) were multiracial.68

    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.69

    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,70 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).71

    Figure 10. Active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American U.S. District Court Judges by Judicial District

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    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).72

    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 2017.73 Overall, during this period, the number of African American district court judges increased from 16 to 85;74 the number of Hispanic district court judges increased from 5 to 64;75 and the number of Asian American district court judges increased from 3 to 20.76

    Figure 11. African American, Hispanic, and Asian American U.S. District Court Judges, 1977-2017

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    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;77 white women represent 21.9%;78 African American men represent 8.1%;79 African American women represent 6.1%;80 Hispanic men represent 6.5%;81 Hispanic women represent 3.7%;82 Asian American men represent 1.6%;83 and Asian American women represent 1.2%.84 Additionally, there is one American Indian female U.S. district court judge and eight multiracial district court judges (four men and four women).85

    Figure 12. Active U.S. District Court Judges by Gender and Race

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    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 2016.86

    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%).

    Figure 13. Percentage of All Active and Nontraditional U.S. District Court Judges Appointed by President Obama Compared to Other Presidents

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    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).87 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.88

    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.

    Figure 14. Overall Percentage of President's U.S. District Court Appointees Who Were Nontraditional Appointees (i.e., Percentage Who Were White Women, Non-White Women, or Non-White Men) 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).89

    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,90 13 (or 65%) were appointed by Republican Presidents—including the two youngest at the time of appointment being appointed by President Reagan.91 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).

    Figure 15. Active U.S. District Court Judges by Current Age and Years of Service

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    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.92

    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),93 followed by serving as a U.S. magistrate judge (14.6%).94Figure 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)95 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.

    Figure 16. Occupation or Position of Active U.S. District Court Judges at Time of Appointment

    (As of June 1, 2017)

    Author Contact Information

    [author name scrubbed], Analyst on the Federal Judiciary ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

    Acknowledgments

    The author thanks Amber Wilhelm, Graphics Specialist in the Publishing and Editorial Resources Section of CRS, for her work on the figures included in this report.

    Footnotes

    A list of the states that comprise each of the 12 regional circuits is set forth in Section 41 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code. One additional circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which was created in its modern form in 1982))

    Figure 5. Percentage of Active and SeniorCongressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the percentage of all active U.S. circuit court judges appointed by President Obama (compared to other Presidents), as well as the percentage of all active "nontraditional" U.S. circuit court judges appointed by President Obama (compared to other Presidents).

    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).46 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.47

    Figure 6. Overall Percentage of President's U.S. Circuit Court Appointees Who Were Non-Traditional Appointees (i.e., Percentage Who Were White Women, Non-White Women, and Non-White Men)

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows, by presidency, the percentage of all U.S. circuit court appointees who were white men, white women, non-white men, and non-white women. The percentages reported in the figure show the overall percentage of a President's circuit court appointees who were "nontraditional," i.e., who were white women, non-white men, or non-white women.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the relationship between the current age and length of service of active U.S. circuit court judges. It also identifies the appointing President of judges currently serving on the bench.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the percentage of active U.S. circuit court judges who were engaged in a particular occupation or held a particular position immediately prior to being nominated and appointed to the bench. The summary percentages report the percentage of active U.S. circuit court judges who were serving as a judge (at the federal or state level); were serving in the executive or legislative branch (federal or state); and the overall percentage of judges who were serving in government (federal or state, any branch).

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows, by calendar year, the number of active female U.S. district court judges from 1977 to 2017 (as of June 1). During this period, the all-time high of 219 female judges occurred in 2014.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the judicial districts (shaded in darker color) where active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American district court judges are serving on the bench.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows, by calendar year, the number of active African American, Hispanic, and Asian American district court judges from 1977 to 2017 (as of June 1). During this period, the all-time high of 94 African American judges occurred in 2014; the all-time high of 67 Hispanic judges occurred in 2016; and the all-time high of 22 Asian American judges occurred in 2014 and 2015.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the percentage of active U.S. district court judges by gender and race. The percentages reported in the figure might not add to 100 due to rounding. The white racial category refers to non-Hispanic white judges.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the percentage of all active U.S. district court judges appointed by President Obama (compared to other Presidents), as well as the percentage of all active "nontraditional" U.S. district court judges appointed by President Obama (compared to other Presidents).

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows, by presidency, the percentage of all U.S. district court appointees who were white men, white women, non-white men, and non-white women. The percentages reported in the figure show the overall percentage of a President's district court appointees who were "nontraditional," i.e., who were white women, non-white men, or non-white women.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the relationship between the current age and length of service of active U.S. circuit court judges. It also identifies the appointing President of judges currently serving on the bench.

    Source: Congressional Research Service

    Notes: This figure shows the percentage of active U.S. district court judges who were engaged in a particular occupation or held a particular position immediately prior to being nominated and appointed to the bench. The summary percentages report the percentage of active U.S. district court judges who were serving as a judge (at the federal or state level); were serving in the executive or legislative branch (federal or state); and the overall percentage of judges who were serving in government (federal or state, any branch).

    1.

    In this report, the U.S. courts of appeals are frequently referred to as "circuit courts" while judges serving on such courts are referred to as "circuit court judges." Note that senior status judges (i.e., judges who on a part-time basis continue to perform the duties of his or her office—which can include hearing cases), are not considered full-time, active judges and, consequently, are not included in the statistics presented throughout the main text of report.

    2.

    The demographic and background data used in this report were acquired by CRS using the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a resource provided by the Federal Judicial Center of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts. Consequently, this section does not provide a discussion of other demographic characteristics that might nonetheless be of interest to Congress. The analysis in the report, for example, does not include the sexual orientation of circuit and district court judges. President Obama appointed the first openly gay individual to a circuit court judgeship. Todd M. Hughes was nominated by President Obama to the Federal Circuit on February 7, 2013, and confirmed by the Senate on September 24, 2013. See Juliet Eilperin, "Senate confirms Todd M. Hughes as first openly gay federal appeals judge," Washington Post, September 24, 2013, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-confirms-todd-m-hughes-as-first-openly-gay-federal-appeals-judge/2013/09/24/c63c25fc-252b-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_story.html. Deborah A. Batts was the first openly gay district court appointee. Judge Batts was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Clinton on January 27, 1994, and confirmed by the Senate on May 6, 1994. See http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/president-obama-nominates-black-lesbian-judge-102277.html.

    3.

    "The Appeals Process," Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, available at http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/HowCourtsWork/TheAppealsProcess.aspx.

    4.

    Court of appeals and district court judgeships are created, or authorized, by legislation that must be enacted by Congress. Congress last authorized the creation of new circuit court judgeships in 1990 (P.L. 101-650, December 1, 1990). The 1990 legislation authorized 11 new circuit court judgeships, including 4 new judgeships for the Fourth Circuit, 2 each for the Third and Tenth Circuits, and 1 apiece for the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits. Legislation enacted in 2008 transferred an existing circuit court judgeship from the D.C. Circuit to the Ninth Circuit but did not create a new judgeship (P.L. 110-177, January 7, 2008). As for district courts, Congress last authorized new judgeships in 2002 (P.L. 107-273, November 2, 2002). This legislation authorized eight new permanent judgeships for district courts located in California, North Carolina, and Texas; converted four temporary judgeships to permanent ones for district courts in Illinois, New York, and Virginia; and created seven new temporary judgeships for district courts located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas. Congress also extended a temporary judgeship for a district court in Ohio.

    5.

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges by select demographic characteristics.

    Altogether, Democratic Presidents have appointed 59.6% of all active U.S. circuit court judges who are women (and 83.3% of female senior status circuit judges). Republican Presidents appointed 40.4% of active U.S. circuit court judges who are women (and 16.7% of female senior status circuit judges).50

    Note, however, that the overall percentage breakdown by party of the appointing President does not mean that Democratic Presidents have appointed a greater percentage of active female circuit court judges in each of the individual judicial circuits. For example, Republican Presidents have appointed more active female judges to the Fifth, Sixth, and Federal Circuits, while Democratic and Republican Presidents have appointed the same number of active female judges to the Second and Seventh Circuits.51 Democratic Presidents appointed more active female judges for the remaining eight circuits.

    Lastly, the percentage of active circuit court judges who are women varies across judicial circuits, from a high of 46.7% for the Sixth Circuit (followed by the D.C. Circuit at 45.5%) to a low of 10.0% for the Tenth Circuit (with the next lowest being 16.7% for the Third Circuit).52

    Race

    Figure 5 also reports the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges who are identified by the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges as white, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American.53 As of this writing, circuit court judges who are white account for 76.5% of all active judges and 90.3% of senior judges. African American judges comprise 13.0% of all active judges and 5.3% of senior circuit judges. For Hispanic judges, the corresponding percentages are 8.0% (active) and 3.5% (senior), while for Asian Americans the corresponding percentages are 2.5% (active) and 0.9% (senior).54

    Of the 21 active circuit court judges who are African American, Presidents Clinton, Obama, and G.W. Bush appointed 9, 8, and 4, respectively.55 Of the six senior circuit court judges who are African American, President Carter appointed four and Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush each appointed one.

    Of the 13 active circuit court judges who are Hispanic, President Clinton appointed the greatest number (5), followed by Presidents Obama (4), G.W. Bush (3), and Reagan (1). Of the four senior circuit court judges who are Hispanic, President G.H.W. Bush appointed two and Presidents Clinton and Carter each appointed one.

    President Obama appointed each of the four active circuit court judges who are Asian American. The sole senior Asian American judge was appointed by President Clinton.

    Combining the three groups of non-white active circuit court judges (for a total of 38 active non-white judges currently serving on the bench, or 23.5% of 162 total judges), President Obama appointed the greatest percentage (42.1%), followed by Presidents Clinton (36.8%), G.W. Bush (18.4%), and Reagan (2.6%).56 As for the 11 non-white senior status judges currently serving, President Carter appointed 5, Presidents Clinton and G.H.W. Bush each appointed 2, and Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush each appointed 1.

