Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal
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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in
case citation Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case c ...
s, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland * Eastern District of North Carolina * Middle District of North Carolina *
Western District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (in case citations, W.D.N.C.) is a federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina. Appeals from the Western District of North Carolina are tak ...
* District of South Carolina * Eastern District of Virginia * Western District of Virginia * Northern District of West Virginia *
Southern District of West Virginia The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (in case citations, S.D. W. Va.) is a federal court in the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ...
The court is based at the
Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse The Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse, also known as the U.S. Post Office and Customhouse, is a historic custom house, post office and courthouse located in Richmond, Virginia. Originally constructed in 1858, it was for decades a courtho ...
in Richmond, Virginia. With 15 authorized judgeships, it is mid-sized among the 13
United States Courts of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals f ...
. __TOC__


Current composition of the court

:


Vacancies and pending nominations


List of former judges


Chief judges


Succession of seats


Practice in the 4th Circuit

From 2000 to 2008, the Court had the highest rate of non-publication (92%) on the Federal Circuit. The Chief Justice is always assigned to the Fourth Circuit as the circuit advisory justice, due to Richmond's close proximity to Washington, D.C. The Fourth Circuit is considered an extremely collegial court. By tradition, the Judges of the Fourth Circuit come down from the bench following each
oral argument Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also a ...
to greet the lawyers.


See also

* Judicial appointment history for the Fourth Circuit * List of current United States circuit judges *
Same-sex marriage in the Fourth Circuit On July 28, 2014 the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in ''Bostic v. Schaefer'' striking down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban which is a precedent for every state within the circuit. The ruling would have gone into effect on Augu ...


References


External links


United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Recent opinions from Findlaw
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Organizations based in Richmond, Virginia Baltimore Charleston, West Virginia Alexandria, Virginia Government of Raleigh, North Carolina 1891 establishments in the United States Courts and tribunals established in 1891