United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

• District of Maine
• District of Massachusetts
• District of New Hampshire
• District of Puerto Rico
• District of Rhode Island

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
(1st Cir.)
Location	John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse (Boston, Massachusetts)
Appeals from	District of Maine District of Massachusetts District of New Hampshire District of Puerto Rico District of Rhode Island
Established	June 16, 1891
Judges	6
Circuit Justice	Ketanji Brown Jackson
Chief Judge	David J. Barron
www.ca1.uscourts.gov

The court is based at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. Most sittings are held in Boston, where the court usually sits for one week most months of the year; in one of July or August, it takes a summer break and does not sit. The First Circuit also sits for one week each March and November at the Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and occasionally sits at other locations within the circuit.^[1]

With six active judges and four active senior judges, the First Circuit has the fewest judges of any of the thirteen United States courts of appeals. It covers most of New England, as well as Puerto Rico. Following his retirement from the Supreme Court in 2009, Associate Justice David Souter occasionally sat on the First Circuit by designation. Former justice Stephen Breyer began to do so in 2025.^[2]

Current composition of the court

As of February 22, 2025^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
32	Chief Judge	David J. Barron	Boston, MA	1967	2014–present	2022–present	—	Obama
33	Circuit Judge	Gustavo Gelpí	San Juan, PR	1965	2021–present	—	—	Biden
34	Circuit Judge	Lara Montecalvo	Providence, RI	1974	2022–present	—	—	Biden
35	Circuit Judge	Julie Rikelman	Boston, MA	1972	2023–present	—	—	Biden
36	Circuit Judge	Seth Aframe	Concord, NH	1974	2024–present	—	—	Biden
37	Circuit Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Senior Circuit Judge	Levin H. Campbell	inactive	1927	1972–1992	1983–1990	1992–present	Nixon
27	Senior Circuit Judge	Sandra Lynch	Boston, MA	1946	1995–2022	2008–2015	2022–present	Clinton
28	Senior Circuit Judge	Kermit Lipez	Portland, ME	1941	1998–2011	—	2011–present	Clinton
29	Senior Circuit Judge	Jeffrey R. Howard	Concord, NH	1955	2002–2022	2015–2022	2022–present	G.W. Bush
30	Senior Circuit Judge	O. Rogeriee Thompson	Providence, RI	1951	2010–2022	—	2022–present	Obama
31	Senior Circuit Judge	William J. Kayatta Jr.	Portland, ME	1953	2013–2024	—	2024–present	Obama

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
3	Portland, ME	William J. Kayatta Jr.	Senior status	October 31, 2024	—	—

List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	LeBaron B. Colt	RI	1846–1924	1891–1913[Note 1]	—	—	Arthur / Operation of law	resignation
2	William LeBaron Putnam	ME	1835–1918	1892–1917	—	—	B. Harrison	retirement
3	Francis Cabot Lowell	MA	1855–1911	1905–1911	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
4	William Schofield	MA	1857–1912	1911–1912	—	—	Taft	death
5	Frederic Dodge	MA	1847–1927	1912–1918	—	—	Taft	resignation
6	George Hutchins Bingham	NH	1864–1949	1913–1939	—	1939–1949	Wilson	death
7	Charles Fletcher Johnson	ME	1859–1930	1917–1929	—	1929–1930	Wilson	death
8	George W. Anderson	MA	1861–1938	1918–1931	—	1931–1938	Wilson	death
9	Scott Wilson	ME	1870–1942	1929–1940	—	1940–1942	Hoover	death
10	James Madison Morton Jr.	MA	1869–1940	1932–1939	—	1939–1940	Hoover	death
11	Calvert Magruder	MA	1893–1968	1939–1959	1948–1959	1959–1968	F. Roosevelt	death
12	John Christopher Mahoney	RI	1882–1952	1940–1950	—	1950–1952	F. Roosevelt	death
13	Peter Woodbury	NH	1899–1970	1941–1964	1959–1964	1964–1970	F. Roosevelt	death
14	John Patrick Hartigan	RI	1887–1968	1950–1965	—	1965–1968	Truman	death
15	Bailey Aldrich	MA	1907–2002	1959–1972	1965–1972	1972–2002	Eisenhower	death
16	Edward McEntee	RI	1906–1981	1965–1976	—	1976–1981	L. Johnson	death
17	Frank M. Coffin	ME	1919–2009	1965–1989	1972–1983	1989–2009	L. Johnson	death
19	Hugh H. Bownes	NH	1920–2003	1977–1990	—	1990–2003	Carter	death
20	Stephen Breyer	MA	1938–present	1980–1994	1990–1994	—	Carter	elevation to Supreme Court
21	Juan R. Torruella	PR	1933–2020	1984–2020	1994–2001	—	Reagan	death
22	Bruce M. Selya	RI	1934–2025	1986–2006	—	2006–2025	Reagan	death
23	Conrad K. Cyr	ME	1931–2016	1989–1997	—	1997–2016	G.H.W. Bush	death
24	David Souter	NH	1939–2025	1990	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	elevation to Supreme Court
25	Michael Boudin	MA	1939–2025	1992–2013	2001–2008	2013–2021	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
26	Norman H. Stahl	NH	1931–2023	1992–2001	—	2001–2023	G.H.W. Bush	death