    Altogether, Democratic Presidents have appointed 78.9% of all non-white active circuit court judges as well as 72.7% of non-white senior judges. Of active non-white judges currently serving, Democratic Presidents appointed a majority (or all) on the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, DC, and Federal Circuits. A Republican President appointed the sole active non-white circuit court judge serving on the Eighth Circuit. Democratic and Republican Presidents appointed an equal number of non-white active judges currently serving on the First and Tenth Circuits.57

    Finally, there is variation across judicial circuits in the percentage of non-white active circuit court judges. The percentage of non-white circuit court judges ranges from a high of 40.0% for the First Circuit (followed by 36.4% for the D.C. Circuit) to a low of 9.1% for the Eighth Circuit (with the Seventh Circuit having the next lowest percentage at 10.0%).58

    Sex and Race

    Figure 6 displays the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges broken down by sex and race. Three of the categories (white women, non-white women, and non-white men) represent nontraditional judges in terms of belonging to demographic groups from which, historically, individuals were not often, if at all, selected for federal judgeships.59 So, for example, of all women who have ever served as a U.S. circuit court judge, 96.9% were appointed after 1977.60 Of all African Americans who have ever served as a circuit court judge, 89.7% were appointed after 1977, while 100% of Hispanic circuit court judges and 85.7% of Asian American circuit court judges were appointed after 1977.61

    The relatively recent increase in the percentage of nontraditional circuit and district court judges likely reflects a number of factors, including underlying changes in the demographic characteristics of law school enrollees, graduates, and those admitted to the bar.62 For example, during the 10 academic years preceding the Carter Presidency (i.e., from 1966-1967 through 1975-1976), the average percentage of total J.D. enrollees in American Bar Association-approved law schools that were women was 11.1%. During the 10 academic years from 2002-2003 through 2011-2012, the average was 47.4%.63

    Of active circuit court judges, 51.2% are white men, 25.3% are white women, 16.7% are non-white men, and 6.8% are non-white women.64 Altogether, 48.8% of active circuit court judges currently on the bench are nontraditional judges.

    Of senior circuit court judges, 80.7% are white men, 9.6% are white women, 8.8% are non-white men, and less than 1.0% are non-white women.65 Altogether (and in contrast to the 48.8% reported above), 19.3% of senior circuit court judges are nontraditional judges.

    Figure 6. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. Circuit Court Judges by Sex and Race

    (As of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. circuit court judges by sex and race.

    As Figure 6 shows, the percentage of non-white female active U.S. circuit court judges is approximately 7.5 times greater than the percentage of non-white female senior circuit court judges.66 The percentage of white female active circuit court judges is 2.6 times greater than the percentage of white female senior circuit judges, while the percentage of non-white male active circuit court judges is nearly two times greater than the percentage of non-white male senior circuit judges.

    Nontraditional U.S. Circuit Court Judges by Appointing President

    As defined above, nontraditional judges are those judges belonging to certain demographic groups from which individuals, historically, were not often selected for federal judgeships. For the purposes of this report, the specific demographic groups considered nontraditional include white women, non-white women, and non-white men. Figure 7 shows, after combining the three groups, the overall percentage of nontraditional active and senior U.S. circuit court judges appointed by particular Presidents.

    Figure 7. Percentage of Active and Senior Nontraditional U.S. Circuit Court Judges by Appointing President

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior nontraditional U.S. circuit court judges by appointing President. For the purposes of this report, nontraditional judges are those judges belonging to demographic groups from which individuals, historically, were not often selected for federal judgeships. The specific demographic groups included as nontraditional for the percentages reported in this figure are white women, non-white women, and non-white men.

    After five years in office, President Obama has appointed the greatest percentage of nontraditional active U.S. circuit court judges currently on the bench (34.2%). This percentage means that of all the white women, non-white women, and non-white men (combined) who are currently serving as active circuit court judges, President Obama has appointed 34.2%. President Clinton appointed 32.9% of all such nontraditional active judges, while President G.W. Bush appointed 25.3%. Other nontraditional active judges currently serving were appointed by Presidents G.H.W. Bush (3.8%) and Reagan (3.8%).67

    As for nontraditional senior circuit court judges, President Carter appointed 54.5% of those currently serving,68 while Presidents Clinton and G.H.W. Bush each appointed 18.2% (with 4.5% appointed each by Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush).69

    Overall, Democratic Presidents appointed 67.1% of all nontraditional active circuit court judges and 77.3% of all nontraditional senior circuit court judges.

    The overall percentage breakdown of nontraditional circuit court appointees by party of the appointing President does not mean, however, that Democratic Presidents have appointed a greater number of active nontraditional circuit court judges in each of the individual judicial circuits.70 For example, Republican Presidents have appointed more active nontraditional judges than Democratic Presidents to the Fifth Circuit and there are an equal number of nontraditional active circuit judges appointed by Democratic and Republican Presidents to the Seventh Circuit and Federal Circuit.71

    Nontraditional U.S. Circuit Court Judges by Judicial Circuit

    There is variation across judicial circuits in the percentage of active circuit court judges belonging to one of the three nontraditional groups of judges (i.e., white women, non-white women, and non-white men).72 Figure 8 displays the overall percentage of active judges within each circuit belonging to one of the three groups of nontraditional judges. The percentage of nontraditional active circuit court judges ranges from a high of 63.6% for the D.C. Circuit to a low of 27.3% for the Eighth Circuit (comprised of Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota).

    As noted above, nontraditional appointees account for 48.8% of all active U.S. circuit court judges. Eight circuits (the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh, D.C., and Federal Circuits) exceed the national average in terms of the percentage of nontraditional active judges appointed to the circuit. Four circuits are below the national average; these are the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits.

    Given the relatively small number of circuit court judgeships for many circuits, CRS has not calculated separate percentages for each of the three groups of nontraditional judges sitting on each circuit court (e.g., the percentage of active judges on each circuit court who are non-white women). For the same reason, CRS has not calculated the percentage of active judges on each circuit court who belong to a specific demographic group (e.g., the percentage of active judges on a particular court who are African American).

    Consequently, the percentages reported in Figure 8 do not indicate whether, among the nontraditional judges serving on a circuit court, there are judges belonging to each of the three nontraditional groups or to specific demographic groups. Such considerations might nonetheless be important to some Members who seek to increase the representation of a particular demographic group (e.g., African American women) among active U.S. circuit court judges in one or more judicial circuits.73 For example, at present, there are no active African American female judges on the Fifth Circuit (comprised of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) or the Eleventh Circuit (comprised of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida).74

    Figure 8. Percentage of Nontraditional Active U.S. Circuit Court Judges
    by Judicial Circuit

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of nontraditional active U.S. circuit court judges by judicial circuit. For the purposes of this report, nontraditional judges are those judges belonging to demographic groups from which individuals, historically, were not often selected for federal judgeships. The specific demographic groups included as nontraditional for the percentages reported in this figure are white women, non-white women, and non-white men.

    Age75

    The average (and median) age of active U.S. circuit court judges is 62.7 (63.0) and their average (median) number of years of service as a circuit judge is 12.3 (10.9) years.76 For active circuit court judges currently serving, the average (median) age at the time of appointment was 50.7 (51.0). There is, however, some variation among Presidents in the age of their active circuit court appointees at the time of appointment. Of President Obama's active appointees, for example, the average (median) age at the time of appointment was 54.1 (54.0) while for President Clinton's and G.W. Bush's active appointees it was 50.8 (50.0) and 50.0 (51.0), respectively.

    Active U.S. Circuit Court Judges Eligible For Senior Status

    Figure 9 shows, by appointing President (and the party of the appointing President), the percentage of active U.S. circuit court judges who are eligible to take senior status. A judge who assumes senior status retires from active service while continuing to perform the judicial duties of his or her office, including hearing cases, if assigned to do so by the chief judge of the circuit or by the Chief Justice.77 Senior status eligibility is based upon a judge's age as well as his or her length of service as an Article III judge.78 Specifically, beginning at age 65, a judge may retire from office or take senior status after performing 15 years of active service as an Article III judge. A sliding scale of increasing age and decreasing service results in eligibility for retirement compensation at age 70 with a minimum 10 years of service.79

    Of active circuit court judges who are eligible for senior status, President Clinton appointed nearly half (47.2%) and President Reagan appointed approximately one quarter (24.5%). Active appointees who are eligible for senior status were also appointed by Presidents G.H.W. Bush (15.1%), G.W. Bush (7.5%), Carter (3.8%), and Ford (1.9%).80

    Of active circuit judges eligible for senior status, 50.9% were appointed by Democratic Presidents and 49.1% were appointed by Republican Presidents.

    Figure 9. Percentage of Active U.S. Circuit Court Judges Eligible for Senior Status by Appointing President and Party of Appointing President

    (as of December 31, 2013)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of December 31, 2013, the percentage of active U.S. circuit court judges eligible for senior status by appointing President and by the party of the appointing President.

    The circuit, as of December 31, 2013, with the greatest percentage of active circuit court judges eligible for senior status was the Seventh Circuit (50.0% of its active judges), followed by the Fifth Circuit (42.9%) and the First Circuit (40.0%). The circuit with the lowest percentage of active circuit court judges eligible for senior status was the Second Circuit (23.1% of its active judges), followed by the Third and Federal Circuits (each with 25.0% of its active judges eligible to take senior status).

    U.S. District Court Judges

    Sex

    As shown by Figure 10, 31.8% of active U.S. district court judges are women (and 68.2% are men). The greatest percentage of female active district court judges currently serving on the bench were appointed by President Obama (39.6%), followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (27.6%), and Clinton (21.9%). Other Presidents with female appointees currently active include Presidents G.H.W. Bush (8.3%), Carter (1.6%), and Reagan (1.0%).81

    Additionally, 12.8% of senior district court judges currently serving are women. President Clinton appointed over half of that group (55.4%), followed by President Carter (19.6%). Current senior district court judges who are women were also appointed by Presidents G.H.W. Bush (12.5%), Reagan (10.7%), and G.W. Bush (1.8%).82

    Figure 10. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. District Court Judges
    by Select Demographic Characteristics

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. district court judges by select demographic characteristics.

