United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:

• Eastern District of Arkansas
• Western District of Arkansas
• Northern District of Iowa
• Southern District of Iowa
• District of Minnesota
• Eastern District of Missouri
• Western District of Missouri
• District of Nebraska
• District of North Dakota
• District of South Dakota

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
(8th Cir.)
Location	Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse (St. Louis, Missouri) More locations Warren E. Burger United States Courthouse (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Appeals from	Eastern District of Arkansas Western District of Arkansas Northern District of Iowa Southern District of Iowa District of Minnesota Eastern District of Missouri Western District of Missouri District of Nebraska District of North Dakota District of South Dakota
Established	June 16, 1891
Judges	11
Circuit Justice	Brett Kavanaugh
Chief Judge	Steven Colloton
www.ca8.uscourts.gov

The court is composed of 11 active judges and is based primarily at the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri, and secondarily at the Warren E. Burger United States Courthouse in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is one of 13 United States courts of appeals. In 1929, Congress passed a statute dividing the Eighth Circuit that placed Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas in the Eighth Circuit and created a Tenth Circuit that included Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Current composition of the court

As of March 11, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
55	Chief Judge	Steven Colloton	Des Moines, IA	1963	2003–present	2024–present	—	G.W. Bush
46	Circuit Judge	James B. Loken	Minneapolis, MN	1940	1990–present	2003–2010	—	G.H.W. Bush
54	Circuit Judge	Lavenski Smith	Little Rock, AR	1958	2002–present	2017–2024	—	G.W. Bush
56	Circuit Judge	Raymond Gruender	Saint Louis, MO	1963	2004–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
57	Circuit Judge	Duane Benton	Kansas City, MO	1950	2004–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
58	Circuit Judge	Bobby Shepherd	El Dorado, AR	1951	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
59	Circuit Judge	Jane L. Kelly	Cedar Rapids, IA	1964	2013–present	—	—	Obama
60	Circuit Judge	Ralph R. Erickson	Fargo, ND	1959	2017–present	—	—	Trump
61	Circuit Judge	L. Steven Grasz	Omaha, NE	1961	2018–present	—	—	Trump
62	Circuit Judge	David Stras	Minneapolis, MN	1974	2018–present	—	—	Trump
63	Circuit Judge	Jonathan A. Kobes	Sioux Falls, SD	1974	2018–present	—	—	Trump
42	Senior Circuit Judge	Pasco Bowman II	inactive	1933	1983–2003	1998–1999	2003–present	Reagan
43	Senior Circuit Judge	Roger Leland Wollman	inactive	1934	1985–2018	1999–2002	2018–present	Reagan
47	Senior Circuit Judge	David R. Hansen	inactive	1938	1991–2003	2002–2003	2003–present	G.H.W. Bush
48	Senior Circuit Judge	Morris S. Arnold	Little Rock, AR	1941	1992–2006	—	2006–present	G.H.W. Bush
53	Senior Circuit Judge	Michael Joseph Melloy	inactive	1948	2002–2013	—	2013–present	G.W. Bush

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior Judge's Duty Station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
3	Kansas City, MO	Duane Benton	Senior status	TBD	–	–

