List of federal judges appointed by Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson.
William Johnson was Jefferson's longest serving Supreme Court appointee, and had a fiercely independent judicial philosophy.
William Cranch, initially appointed to the District of Columbia Circuit by John Adams, was elevated by Thomas Jefferson to be Chief Judge of that court, and became one of the longest-serving federal judges in U.S. history.

Following is a list of all United States federal judges appointed by President Thomas Jefferson during his presidency.[1] In total Jefferson appointed nineteen federal judges, including three Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States, seven judges to the United States circuit courts, and nine judges to the United States district courts. Three of Jefferson's circuit court appointments were to seats that had been created by the Midnight Judges Act, signed by John Adams to allow the appointment of many of his supporters in the closing days of his administration. The service of these judges, including those appointed by Jefferson, terminated on July 1, 1802, due to the repeal of the Act and the accompanying abolition of the court.

Two of Jefferson's appointees, William Cranch (whom Jefferson elevated to Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia) and Henry Potter (appointed first to the Fifth Circuit, and then to the District of North Carolina) served into the 1850s. Potter's 55 years on the latter court remains the longest period of active service in United States federal court history.

United States Supreme Court Justices

JusticeSeatStateBegan active
service
Ended active
service
Johnson, WilliamWilliam JohnsonSeat 5South CarolinaMarch 26, 1804August 4, 1834
Livingston, Henry BrockholstHenry Brockholst LivingstonSeat 4New YorkNovember 10, 1806[2]March 18, 1823
Todd, ThomasThomas ToddSeat 6VirginiaMarch 3, 1807February 7, 1826

Circuit Courts

JudgeCircuitBegan active
service
Ended active
service
Cranch, WilliamWilliam CranchD.C.February 24, 1806September 1, 1855[3]
Duckett, Allen BowieAllen Bowie DuckettD.C.March 17, 1806July 19, 1809
Fitzhugh, Nicholas BattalleNicholas Battalle FitzhughD.C.November 25, 1803December 31, 1814
Hall, Dominic AugustinDominic Augustin HallFifthJuly 1, 1801[4]July 1, 1802[5]
Harris, EdwardEdward HarrisFifthMay 3, 1802July 1, 1802[5]
Kilty, WilliamWilliam KiltyD.C.March 23, 1801[4]January 27, 1806
Potter, HenryHenry PotterFifthMay 9, 1801[6]April 7, 1802

District courts

JudgeCourt
[Note 1]
Began active
service
Ended active
service
Barnes, David LeonardDavid Leonard BarnesD.R.I.April 30, 1801[4]November 3, 1812
Byrd, Charles WillingCharles Willing ByrdD. Ohio.March 3, 1803August 25, 1828
Edwards, PierpontPierpont EdwardsD. Conn.February 24, 1806April 5, 1826
Hall, Dominic AugustinDominic Augustin HallD. OrleansDecember 11, 1804April 30, 1812
Houston, JamesJames HoustonD. Md.April 21, 1806June 8, 1819
Potter, HenryHenry PotterD.N.C.April 7, 1802December 20, 1857 [7]
Sherburne, John SamuelJohn Samuel SherburneD.N.H.March 26, 1804August 2, 1830
Stephens, WilliamWilliam StephensD. Ga.October 22, 1801[6]October 13, 1818
Tallmadge, Matthias BurnettMatthias Burnett TallmadgeD.N.Y.June 12, 1805[8]July 1, 1819[9]

See also

Notes

References

General
Specific
  1. All information on the names, terms of service, and details of appointment of federal judges is derived from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public-domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1806, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1806, and received commission on January 16, 1807.
  3. Because of the unique structure of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Thomas Jefferson's elevation of William Cranch to chief judge of the Court is considered a separate appointment.
  4. 1 2 3 Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 6, 1802, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received commission on January 26, 1802.
  5. 1 2 Appointed to a seat created by the Midnight Judges Act, abolished with the repeal of that act on July 1, 1802.
  6. 1 2 Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 6, 1802, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received commission on January 26, 1802.
  7. Longest period of active service in United States federal court history.
  8. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1805, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 23, 1805, and received commission on January 17, 1806.
  9. On April 9, 1814, the District of New York was subdivided, and Tallmadge was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, where he remained until his resignation.

Sources

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