    Altogether, Democratic Presidents appointed 63.0% of active female district court judges while Republican Presidents appointed 37.0%. For female senior status judges, Democratic Presidents appointed 75.0% and Republican Presidents appointed 25.0%.

    Note, however, that there is variation across individual judicial districts in the number (and percentage) of female active judges appointed by Democratic and Republican Presidents. Such statistics have not, as of this writing, been compiled by CRS for each of the 91 judicial districts. Examples, however, include the Western District of Texas (no Democratic female appointees and two Republican female appointees); the Northern District of Alabama (one Democratic female appointee and three Republican female appointees); the Middle District of Florida (two Democratic female appointees and five Republican female appointees); the Northern District of California (five Democratic female appointees and no Republican female appointees); and the Northern District of Illinois (four Democratic female appointees and two Republican female appointees).

    Race

    Figure 10 also shows that, as of March 7, 2014, 74.4% of active district court judges are white, while 12.5% are African American, 10.1% are Hispanic, and 3.0% are Asian American.83 Of senior district court judges, 89.5% are white, 6.6% are African American, 3.2% are Hispanic, 0.5% are Asian American, and 0.2% are Native American.84

    The greatest percentage of the 76 African American active district court judges were appointed by President Obama (40.8%). The percentage of African American active district court judges appointed by other Presidents include Presidents Clinton (32.9%), G.W. Bush (22.4%), Reagan (2.6%), and G.H.W Bush (1.3%).85 Of the 29 senior African American district court judges, President Clinton appointed 12 (41.4%) and President Carter appointed 9 (31.0%). Other Presidents with African American appointees serving as senior judges include Presidents G.H.W. Bush (7) and Reagan (1).

    President G.W. Bush appointed the greatest percentage of the 61 Hispanic active district court judges currently serving on the bench (42.6%), followed by Presidents Obama (37.7%), Clinton (9.8%), G.H.W. Bush (3.3%), Reagan (3.3%), Carter (1.6%), and Johnson (1.6%).86 Of the 14 senior Hispanic district court judges, President Clinton appointed 6, while Presidents Reagan, Carter, and G.H.W. Bush appointed 4, 3, and 1, respectively.

    As for the 18 Asian American active district court judges, President Obama has appointed 12 (64.7%), while Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton appointed 4 and 2, respectively. Of the two Asian American senior district court judges, Presidents Clinton and Reagan each appointed one.

    Combining the three groups of non-white active district court judges who are currently serving on the bench (for a total of 152 judges, or 25.2% of all 603 active district court judges), reveals that President Obama appointed the greatest percentage (41.4%), followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (30.9%) and Clinton (21.7%).87 Of the 46 non-white senior district court judges currently serving (accounting for 10.5% of all 438 senior district court judges), President Clinton appointed 19 (41.3%), while Presidents Carter, G.H.W. Bush, and Reagan appointed 13 (28.3%), 8 (17.4%), and 6 (13.0%), respectively.

    Altogether, Democratic Presidents have appointed 64.5% of all non-white active district court judges as well as 69.6% of non-white senior judges. Republican Presidents have appointed 35.5% and 30.4%, respectively.

    Note, however, that CRS has not calculated the percentage of active non-white district court judges appointed by Democratic or Republican Presidents in each of the 91 judicial districts. There is variation, however, in such percentages across judicial districts. For example, of the 7 non-white (all Hispanic) active district court judges for the Western District of Texas, Democratic Presidents appointed 2 and Republican Presidents appointed 5. Another example is the Middle District of Florida, where Republican Presidents appointed 3 of the non-white active judges (1 African American and 2 Hispanic judges) and Democratic Presidents appointed 2 (both African American).88

    Sex and Race

    Of active district court judges, 52.7% are white men, 22.1% are white women, 15.4% are non-white men, and 9.8% are non-white women.89 Altogether, 47.3% of active district court judges are nontraditional judges. Of senior district court judges, 78.5% are white men, 11.0% are white women, 8.7% are non-white men, and 1.8% are non-white women.90 Altogether, 21.5% of senior district court judges are nontraditional judges (compared to 47.3% of active district court judges).

    Figure 11. Percentage of Active and Senior U.S. District Court Judges
    by Sex and Race

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior U.S. district court judges by sex and race.

    As Figure 11 shows, the percentage of non-white female active U.S. district court judges is approximately 5.4 times greater than the percentage of non-white female senior district court judges.91 The percentage of white female active district court judges is twice as great as the percentage of white female senior district judges, while the percentage of non-white male active district court judges is approximately 1.7 times greater than the percentage of non-white male senior district judges.

    Nontraditional U.S. District Court Judges by Appointing President

    As with nontraditional active circuit court judges, President Obama has also appointed the greatest percentage of nontraditional active district court judges currently serving on the bench (38.6%). The percentage of active nontraditional district court judges currently serving appointed by Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton are 28.8% and 22.8%, respectively. Nontraditional judges currently serving were also appointed by Presidents G.H.W. Bush (6.3%), Reagan (2.1%), Carter (1.1%), and Johnson (0.4%).92

    As for nontraditional senior district judges, President Clinton appointed the greatest percentage (48.9%) of the 94 currently sitting on the bench. Other Presidents and the corresponding percentage of nontraditional senior district court appointees currently serving include Presidents Carter (22.3%), G.H.W. Bush (14.9%), Reagan (12.8%), and G.W. Bush (1.1%).93

    Figure 12. Percentage of Active and Senior Nontraditional U.S. District Court Judges by Appointing President

    (as of March 7, 2014)

    Source: CRS analysis of data provided by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

    Notes: This figure shows, as of March 7, 2014, the percentage of active and senior nontraditional U.S. district court judges by appointing President. For the purposes of this report, nontraditional judges are those judges belonging to demographic groups from which individuals, historically, were not often selected for federal judgeships. The specific demographic groups included as nontraditional for the percentages reported in this figure are white women, non-white men, and non-white women.

    Altogether, Democratic Presidents appointed 62.8% of the nontraditional active district court judges (and 71.3% of senior district court judges). Republican Presidents appointed 37.2% of nontraditional active district judges (and 28.7% of senior district judges).

    As with other statistics presented in this report, there is variation in these percentages across judicial districts. For example, Republican Presidents appointed a total of 5 nontraditional judges to the Western District of Texas (compared to 2 nontraditional judges appointed by Democratic Presidents). Another example is the District of New Mexico, where Republican and Democratic Presidents appointed an equal number of nontraditional judges (i.e., 2 apiece).

    Nontraditional U.S. District Court Judges by Judicial District

    CRS has not calculated the percentage of nontraditional district court judges serving on each of the 91 district courts. There is variation, however, in such percentages. For example, 53.3% of active judges serving the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are nontraditional judges, 50.0% of active judges serving the Northern District of Illinois are nontraditional, and 36.4% of active judges serving the Northern District of Ohio are nontraditional.94

    For states with multiple judicial districts (e.g., California), it might be more relevant to examine the percentage of nontraditional district court judges across all of a state's districts. So, for example, of the 60 active district court judges in California, 60.0% are nontraditional judges (compared, for example, to 51.1% of all active district court judges in Texas being nontraditional, 44.4% of active district court judges in Illinois, and 31.6% of active district court judges in Ohio).

    Additionally, some congressional commenters have noted that there are particular district courts which have a relatively low number and percentage of nontraditional judges (or judges belonging to specific demographic groups) as compared to what might be expected given the demographics of the population in the states where the district courts are located.

    More specifically, for example, there are a total of 13 permanent and 1 temporary district court judgeships authorized for the three judicial districts within Alabama (i.e., the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts). Of these 14 judgeships, 12 currently have active judges appointed to them while 2 of the judgeships are vacant. Of the 12 active judges, 7 (or 58.3%) are nontraditional; but of the 7 nontraditional judges, 6 are white female judges, while 1 is an African American male judge and none are African American female judges.95 In a recent letter to President Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus cited the relatively low number of African American district court judges in Alabama as an example of "the dire need to address the lack of attention to the nomination and confirmation of African Americans to the bench in a manner that reflects the racial diversity of our jurisdictions and the nation as a whole."96

    Conclusion

    This report addresses the ongoing congressional interest in the demographic characteristics of U.S. circuit and district court judges. Congressional interest reflects, in part, questions related to the extent demographic characteristics of federal judges reflect either the nation at large or the specific states and communities which they serve.

    For the purposes of this report, "nontraditional" judges are those judges who belong to demographic groups from which, historically, individuals were often not selected, if at all, for federal judgeships. Diversity among active circuit and district court judges has increased during each of the last three presidencies, with President Obama appointing the greatest percentage of "nontraditional" judges currently serving on the bench. As of this writing, the percentage of nontraditional active lower federal court judges is at a historic high and, given that nontraditional judges now comprise 48.8% and 47.3% of all circuit and district court judges currently serving, such judges may soon account for a majority of the nation's active circuit and district court judges.

    While there has been an increase in the number of nontraditional judges appointed to the bench, there remain issues of concern to some Members of Congress and others concerning the diversity of the lower federal courts. The Congressional Black Caucus, for example, recently raised the issue of the relatively low number and percentage of African American district court judges in particular judicial districts. Such issues will likely continue to be of interest to Congress as judicial vacancies occur and opportunities arise for Presidents to nominate new judges to the federal courts.

    Acknowledgments

    The author thanks Amber Wilhelm, Graphics Specialist in the Publishing and Editorial Resources Section of CRS, for her work on the figures included in this report.