1. Colt was appointed as a circuit judge for the First Circuit in 1884 by Chester A. Arthur. The Judiciary Act of 1891 reassigned his seat to what is now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Magruder	1948–1959
Woodbury	1959–1964
Aldrich	1965–1972
Coffin	1972–1983
Campbell	1983–1990
Breyer	1990–1994
Torruella	1994–2001
Boudin	2001–2008
Lynch	2008–2015
Howard	2015–2022
Barron	2022–present

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their circuits, and preside over any panel on which they serve, unless the circuit justice (the Supreme Court justice responsible for the circuit) is also on the panel. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the circuit judges.

To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges, with seniority determined first by commission date, then by age. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. If no judge qualifies to be chief, the youngest judge over the age of 65 who has served on the court for at least one year shall act as chief until another judge qualifies. If no judge has served on the court for more than a year, the most senior judge shall act as chief. Judges can forfeit or resign their chief judgeship or acting chief judgeship while retaining their active status as a circuit judge.^[3]

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.^[4]

Succession of seats

The court has six seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were initially filled. Judges who assume senior status enter a kind of retirement in which they remain on the bench but vacate their seats, thus allowing the U.S. President to appoint new judges to fill their seats.

Seat 1 Established on December 10, 1869 by the Judiciary Act of 1869 as a circuit judgeship for the First Circuit Reassigned on June 16, 1891 to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Colt RI 1891–1913 Bingham NH 1913–1939 Magruder MA 1939–1959 Aldrich MA 1959–1972 Campbell MA 1972–1992 Boudin MA 1992–2013 Barron MA 2014–present

Seat 2 Established on June 16, 1891 by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Putnam ME 1892–1917 Johnson ME 1917–1929 Wilson ME 1929–1940 Woodbury NH 1941–1964 McEntee RI 1965–1976 Bownes NH 1977–1990 Souter NH 1990 Stahl NH 1992–2001 Howard NH 2002–2022 Aframe NH 2024–present

Seat 3 Established on January 21, 1905 by 33 Stat. 611 Lowell MA 1905–1911 Schofield MA 1911–1912 Dodge MA 1912–1918 Anderson MA 1918–1931 Morton Jr. MA 1932–1939 Mahoney RI 1940–1950 Hartigan RI 1950–1965 Coffin ME 1965–1989 Cyr ME 1989–1997 Lipez ME 1998–2011 Kayatta Jr. ME 2013–2024 vacant ME 2024–present

Seat 4 Established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Breyer MA 1980–1994 Lynch MA 1995–2022 Rikelman MA 2023–present

Seat 5 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 353 Torruella PR 1984–2020 Gelpí PR 2021–present

Seat 6 Established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 353 Selya RI 1986–2006 Thompson RI 2010–2022 Montecalvo RI 2022–present

Notable decisions

• West v. Randall (1820), one of the first decisions setting precedent for class action suits

See also

• Courts of the United States
• Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts#First Circuit
• List of current United States circuit judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in the First Circuit