Following is a list of all Article III

United States federal judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

s appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

. In total,

appointed 23 Article III

s during his tenure (1797–1801) as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. Of these, 3 were appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States, 16 were to the

United States circuit court The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdic ...

s, and 4 to the

United States district courts The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

. Fourteen of the sixteen circuit court judges appointed by Adams were to positions created at the end of his tenure in office, in the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, which became known as the

Midnight Judges Act The Midnight Judges Act (also known as the Judiciary Act of 1801; , and officially An act to provide for the more convenient organization of the Courts of the United States) represented an effort to solve an issue in the U.S. Supreme Court during ...

. All of these offices were abolished by the repeal of this Act on July 1, 1802, by 2 Stat. 132. The remaining two were to judgeships for the District of Columbia, authorized under a different Act of Congress, not the Judiciary Act. Nonetheless, Adams made an indelible impact on the federal judiciary with the appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice to succeed

Oliver Ellsworth Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 – November 26, 1807) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. Ellsworth was a framer of the United States Constitution, United States senator from Connecticut ...

, who had retired due to ill health. Adams himself called this appointment "the proudest act of my life." File:John Marshall by Henry Inman, 1832.jpg, It is without question that the most significant impact John Adams had on the judiciary was the appointment of Chief Justice John Marshall. File:William Cranch.jpg,

William Cranch William Cranch (July 17, 1769 – September 1, 1855) was a United States circuit judge and chief judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. A staunch Federalist and nephew of President John Adams, Cranch moved his le ...

was later elevated by Thomas Jefferson to Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Circuit, and was one of the longest-serving federal judges in U.S. history. File:Senatorelijahpaine.jpg,

Elijah Paine Elijah Paine (January 21, 1757 – April 28, 1842) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont, a United States senator from Vermont and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. Education ...

was one of two District Court judges appointed by Adams whose service surpassed the forty year mark.

United States Supreme Court justices

Also appointed, but declined:

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

(Chief Justice).

Circuit courts

Also appointed, but declined:

Thomas Bee Thomas Bee (1739 – February 18, 1812) was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Educat ...

(5th circuit), Joseph Clay Jr. (5th circuit),

Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He se ...

(3rd circuit), Thomas Johnson (D.C. circuit), Charles Lee (4th circuit), and

John Sitgreaves John Sitgreaves (1757 – March 4, 1802) was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, a United States Attorney for the District of North Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of ...

(5th circuit).

District courts

Notes

References

Sources