    Footnotes

    7. 10. The numbers reported in Figure 1 for each calendar year represent the number of women who served as active judges for either all or just part of a particular year (and does not necessarily mean that all of the women serving during a particular year were serving as active judges at the same time, i.e., their service as active judges may not have overlapped if any women retired, resigned, took senior status, or died while in office during the calendar year prior to the appointment of any new female judges during that same year). The numbers reported in Figure 3 for each calendar year represent the number of African American, Hispanic, or Asian American individuals who served as active judges for either all or part of a particular year (and does not necessarily mean that all of the individuals serving during a particular year were serving as active judges at the same time, i.e., their service as active judges may not have overlapped if any individuals retired, resigned, took senior status, or died while in office during the calendar year prior to the appointment of any judges from the same demographic group during that same year). The percentages reported in Figure 6 do not include a President's nominees who were not confirmed by the Senate. President Carter was the first President to emphasize demographic diversity as a key consideration of his judicial selection process. As shown by Figure 6, 38.9% of President Carter's U.S. circuit court appointees were "nontraditional" (compared to 3.5% of all U.S. circuit court nominees appointed from the Truman presidency through the Ford presidency). During the Carter presidency, the number of white female circuit court judges increased from 1 to 11; the number of non-white female judges increased from 0 to 1; and the number of non-white male judges increased from 6 to 13. President Carter was the first President to appoint an African American woman, or any woman of color, as a U.S. circuit court judge (in 1979); and the first to appoint an Hispanic man as a circuit court judge (also in 1979). The numbers reported in Figure 9 for each calendar year represent the number of women who served as active judges for either all or just part of a particular year (and does not necessarily mean that all of the women serving during a particular year were serving as active judges at the same time, i.e., their service as active judges may not have overlapped if any women retired, resigned, took senior status, or died while in office during the calendar year prior to the appointment of any new female judges during that same year). The numbers reported in Figure 11 for each calendar year represent the number of African American, Hispanic, or Asian American individuals who served as active judges for either all or part of a particular year (and does not necessarily mean that all of the individuals serving during a particular year were serving as active judges at the same time, i.e., their service as active judges may not have overlapped if any individuals retired, resigned, took senior status, or died while in office at some point during the calendar year prior to the appointment of any judges from the same demographic group during that same year). The percentages reported in Figure 14 do not include a President's nominees who were not confirmed by the Senate. This includes individuals who, immediately prior to being appointed as U.S. district court judges, had been working as U.S. magistrate judges; other types of federal judges (e.g., bankruptcy judges); and state or local judges.
    1.

    In this report, the U.S. courts of appeals are frequently referred to as "circuit courts" while judges serving on such courts are referred to as "circuit court judges."

    2.

    "The Appeals Process," Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, available at http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/HowCourtsWork/TheAppealsProcess.aspx.

    3.

    Court of appeals and district court judgeships are created, or authorized, by legislation that must be enacted by Congress. Congress last authorized the creation of new circuit court judgeships in 1990 (P.L. 101-650, December 1, 1990). The legislation in 1990 authorized 11 new circuit court judgeships, including 4 new judgeships for the Fourth Circuit, 2 each for the Third and Tenth Circuits, and 1 apiece for the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits. Legislation enacted in 2008 transferred an existing circuit court judgeship from the D.C. Circuit to the Ninth Circuit but did not create a new judgeship (P.L. 110-177, January 7, 2008). As for district courts, Congress last authorized the creation of new judgeships in 2002 (P.L. 107-273). The 2002 legislation authorized eight new permanent judgeships for district courts located in California, North Carolina, and Texas, and seven new temporary judgeships for district courts located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas. Congress also extended a temporary judgeship for a district court in Ohio and converted four temporary judgeships to permanent judgeships for district courts in Illinois, New York, and Virginia.

    4.

    A list of the states that comprise each circuit is set forth in Section 41 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code. One additional circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has nationwide jurisdiction and hears certain specialized legal claims related to international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, certain money claims against the United States government, federal personnel, veterans' benefits, and public safety officers' benefits claims.

    5, has nationwide jurisdiction and hears certain specialized legal claims related to international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, certain money claims against the United States government, federal personnel, veterans' benefits, and public safety officers' benefits claims. At present, there are 12 authorized judgeships for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
    6.

    In general, the number of judgeships authorized for a circuit reflects the relative population size of that judicial circuit compared to other circuits. For example, the First Circuit (comprised of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island)—with 6 authorized judgeships—has a population of approximately 13.9 million. In contrast, the Ninth Circuit (comprised of California, 8 other western states, and 2 U.S. territories)—with 29 authorized judgeships—has a population of approximately 65.4 million.

    The statistics provided in this report do not include the relatively rare nominations made by a President to territorial district court judgeships, which were established by Congress pursuant to its authority to govern the territories under Article IV of the Constitution. Judges confirmed to these courts serve 10-year terms (rather than "during good Behaviour"). Like Article III courts, however," which for practical purposes means life tenure for Article III district court judges). But as with U.S. district courts established under Article III of the Constitution, territorial courts hear cases arising out of federal law, their decisions may be appealed to a U.S. circuit court of appeals, and their judicial nominations are referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    68.

    The territorialTerritorial district court judgeships are authorized for district courts located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

    7.

    These figures do not include "roving" judgeships, i.e., judgeships shared by two or more federal district courts.

    8 (with two judgeships), Guam (one judgeship), and the Northern Mariana Islands (one judgeship). American Samoa, the only other inhabited U.S. territory, has not been incorporated into a federal judicial district (hence, there are no authorized judgeships for the territory). According to at least one observer, a federal district court "was not established on American Samoa for fear that it may harm Fa'a Samoa," an aspect of the Samoan way of life that is "rooted in communal land ownership and the matai title system of American Samoa." See "Federal Court Options for American Samoa," Statement of Stephen Sander, Acting Directory, Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior, before the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, House Committee on Natural Resources, September 18, 2008, available at https://www.doi.gov/ocl/hearings/110/AmericanSamoaFedCourt_091808.
    9.

    These figures do not include "roving" judgeships (i.e., judgeships shared by two or more federal district courts). As with circuit courts, the difference in the number of authorized district court judgeships generally reflects differences in the relative population size of judicial districts (as well as differences in the relative caseloads of these districts). For example, the Eastern District of Oklahoma—with 1 authorized judgeship—has a population of approximately 745,000. In contrast, the Central District of California—with 28 authorized judgeships—has a population of approximately 18.9 million.

    Although Members of the U.S. House of Representatives do not have a formal constitutional role in the confirmation of federal judges, the demographic characteristics of judicial nominees are also of interest to Members of the House. See, for example, Rep. Mike Honda, "Asian Pacific American Heritage Month," Remarks in the House, Congressional Record, daily edition, May 19, 2010, p. H3652 (stating that the President has "demonstrated commitment to judicial diversity through the nomination of high caliber Asian American and other minority jurists at all levels of the Federal bench"). See also Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, "Nomination of Miguel Estrada," Remarks in the House, Congressional Record, daily edition, February 13, 2003, p. H685 (stating that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus "will actively work to identify and recommend qualified Hispanic candidates to fill Federal court vacancies"). Additionally, in 2014, the Congressional Black Caucus recently released a letter to urge President Obama to appoint a greater number of African American judges, particularly to certain judicial districts (e.g., the three judicial districts located in Alabama). For the text of the letter, see https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1009668-cbc-judges-letter-to-the-president.html.

    911.

    Sen. Roger WickerFor recent examples, see Sen. Lisa Murkowski, "Executive Session," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, November 4, 2013, p.S7791.

    10.

    Sen. Barbara Boxer15, 2011, p. S7426; Sen. Ben Cardin, "Executive Session," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, December 6April 4, 2011, p. S2079; Sen. Roger Wicker, 2011, p.S8359.

    11.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski, "Executive Session," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, November 15, 2011, p.S7426.

    12.

    Sen. Lamar Alexander, "Donald Nomination," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, September 6, 2011, p.S5322.

    13.

    Sen. Ben Cardin4, 2013, p. S7791; Sen. Pat Toomey, "Executive Session," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, January 11, 2016; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, "Executive Session," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, April 4, 2011, p.S2079.

    14.

    Sen. Tom CoburnJanuary 19, 2016, p. S84; and Sen. Cory Booker, "Executive Session," Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, July 25, 2006, p.S8140, S8150January 27, 2016, p. S242.

    15.

    12. An "active" judge is a judge who currently holds, on a full-time basis, one of the U.S. circuit or district court judgeships authorized by Congress. Consequently, this group of judges does not include judges who have assumed "senior status," i.e., judges who have stepped down from active service but continue on a part-time basis to perform some of the duties of their office (which might include hearing cases). Senior status eligibility is based upon a judge's age as well as his or her length of service as an Article III judge. Specifically, beginning at age 65, a judge may outright retire from office or take senior status after performing 15 years of active service as an Article III judge. A sliding scale of increasing age and decreasing service results in eligibility for retirement compensation at age 70 with a minimum 10 years of service.

    1613.

    President Obama, for example, appointed a combined total of 318 circuit and district court judges. Of the 318, 315 continue to serve, as of June 1, 2017, as active judges. Unless otherwise noted, the three judges who stepped down, i.e., retired or assumed senior status, prior to June 1, 2017, are not included in the statistics presented throughout this report.

    14.

    Of the 59 active female circuit court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Obama (24, or 41%, of 59 judges)—followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (16 of 59); Clinton (14); G.H.W. Bush (3); and Reagan (2).

    15.

    When taking the 19 vacancies that existed on June 1, 2017, into account, women were appointed to 33% of the 179 U.S. circuit court judgeships currently authorized by Congress.

    16.

    The Ninth Circuit is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and two U.S. territories (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands). The Eighth Circuit is comprised of Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

    17.

    The Sixth Circuit is comprised of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.

    18.

    There are six judicial circuits where the percentage of active judges who are women is higher than the national percentage (i.e., higher than 37%). These circuits include the Sixth (47%); D.C. (45%); Eleventh (45%); Seventh (44%); Ninth (44%); and the Federal Circuit (42%).

    19.
    20.

    The first female U.S. circuit court judge, Judge Florence E. Allen, was appointed to the Sixth Circuit by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934. She assumed senior status in 1959. The second female U.S. circuit court judge appointed to the bench, Judge Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler, was appointed to the Ninth Circuit by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. She remained the sole female circuit court judge until 1979, when 9 additional female circuit court judges were appointed to the bench by President Carter.

    21.

    The racial categories used in this report "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and [are] not an attempt" by CRS "to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically." See http://www.census.gov/population/race. For the purposes of this report, the Hispanic category is treated as a non-white category. Note, though, that individuals who identify as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Ibid.

    22.

    Of the 21 active African American circuit court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Clinton (9, or 43%, of 21 judges)—followed by Presidents Obama (8 of 21) and G.W. Bush (4).

    23.

    Of the 14 active Hispanic circuit court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Obama (6, or 43%, of 14 judges)—followed by Presidents Clinton (4 of 14); G.W. Bush (3); and Reagan (1).

    24.

    Of the five active Asian American circuit court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Obama (4, or 80%, of 5 judges)—followed by President Trump (1 of 5).

    25.

    Active Hispanic judges were serving on the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits.

    26.

    Active Asian American judges were serving on the Second, Sixth, Ninth, DC, and Federal Circuits.

    27.

    The Ninth Circuit is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and two U.S. territories (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands). The Second Circuit is comprised of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.

    28.

    According to the CRS calculations using recent census data, the African American population of the Eleventh Circuit is approximately 7.6 million (or 22.3% of the circuit's total population). Based on the percentage of a circuit's population that is African American, the Eleventh Circuit has the third largest percentage of residents that are African American (22.3%)—compared to 22.7% for the Fourth Circuit (with 3 active African American judges) and 50.1% for the D.C. Circuit (also with 3 active African American judges).

    29.

    The Fourth Circuit is comprised of Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Sixth Circuit is comprised of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The D.C. Circuit is comprised solely of the District of Columbia.

    30.

    The Ninth Circuit is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and two U.S. territories (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands).

    31.
    32.

    The first African American U.S. circuit court judge, Judge William H. Hastie, was appointed to the Third Circuit by President Truman in 1949. Prior to 1977, three other African Americans were appointed as U.S. circuit court judgeships. The first female African American U.S. circuit court judge, Judge Amalya L. Kearse, was appointed to the Second Circuit by President Carter in 1979.

    33.

    The first Hispanic U.S. circuit court judge, Judge Reynaldo G. Garza, was appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President Carter in 1979. The first female Hispanic U.S. circuit court judge, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, was appointed to the Ninth Circuit by President Clinton in 1998.

    34.

    The first Asian American U.S. circuit court judge, Judge Herbert Young Cho Choy, was appointed to the Ninth Circuit by President Nixon in 1971. Prior to 1977, he remained the sole Asian American appointed to a circuit court judgeship. The first female Asian American U.S. circuit court judge, Judge Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen, was appointed to the Ninth Circuit by President Obama in 2012.

    35.

    Of the 73 white men serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, a plurality (27, or 37%, of 73) were appointed by President G.W. Bush, followed by Presidents Obama (16 judges), Clinton (13); Reagan (9), G.H.W. Bush (6), and Carter and Ford, with 1 judge apiece.

    36.

    Of the 47 white women serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, a plurality (19, or 40%, of 47) were appointed by President Obama, followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (13 judges), Clinton (10), G.H.W. Bush (3), and Reagan (2).

    37.

    Of the 14 African American men serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, Presidents Obama and Clinton each appointed 6 judges, followed by President G.W. Bush (2 judges).

    38.

    Of the 7 African American women serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, President Clinton appointed 3 (43%), and Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush appointed 2 judges apiece.

    39.

    Of the 10 Hispanic men serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, a plurality (4, or 40%, of 10) were appointed by President Obama, followed by Presidents Clinton (3 judges), G.W. Bush (2), and Reagan (1).

    40.

    Of the 4 Hispanic women serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, President Obama appointed 2 (50%) and Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton appointed 1 judge apiece.

    41.

    President Obama appointed three of the four Asian American men currently serving as active U.S. circuit court judges (the other judge was appointed by President Trump).

    42.

    President Obama appointed the sole Asian American woman currently serving as an active U.S. circuit court judge.

    43.

    See CRS In Focus IF10147, U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Profile of Select Demographic Characteristics, by [author name scrubbed]. As used in this report, the term nontraditional refers only to judges belonging to one of the three broad demographic groups identified in the text (white women, non-white women, and non-white men) and does not refer to judicial decisionmaking or judicial philosophy.

    44.

    This, of course, reflects not only the priority that a particular President places on appointing women and persons of color as federal judges but also the changing demographics of law school graduates (which affects the pool of qualified individuals from which a President can select potential judicial nominees). For example, from the 1980-81 academic year to the 2010-11 academic year, the number of female law school graduates, of all races, increased from 11,693 to 21,043, an 80% increase. Additionally, women increased from 32.8% of all graduates in 1980-81 to 47.3% of all graduates in 2010-11. See American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Statistics, at https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html.

    45.

    See CRS Insight, Demographic Diversity on the U.S. Courts of Appeals: An Update (August 18, 2014), by [author name scrubbed] (available from the author upon request).

    46. 47.
    48.

    Additionally, of President Obama's circuit court appointees, 25.4% were non-white men and 9.1% were non-white women.

    49.

    The mean is equivalent to the arithmetic average ("mean" and "average" are used interchangeably throughout this report). The mean or average is calculated by adding a group of numbers and then dividing that value by how many numbers there are, while the median is the middle value for a particular set of numbers (i.e., half of the numbers are above the median and half of the numbers are below it). Although the average or mean is a more commonly used measure, the median is less affected by outliers or extreme cases (e.g., nominees who were appointed at relatively much younger or older ages than the typical nominee). Consequently, the median might be a better measure of central tendency.

    50.

    The three are Judges Frank H. Easterbrook (serving on the Seventh Circuit), Edith H. Jones (Fifth Circuit), and Alex Kozinski (Ninth Circuit).

    51.

    Prior to his appointment as a circuit court judge, Judge Tjoflat served as a U.S. district court judge for the Middle District of Florida. That service is not included in the length of service calculation (which is based on an individual's service as a particular type of judge, i.e., an appellate court judge, and not on an individual's entire federal judicial service). Note that Judge Tjoflat was initially appointed to the Fifth Circuit (prior to the creation of the Eleventh Circuit) but was reassigned on October 1, 1981, to a new seat authorized by Congress after the creation of the Eleventh Circuit. Because Judge Tjoflat's service on the Fifth Circuit was as a federal appellate court judge, that service (as well as his service on the Eleventh Circuit) is included in the length-of-service calculation.

    52.

    Consequently, it does not provide a full record of a nominee's professional positions or experiences prior to being appointed as a circuit court judge (and most nominees held multiple positions over the course of their professional careers prior to being appointed). It also does not provide information as to the length of time a nominee held a particular position or was engaged in a particular profession immediately prior to being appointed.

    53.

    The lack of a nominee's experience in a traditional legal occupation (such as an attorney in private practice) has, in some cases, led some Senators to oppose the nominee's nomination. For example, J. Harvie Wilkinson III was nominated by President Reagan to the Fourth Circuit on January 30, 1984. At the time, Senator Edward M. Kennedy stated, during the debate to invoke cloture on the nomination, that the nominee was "the least qualified nominee ever submitted for an appellate court vacancy." Senators' opposition to the nomination were based, in part, on the nominee's relatively young age (he was 39) and the fact that he had never practiced law. When nominated, Judge Wilkinson was a law professor at the University of Virginia and he had previously worked for a year as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General during the Reagan presidency. Linda Greenhouse, "Reagan Names 6 To Federal Appeals Courts," New York Times, August 2, 1984, available at http://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/02/us/reagan-names-6-to-federal-appeals-courts.html.

    54.

    Some organizations have called for broadening the professional diversity of judges serving on the federal bench. The Alliance for Justice, for example, has called upon the President to nominate individuals with experience working as attorneys for public interest organizations. Alliance for Justice, "Broadening the Bench: Professional Diversity and Judicial Nominations," February 6, 2014, available at http://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/prof-diversity-report-3.2.2014-FINAL-Updated-with-Noms-Through-2.6.14.pdf.

    55.

    This includes individuals who, immediately prior to being appointed as U.S. circuit court judges, had been working as U.S. district court judges; U.S. magistrate judges; other types of federal judges (e.g., bankruptcy judges); and state or local judges.

    56.

    For the purposes of this report, the term "judicial district" is used interchangeably with "U.S. district court"—but note that, within each judicial district, a U.S. district court may have several locations where judges appointed to the district court sit to hear cases. For example, in the Central District of California (i.e., referred to as a "U.S. district court" in this report), judges hear cases in three locations—Los Angeles, Riverside, and Santa Ana.

    57.

    Of the 194 active female district court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Obama (108, or 56%, of 194 judges)—followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (49 of 194); Clinton (27); G.H.W. Bush (7); and Reagan and Carter, each with one a piece.

    58.

    When taking the 103 vacancies that existed on June 1, 2017, into account, women were appointed to 29% of the 673 U.S. district court judgeships currently authorized by Congress.

    59.

    As of June 1, 2017, there were no active female judges serving on 11 U.S. district courts. These include the Middle District of Alabama (3 authorized judgeships); Delaware (4 authorized judgeships); Idaho (2 authorized judgeships); Western District of Kentucky (4 authorized judgeships); Southern District of Mississippi (6 authorized judgeships); Western District of North Carolina (5 authorized judgeships); North Dakota (2 authorized judgeships); Eastern District of Oklahoma (1 authorized judgeship); Rhode Island (3 authorized judgeships); Western District of Washington (7 authorized judgeships); and the Western District of Wisconsin (2 authorized judgeships).

    60.

    Overall, there is more than one woman serving as an active judge on 43, or 54%, of the 80 U.S. district courts with female judges. Note that, just as the number of authorized judgeships varies across U.S. circuit courts, the number of authorized judgeships also varies across U.S. district courts (ranging from a maximum of 28 authorized judgeships for the Central District of California to a minimum of 1 authorized judgeship for the Eastern District of Oklahoma). Given the relatively greater number of judicial districts than judicial circuits (91 versus 13), and the greater variation in authorized judgeships across these districts, the percentage of active female judges serving on each of the 91 U.S. district courts is not calculated for this report.

    61.
    62.

    The first female U.S. district court judge, Judge Burnita Shelton Matthews, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by President Truman in 1949.

    63.

    The racial categories used in this report "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and [are] not an attempt" by CRS "to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically." See http://www.census.gov/population/race. For the purposes of this report, the Hispanic category is treated as a non-white category. Note, though, that individuals who identify as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Ibid.

    64.

    Of the 81 active African American district court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Obama (49, or 60%, of 81 judges)—followed by Presidents Clinton (16 of 81), G.W. Bush (14), and G.H.W. Bush and Reagan, with 1 apiece.

    65.

    Of the 58 active Hispanic district court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President G.W. Bush (25, or 43%, of 58 judges)—followed by Presidents Obama (24 of 58); Clinton (5); and Johnson, Carter, G.H.W. Bush, and Reagan, with 1 apiece.

    66.

    Of the 16 active Asian American district court judges serving on June 1, 2017, the greatest number were appointed by President Obama (13, or 81%, of 16 judges)—followed by President G.W. Bush (3 of 16).

    67.

    President Obama appointed the sole active American Indian U.S. district court judge currently serving on the bench.

    68.

    President Obama appointed each of the eight active multiracial U.S. district court judges.

    69.

    The sole American Indian district court judge was appointed to the U.S. district court for Arizona. The 8 active multiracial district court judges were appointed to 7 (8%) of the nation's 91 district courts (more than one multiracial judge is currently serving on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York).

    70.

    See CRS Insight, Appointment of African American U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Historical Overview and Current Data, by [author name scrubbed] (available from the author upon request).

    71.

    Two of the five states with the largest percentage of the population that is Hispanic (according to census data) each have a single active Hispanic U.S. district court judge. Specifically, in Arizona (a state with a population that is 31% Hispanic), 1 of 11 active district court judges is Hispanic (and there are currently 2 vacancies). In Nevada (a state with a population that is 28% Hispanic), one of six active district court judges is Hispanic (and there is currently one vacancy).

    72.

    Hawaii, the state with the largest percentage of its population that is Asian American (roughly 37% according to census data), has one of three active U.S. district court judges that are Asian American (with one vacancy). New Jersey, the state with the third largest percentage of its population that is Asian American (approximately 9.5% according to census data), has no Asian American judges among the state's 14 active U.S. district court judges (there are currently 3 vacancies).

    73.
    74.

    The first African American U.S. district court judge, Judge James B. Parsons, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President Kennedy in 1961. The first female African American U.S. district court judge, Judge Constance Baker Motley, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Johnson in 1966.

    75.

    The first Hispanic U.S. district court judge, Judge Reynaldo G. Garza, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by President Kennedy in 1961. The first female Hispanic U.S. district court judge, Judge Carmen C. Cerezo, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico by President Carter in 1980.

    76.

    The first Asian American U.S. district court judge, Judge Dick Yin Wong, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii by President Ford in 1975. The first female Asian American U.S. district court judge, Judge Susan Oki Mollway, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii by President Clinton in 1998.

    77.

    Of the 281 white men serving as active U.S. district court judges, a plurality (127, or 45%. of 281) were appointed by President G.W. Bush, followed by Presidents Obama (100 judges), Clinton (35); Reagan (11), G.H.W. Bush (7), and Ford (1).

    78.

    Of the 125 white women serving as active U.S. district court judges, a majority (67, or 54%, of 125) were appointed by President Obama, followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (32 judges), Clinton (19); G.H.W. Bush (6), and Reagan (1).

    79.

    Of the 46 African American men serving as active U.S. district court judges, a majority (27, or 59%, of 46) were appointed by Obama, followed by Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton (9 judge apiece) and Reagan (1).

    80.

    Of the 35 African Americans serving as active U.S. district court judges, a majority (22, or 63%, of 35) were appointed by President Obama, followed by Presidents Clinton (7 judges), G.W. Bush (5), and G.H.W. Bush (1).

    81.

    Of the 37 Hispanic men serving as active U.S. district court judges, a plurality (16, or 43%, of 37) were appointed by President Obama, followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (14 judges), Clinton (4), and G.H.W. Bush, Reagan, and Johnson (each with 1 judge).

    82.

    Of the 21 Hispanic women serving as active U.S. district court judges, a majority (11, or 52%, of 21) were appointed by President G.W. Bush, followed by Presidents Obama (8 judges) and Clinton and Carter, each with 1 judge apiece.

    83.

    Of the 9 Asian American men serving as active U.S. district court judges, a majority (7, or 78%, of 9) were appointed by President Obama, followed by President G.W. Bush (2 judges).

    84.

    Of the 7 Asian American women serving as active U.S. district court judges, a majority (6, or 86%, of 7) were appointed by President Obama, followed by President G.W. Bush (1 judge).

    85.

    President Obama appointed the sole American Indian woman serving as an active U.S. district court judge, as well as each of the eight multiracial active district court judges (4 men and 4 women).

    86.

    As discussed in the section providing these statistics for U.S. circuit court judges, the demographic changes among U.S. district court judges reflects not only the priority that a particular President places on appointing women and persons of colors as federal judges but also changing demographics of law school graduates and, consequently, licensed attorneys (which affects the pool of qualified individuals from which a President can select potential nominees).

    87.
    88.

    As discussed in the section providing these statistics for U.S. circuit court judges, President Carter's judicial appointments were notable because it was the first time a President emphasized gender and racial diversity in the judicial selection and appointment process. Overall, 33% (or 1 in 3) of President Carter's appointees were "non-traditional" compared to 5% of all appointees from the Truman through the Ford presidencies. During the Carter presidency, the number of white female district court judges increased from 3 to 24; the number of non-white female judges increased from 1 to 8; and the number of non-white male judges increased from 23 to 55.

    89.

    The mean is equivalent to the arithmetic average ("mean" and "average" are used interchangeably throughout this report). The mean or average is calculated by adding a group of numbers and then dividing that value by how many numbers there are, while the median is the middle value for a particular set of numbers (i.e., half of the numbers are above the median and half of the numbers are below it). Although the average or mean is a more commonly used measure, the median is less affected by outliers or extreme cases (e.g., nominees who were appointed at relatively much younger or older ages than the typical nominee). Consequently, the median might be a better measure of central tendency.

    90.

    Note that these 20 judges are a subset of the 22 active judges who were appointed at age 39 or younger.

    91.

    The two are Judges Sidney A. Fitzwater (serving on the Northern District of Texas) and Ricardo H. Hinojosa (serving on the Southern District of Texas).

    92.

    Consequently, it does not provide a full record of a nominee's professional experiences or qualifications prior to being appointed as a district court judge (and most nominees held multiple positions prior to being appointed). It also does not provide information as to the length of time a nominee held a particular position or was engaged in a particular profession immediately prior to being appointed.

    93.

    Examples of state or local judicial positions held by active U.S. district court judges immediately prior to appointment include Judge, Summit County [Ohio] Court of Common Pleas; Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia; Judge, Oregon Circuit Court, Lane County; Judge, Illinois Circuit Court, Cook County; and Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego.

    94.

    U.S. magistrate judges are federal judges who are appointed through a merit selection process for renewable, eight-year terms. Additionally, "Although their precise duties may change from district to district, Magistrate Judges often

    conduct mediations, resolve discovery disputes, and decide a wide variety of motions; determine whether criminal defendants will be detained or released on a bond; appoint counsel for such defendants (and, in the misdemeanor context, hold trials and sentence defendants); and make recommendations regarding whether a party should win a case on summary judgment, whether a Social Security claimant should receive a disability award, whether a habeas petitioner should prevail, and whether a case merits dismissal. When both sides to a civil case consent, Magistrate Judges hear the entire dispute, rule on all motions, and preside at trial." See Peter G. McCabe, Esq., A Guide to the Federal Magistrate Judge System, August 2014, available online at http://www.fedbar.org/PDFs/A-Guide-to-the-Federal-Magistrate-Judge-System.aspx.

    95.

    "Federal Judges," Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, available at http://www.uscourts.gov/Common/FAQS.aspx. The requirements that an active judge must meet in order to assume senior status are set forth in Section 371(c) of Title 28 of the U.S. Code.

    17.

    Such statistics are, however, available from CRS upon request.

    18.

    As of this writing, CRS does not track or have available demographic data for nominees whose nominations were unsuccessful or whose nominations are currently pending before the Senate.

    19.

    Consequently, the data analyzed in this report are limited to information provided by the Directory. The Directory is maintained by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts and is available online at http://www.uscourts.gov/JudgesAndJudgeships/BiographicalDirectoryOfJudges.aspx.

    20.

    For the purposes of this report, if a judge received a recess appointment from one President and was subsequently nominated to the same position later by a different President (and confirmed by the Senate), the judge is counted as a nominee of the President making the initial recess appointment (and, thus, the judge is not double counted as an appointee of two Presidents). Throughout this report, for example, Roger L. Gregory is counted as an appointee of President Clinton. Judge Gregory received a recess appointment to the Fourth Circuit by President Clinton on December 27, 2000. He was subsequently nominated to the same position by President G.W. Bush on May 9, 2001, and confirmed by the Senate on July 20, 2001.

    21.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of active U.S. circuit court appointees, for the 7 Presidents are 52 (G.W. Bush), 41 (Obama), 41 (Clinton), 15 (Reagan), 10 (G.H.W. Bush), 2 (Carter), and 1 (Ford).

    22.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of senior U.S. circuit court appointees, for the 8 Presidents are 38 (Reagan), 22 (G.H.W. Bush), 21 (Carter), 15 (Clinton), 6 (Nixon), 4 (G.W. Bush), 4 (Johnson), 3 (Ford), and 1 (Obama).

    23.

    Judge Andre M. Davis, an Obama appointee to the Fourth Circuit, took senior status on February 28, 2014. Judge Davis is the first Obama judicial appointee, whether to a circuit or district court, who has assumed senior status. Prior to his service on the Fourth Circuit, Judge Davis served for over 14 years as a district court judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

    24.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of active U.S. district court appointees, for the 8 Presidents are 234 (G.W. Bush), 179 (Obama), 123 (Clinton), 34 (G.H.W. Bush), 27 (Reagan), 4 (Carter), 1 (Ford), and 1 (Johnson).

    25.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of senior U.S. district court appointees, for the 9 Presidents are 128 (Reagan), 115 (Clinton), 71 (Carter), 70 (G.H.W. Bush), 28 (Nixon), 10 (G.W. Bush), 8 (Ford), 5 (Johnson), and 3 (Kennedy).

    26.

    One study, for example, found no statistically significant differences in the voting patterns of Democratic and Republican circuit court appointees on cases related to criminal appeals, takings of private property, punitive damage awards, standing to sue, and Commerce Clause challenges to federal regulations. For other types of cases, however, there was "striking evidence" of such a relationship. Such cases involved campaign finance legislation, disability discrimination, affirmative action, sex discrimination, environmental protection, and labor law. See Cass R. Sunstein et al., Are Judges Political? An Empirical Analysis of the Federal Judiciary (Washington: Brookings Institution, 2006), pp.47-54, 147-148. Another scholar argues that it is "unlikely that judicial decisionmaking is systematically political in a partisan sense. Federal judges lack the obvious incentive to promote their parties' interests, and regardless, they have few opportunities to do so." Bradley W. Joondeph, "The Many Meanings of 'Politics' in Judicial Decision Making," University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Law Review, vol. 77, p.356 (2008).

    27.

    Judge Richard A. Posner, "Foreword: A Political Court," Harvard Law Review, vol. 119, p.75 (2005).

    28.

    Of active U.S. circuit court judges, Democratic Presidents have appointed 84, while Republican Presidents have appointed 78. For senior U.S. circuit court judges, Democratic Presidents have appointed 41, while Republican Presidents have appointed 73.

    29.

    These statistics are based upon the number of judgeships, as of March 7, 2014, with active judges and do not include vacant judgeships within a circuit.

    30.

    As of this writing, Democratic and Republican Presidents have appointed the same percentage of active judges to the Tenth Circuit (comprised of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming).

    31.

    Data related to the number of sitting judges by circuit and by party of the appointing President are available from the author upon request.

    32.

    Of active U.S. district court judges, Democratic Presidents have appointed 307, while Republican Presidents appointed 296. Of senior U.S. district court judges, Democratic Presidents appointed 194, while Republican Presidents appointed 244.

    33.

    The demographic characteristics analyzed in this section are limited to the information provided in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Consequently, this section does not provide a discussion of other demographic characteristics that might nonetheless be of interest to Congress. The analysis in the report, for example, does not include the sexual orientation of circuit and district court judges. Note, however, that President Obama has appointed the first openly gay individual to a circuit court judgeship. Todd M. Hughes was nominated by President Obama to the Federal Circuit on February 7, 2013, and confirmed by the Senate on September 24, 2013. See Juliet Eilperin, "Senate confirms Todd M. Hughes as first openly gay federal appeals judge," Washington Post, September 24, 2013, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-confirms-todd-m-hughes-as-first-openly-gay-federal-appeals-judge/2013/09/24/c63c25fc-252b-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_story.html. Deborah A. Batts was the first openly gay district court appointee. Judge Batts was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Clinton on January 27, 1994, and confirmed by the Senate on May 6, 1994. See http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/president-obama-nominates-black-lesbian-judge-102277.html.

    34.

    Such statistics for U.S. district court judges have not, as of this writing, been calculated by CRS.

    35.

    Hanna F. Pitkin, The Concept of Representation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1967), p. 80 (hereafter Pitkin, Representation).

    36.

    Nancy Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench: Is Universal Legitimacy for the U.S. Justice System Possible?," Northwestern University Law Review, vol. 105, no. 2 (2011), p. 598 (quoting Jane Mansbridge, "Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent 'Yes,'" Journal of Politics, vol. 61, (1999), p. 651) (hereafter Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench").

    37.

    Ibid. (citing Edward M. Chen, "The Judiciary, Diversity, and Justice for All," California Law Review, vol. 91 (2003), pp. 1109, 1116; Sylvia R. Lazos Vargas, "Only Skin Deep?: The Cost of Partisan Politics on Minority Diversity of the Federal Bench," Indiana Law Journal, vol. 83 (2008), pp. 1423, 1430-31).

    38.

    Ibid., p. 599 (citing Carol M. Swain, Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2006), p. 5; Suzanne Dovi, "Preferable Descriptive Representatives: Will Just Any Woman, Black, or Latino Do?," American Political Science Review, vol. 96 (2002), pp. 729, 740).

    39.

    See, for example, Jennifer L. Lawless, "Politics of Presence? Congresswomen and Symbolic Representation," Political Research Quarterly, vol. 57 (2004), pp. 81, 93 (finding little evidence that the presence of women officeholders affects constituents' evaluations of their members of Congress or levels of political efficacy and trust in government); see also Susan A. Banducci, Todd Donovan & Jeffrey A. Karp, "Minority Representation, Empowerment, and Participation," Journal of Politics, vol. 66 (2004), pp. 534, 549 (finding that African Americans who are represented by African Americans in Congress are more likely to recall the name of their representative, more likely to contact the representative, and approve of his or her performance than African Americans who are not represented by African Americans).

    40.

    Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench," p. 601, emphasis in original (quoting Sherrilyn A. Ifill, "Racial Diversity on the Bench: Beyond Role Models and Public Confidence," Washington & Lee Law Review, vol. 57 (2000), pp. 405, 407-08).

    41.

    Pitkin, Representation, p. 113.

    42.

    Ibid., p. 115.

    43.

    Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench," p. 604.

    44.

    Note that "at least one political theorist has argued that, even short of distinctive decisionmaking, the mere presence of minority groups and women furthers important goals, including undermining the perception that the courts are run by white male judges." Ibid. (citing Virginia Sapiro, When Are Interests Interesting? The Problem of Political Representation of Women," American Political Science Review, vol. 75 (1981), pp. 701, 712).

    45.

    For example, a female U.S. district court judge, when asked in an interview "whether specifically a judge's race, ethnicity, or gender influences decisionmaking" replied, "'What does gender have to do with judging?'" Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench," pp. 606-07.

    46.

    See, for example, Brinck Kerr & Will Miller, "Latino Representation, It's Direct and Indirect," American Journal of Political Science, vol. 41 (1997), pp. 1066, 1071 (finding that during the 100th Congress Hispanic members' voting records were distinct from those of non-Hispanics on issues identified as important to Latinos by the Southwest Voter Research Institute); see also Kathleen A. Frankovic, "Sex and Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives: 1961-1975," American Politics Quarterly, vol. 5 (1977), pp. 315, 329 (finding that the voting behavior of women in Congress "like that of male legislators is related to personal characteristics, the type of districts they represent, and several institutional criteria" but noting that the data suggests "the emergence of a 'liberal' unity among Congresswomen" reflective of a "feminist coalition—if not truly "feminist in orientation, at least a coalition of feminine members of the House."); Arturo Vega & Juanita M. Firestone, "The Effects of Gender on Congressional Behavior and the Substantive Representation of Women," Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 20 (1995), pp. 213, 220 (finding that "party, constituency, and district characteristics remain better predictors of congressional voting behavior than does gender" but that the "introduction of women-related legislation and the voting cohesiveness of female legislators suggest two important manifestations of increased substantive representation of women by female members of Congress").

    47.

    Christina L. Boyd, Lee Epstein & Andrew D. Martin, "Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging," American Journal of Political Science, vol. 54 (2010), pp. 389, 401 (finding that "female and male judges differ significantly in their treatment of Title VII sex discrimination suits"). See also Jennifer L. Peresie, "Female Judges Matter: Gender and Collegial Decisionmaking in the Federal Appellate Courts," Yale Law Journal, vol. 114 (2005), pp. 1759, 1779 (finding that of the Title VII sexual harassment and sex discrimination cases analyzed in the article, plaintiffs generally lost; also noting, however, that "plaintiffs were significantly more likely to win ... when a female judge was on the bench").

    48.

    Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench," p. 606.

    49.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of female active U.S. circuit court appointees, for the 5 Presidents listed in Figure 3 are 16 (G.W. Bush), 16 (Clinton), 15 (Obama), 3 (G.H.W. Bush), and 2 (Reagan).

    50.

    Of the 52 active circuit court judges who are women, Democratic Presidents appointed 31 and Republican Presidents appointed 21. Of the 12 senior circuit court judges who are women, Democratic Presidents appointed 10, while Republican Presidents appointed 2.

    51.

    In the Fifth Circuit (comprised of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas), there are five active female judges who were appointed by Republican Presidents and none appointed by Democratic Presidents, while in the Sixth Circuit (comprised of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee), there are four active female judges appointed by Republican Presidents and three appointed by Democratic Presidents. For the Federal Circuit, Republican Presidents appointed three of the four active female judges.

    52.

    The percentage of sitting female judges (i.e., taking into account active judges as well as senior status judges) across judicial circuits has not, as of this writing, been calculated by CRS. Also, as mentioned above, because many circuit courts have a relatively small number of judgeships, small changes in the total number of women serving on a court can produce relatively large swings in the statistics reported above.

    53.

    The racial categories used in this report "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and [are] not an attempt" by CRS "to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically." See http://www.census.gov/population/race. For the purposes of this report, the Hispanic category is treated as a non-white category. But note that individuals who identify as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Ibid.

    54.

    Of the 162 active circuit court judges, 124 are white, 21 are African American, 13 are Hispanic, and 4 are Asian American. Of the 114 senior circuit court judges, 103 are white, 6 are African American, 4 are Hispanic, and 1 is Asian American.

    55.

    As noted above, Roger L. Gregory (an African American judge on the Fourth Circuit) is counted as an appointee of President Clinton. After receiving a recess appointment from President Clinton, Judge Gregory was nominated to the same position by President G.W. Bush and subsequently confirmed by the Senate.

    56.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of non-white active U.S. circuit court appointees, for the 4 Presidents are 16 (Obama), 14 (Clinton), 7 (G.W. Bush), and 1 (Reagan).

    57.

    Such calculations have not been done for non-white senior U.S. circuit court judges.

    58.

    Variation in the percentage of sitting non-white judges (i.e., taking into account active judges as well as senior status judges) across judicial circuits has not, as of this writing, been calculated by CRS. As with variation in the percentage of non-white active judges across judicial circuits, variation in the percentage of non-white sitting judges will likely reflect, in part, variation in the underlying demographics of the states located within each particular circuit. But as noted above in the discussion of female circuit court judges, a relatively small change in the number of non-white judges serving in some circuits can produce relatively large changes in the percentage of sitting non-white judges in those circuits.

    59.

    As used in this report, the term nontraditional refers only to judges belonging to one of the three broad demographic groups identified in the text (white women, non-white women, and non-white men) and does not refer to judicial conduct or judicial philosophy.

    60.

    This marks the beginning of the Carter presidency and, as discussed in a footnote below, President Carter was the first President to emphasize diversity as a cornerstone of his judicial selection process.

    61.

    Additionally, most of the nontraditional judges who have ever served on the bench were appointed after 1993 (i.e., after the start of the Clinton presidency). Of all women who have ever served as a U.S. circuit court judge, 61.5% were appointed after 1993. Of all African Americans who have ever served as a circuit court judge, 59.0% were appointed after 1993, while 73.7% of Hispanic circuit court judges and 62.5% of Asian American judges who ever served on the bench were appointed after 1993.

    62.

    The statistics provided in this paragraph are provided by the American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. See http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html.

    63.

    Similar statistics during the same time period for minority (non-white) enrollees are not available. However, during the five academic years preceding the Carter presidency (i.e., from 1971-72 to 1975-76), the average percentage of total J.D. enrollees in American Bar Association-approved law schools that were minorities was 7.2%. During the five academic years from 2007-08 through 2011-2012, the average was 22.8%. Ibid.

    64.

    Of the 162 active U.S. circuit court judges included in the analysis, there are 83 white men, 41 white women, 27 non-white men, and 11 non-white women.

    65.

    Of the 114 senior U.S. circuit court judges included in the analysis, there are 92 white men, 11 white women, 10 non-white men, and 1 non-white woman.

    66.

    Of the 11 non-white women serving as active U.S. circuit court judges, Presidents Clinton and Obama each appointed 4, while President G.W. Bush appointed 3.

    67.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of nontraditional active U.S. circuit court appointees for the 5 Presidents are 27 (Obama), 26 (Clinton), 20 (G.W. Bush), 3 (G.H.W. Bush), and 3 (Reagan). The 27 nominees represent, as of this writing, 64.3% if President Obama's circuit court appointees during his presidency.

    68.

    This percentage might reflect President Carter's emphasis on appointing minorities and women to the federal bench. As one scholar notes, "President Carter became the first President to implement a far-reaching appointment strategy with diversity as its cornerstone. By the end of his term, President Carter made significant progress towards achieving a diverse bench, appointing forty-one women (15.7% of total Carter appointees and 3.7% of all judges at the end of Carter's term), thirty-seven African-Americans (14.2% for Carter, 5.6% of all judges), and sixteen Hispanics (6.1% for Carter, 2.3% of all judges)." Scherer, "Diversifying the Federal Bench," p. 588.

    69.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of nontraditional senior U.S. circuit court appointees for the 4 Presidents are 12 (Carter), 4 (Clinton), 4 (G.H.W Bush), 1 (Obama), and 1 (G.W. Bush).

    70.

    Variation in the percentage of sitting nontraditional judges (i.e., taking into account active judges as well as senior status judges) across judicial circuits has not, as of this writing, been calculated by CRS.

    71.

    Of active circuit court judges currently serving on the bench, Democratic Presidents have appointed at least one nontraditional active judge to each circuit, while Republican Presidents have appointed no nontraditional active judges currently serving on the Third or Eleventh Circuits.

    72.

    The percentage of sitting nontraditional U.S. circuit court judges (i.e., taking into account both active and senior status judges) by judicial circuit has not been compiled by CRS.

    73.

    Additionally, as discussed below, such a consideration might also be important for some Members who seek to enhance representation of specific demographic groups among district court judges.

    74.

    Additionally, according to the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, there have never been any African American female judges appointed to either circuit court. In contrast, a total of seven white women and three African American men have been appointed at some point to the Fifth Circuit and a total of five white women and two African American men have served on the Eleventh Circuit.

    75.

    Unlike other statistics provided in this report (which are current as of March 7, 2014), the statistics related to age and senior status eligibility are current as of December 31, 2013. This reflects greater ease in calculating such statistics at the end of a calendar year. Consequently, the statistics reported for age and senior status eligibility do not include judges who have, during 2014, been confirmed or become eligible for senior status.

    76.

    The "average" or "mean" is the arithmetic mean, while the "median" indicates the middle value for a particular set of numbers.

    77.

    28 U.S.C. § 294.

    78.

    A judge can also take senior status after providing certification to the President in writing of a permanent mental or physical disability. 28 U.S.C. § 372(a).

    79.

    Senior Status and Retirement for Article III Judge, Judges Information Series No. 4 (Washington, DC: Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 1999), p. vii.

    80.

    Of the 53 active U.S. circuit court judges that CRS calculated were eligible, as of December 31, 2013, to assume senior status, 25 were appointed by President Clinton and 13 were appointed by President Reagan. The remaining 15 judges were appointed by President G.H.W. Bush (8), G.W. Bush (4), Carter (2), and Ford (1).

    81.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of female active U.S. district court appointees, for the 6 Presidents are 76 (Obama), 53 (G.W. Bush), 42 (Clinton), 16 (G.H.W. Bush), 3 (Carter), and 2 (Reagan).

    82.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of female senior U.S. district court appointees, for the 5 Presidents are 31 (Clinton), 11 (Carter), 7 (G.H.W. Bush), 6 (Reagan), and 1 (G.W. Bush).

    83.

    Of the 603 active U.S. district court judges included in the analysis, there are 451 white judges, 74 African American judges, 58 Hispanic judges, and 17 Asian American judges. There are 3 active judges, according to the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, who are biracial. For the percentages reported in Figure 10, each of the 3 judges are included in the relevant percentages related to their racial background. For example, the Directory lists Judge Analisa N. Torres as both an African American and Hispanic judge. Consequently, she is included in the percentage of African American active judges as well as the percentage of Hispanic active judges. But note that each district court judge who is biracial is counted only once in calculating the overall percentage of non-white active district court judges (which is reported in the text below).

    84.

    Of the 438 senior U.S. district court judges included in the analysis, there are 392 white judges, 29 African American judges, 14 Hispanic judges, 2 Asian American judges, and 1 Native American judge.

    85.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of African American active U.S. district court appointees, for the 5 Presidents are 31 (Obama), 25 (Clinton), 17 (G.W. Bush), 2 (Reagan), and 1 (G.H.W. Bush).

    86.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of Hispanic active U.S. district court appointees, for the 7 Presidents are 26 (G.W. Bush), 23 (Obama), 6 (Clinton), 2 (G.H.W. Bush), 2 (Reagan), 1 (Carter), and 1 (Johnson).

    87.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of non-white active U.S. district court appointees for the 7 Presidents are 63 (Obama), 47 (G.W. Bush), 33 (Clinton), 4 (Reagan), 3 (G.H.W. Bush), 1 (Carter), and 1 (Johnson).

    88.

    Such calculations have not been done for non-white senior U.S. district court judges.

    89.

    Of the 603 active U.S. district court judges included in the analysis, there are 318 white men, 133 white women, 93 non-white men, and 59 non-white women.

    90.

    Of the 438 senior U.S. district court judges included in the analysis, there are 344 white men, 48 white women, 38 non-white men, and 8 non-white women.

    91.

    The increase in the percentage of non-white female active district court judges is a relatively recent phenomenon. Of the non-white women currently serving on the bench as U.S. district court judges, President Obama has appointed nearly half (i.e., 49.2%).

    92.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of nontraditional active U.S. district court appointees for the 7 Presidents are 110 (Obama), 82 (G.W. Bush), 65 (Clinton), 18 (G.H.W. Bush), 6 (Reagan), 3 (Carter), and 1 (Johnson). The 110 appointees represent, as of this writing, 61.5% of President Obama's district court appointees during his presidency.

    93.

    The raw numbers, in descending order from greatest to fewest number of nontraditional senior U.S. district court appointees for the 5 Presidents are 46 (Clinton), 21 (Carter), 14 (G.H.W. Bush), 12 (Reagan), and 1 (G.W. Bush).

    94.

    As discussed above, given the relatively smaller number of district court judgeships in many judicial districts, relatively small changes in the number of nontraditional judges serving in those districts can produce relatively large changes in the percentage of nontraditional judges within the same districts.

    95.

    According to 2012 statistics reported by the United States Census Bureau, 66.6% of Alabama's population is white (not including those who also identify as Hispanic or Latino); 26.5% is black or African American; 4.1% is Hispanic; and 1.2% is Asian American (not including Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander). See http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/01000.html.

    96.

    The full text of the letter is available at https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1009668-cbc-judges-letter-to-the-president.html.