List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Henry Clay Caldwell	AR	1832–1915	1891–1903	—	—	B. Harrison / Operation of law	retirement
2	Walter Henry Sanborn	MN	1845–1928	1892–1928	—	—	B. Harrison	death
3	Amos Madden Thayer	MO	1841–1905	1894–1905	—	—	Cleveland	death
4	Willis Van Devanter	WY	1859–1941	1903–1910	—	—	T. Roosevelt	elevation to Supreme Court
5	William Cather Hook	KS	1857–1921	1903–1921	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
6	Elmer Bragg Adams	MO	1842–1916	1905–1916	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
7	John Emmett Carland	SD	1853–1922	1911–1922	—	—		death
8	Walter I. Smith	IA	1862–1922	1911–1922	—	—	Taft	death
9	Kimbrough Stone	MO	1875–1958	1916–1947	—	1947–1958	Wilson	death
10	Robert E. Lewis	CO	1857–1941	1921–1929	—	—	Harding	reassignment to 10th Cir.
11	William Squire Kenyon	IA	1869–1933	1922–1933	—	—	Harding	death
12	Wilbur F. Booth	MN	1861–1944	1925–1932	—	1932–1944	Coolidge	death
13	Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh	MO	1862–1944	1925–1933	—	1933–1944	Coolidge	death
14	John Hazelton Cotteral	OK	1864–1933	1928–1929	—	—	Coolidge	reassignment to 10th Cir.
15	Archibald K. Gardner	SD	1867–1962	1929–1960	1948–1959	1960–1962	Hoover	death
16	John B. Sanborn Jr.	MN	1883–1964	1932–1958	—	1959–1964	Hoover	death
17	Joseph William Woodrough	NE	1873–1977	1933–1961	—	1961–1977	F. Roosevelt	death
18	Charles Breckenridge Faris	MO	1864–1938	1935	—	1935–1938	F. Roosevelt	death
19	Seth Thomas	IA	1873–1962	1935–1954	—	1954–1962	F. Roosevelt	death
20	Harvey M. Johnsen	NE	1895–1975	1940–1965	1959–1965	1965–1975	F. Roosevelt	death
21	Walter Garrett Riddick	AR	1883–1953	1941–1953	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
22	John Caskie Collet	MO	1898–1955	1947–1955	—	—	Truman	death
23	Charles Joseph Vogel	ND	1898–1980	1954–1968	1965–1968	1968–1980	Eisenhower	death
24	Martin Donald Van Oosterhout	IA	1900–1979	1954–1971	1968–1970	1971–1979	Eisenhower	death
25	Charles Evans Whittaker	MO	1901–1973	1956–1957	—	—	Eisenhower	elevation to Supreme Court
26	Marion Charles Matthes	MO	1906–1980	1958–1973	1970–1973	1973–1980	Eisenhower	death
27	Harry Blackmun	MN	1908–1999	1959–1970	—	—	Eisenhower	elevation to Supreme Court
28	Albert Alphonso Ridge	MO	1898–1967	1961–1965	—	1965–1967	Kennedy	death
29	Pat Mehaffy	AR	1904–1981	1963–1974	1973–1974	1974–1981	Kennedy	death
30	Floyd Robert Gibson	MO	1910–2001	1965–1979	1974–1979	1979–2001	L. Johnson	death
31	Donald P. Lay	MN	1926–2007	1966–1992	1979–1992	1992–2007	L. Johnson	death
32	Gerald Heaney	MN	1918–2010	1966–1988	—	1988–2006	L. Johnson	retirement
33	Myron H. Bright	ND	1919–2016	1968–1985	—	1985–2016	L. Johnson	death
34	Donald Roe Ross	NE	1922–2013	1970–1987	—	1987–2013	Nixon	death
35	Roy Laverne Stephenson	IA	1917–1982	1971–1982	—	1982–1982	Nixon	death
36	William H. Webster	MO	1924–2025	1973–1978	—	—	Nixon	resignation
37	J. Smith Henley	AR	1917–1997	1975–1982	—	1982–1997	Ford	death
38	Theodore McMillian	MO	1919–2006	1978–2003	—	2003–2006	Carter	death
39	Richard S. Arnold	AR	1936–2004	1980–2001	1992–1998	2001–2004	Carter	death
40	John R. Gibson	MO	1925–2014	1982–1994	—	1994–2014	Reagan	death
41	George Gardner Fagg	IA	1934–2015	1982–1999	—	1999–2015	Reagan	death
44	Frank J. Magill	ND	1927–2013	1986–1997	—	1997–2013	Reagan	death
45	C. Arlen Beam	NE	1930–2025	1987–2001	—	2001–2025	Reagan	death
49	Diana E. Murphy	MN	1934–2018	1994–2016	—	2016–2018	Clinton	death
50	John David Kelly	ND	1934–1998	1998	—	—	Clinton	death
51	Kermit Edward Bye	ND	1937–2021	2000–2015	—	2015–2016	Clinton	retirement
52	William J. Riley	NE	1947–2023	2001–2017	2010–2017	2017–2023	G.W. Bush	death

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Gardner	1948–1959
Johnsen	1959–1965
Vogel	1965–1968
Van Oosterhout	1968–1970
Matthes	1970–1973
Mehaffy	1973–1974
Gibson	1974–1979
Lay	1979–1992
R. Arnold	1992–1998
Bowman II	1998–1999
Wollman	1999–2002
Hansen	2002–2003
Loken	2003–2010
Riley	2010–2017
L. Smith	2017–2024
Colloton	2024–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.

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.

Succession of seats

The court has had thirteen seats for active judges. Two of these seats were reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, leaving a eleven-seat court. The seats are 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 Eighth Circuit Reassigned to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by the Judiciary Act of 1891 Caldwell AR 1891–1903 Hook KS 1903–1921 Lewis CO 1921–1929 Reassigned on February 28, 1929, to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit by 45 Stat. 1346

Seat 2 Established on June 16, 1891, by the Judiciary Act of 1891 W. Sanborn MN 1892–1928 Cotteral OK 1928–1929 Reassigned on February 28, 1929, to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit by 45 Stat. 1346

Seat 3 Established on July 23, 1894, by 28 Stat. 115 Thayer MO 1894–1905 Adams MO 1905–1916 Stone MO 1916–1947 Collet MO 1947–1955 Whittaker MO 1956–1957 Matthes MO 1958–1973 Webster MO 1973–1978 McMillian MO 1978–2003 Benton MO 2004–present

Seat 4 Established on January 31, 1903, by 32 Stat. 791 Van Devanter WY 1903–1910 W. Smith IA 1911–1922 Kenyon IA 1922–1933 Faris MO 1935 Thomas IA 1936–1954 Van Oosterhout IA 1954–1971 Stephenson IA 1971–1982 Fagg IA 1982–1999 Melloy IA 2002–2013 J.L. Kelly IA 2013–present

Seat 5 Established on March 3, 1925, by 43 Stat. 1116 Booth MN 1925–1932 J. Sanborn, Jr. MN 1932–1959 Blackmun MN 1959–1970 Ross NE 1970–1987 Beam NE 1987–2001 Riley NE 2001–2017 Grasz NE 2018–present

Seat 6 Established on March 3, 1925, by 43 Stat. 1116 Van Valkenburgh MO 1925–1933 Woodrough NE 1933–1961 Mehaffy AR 1963–1974 Henley AR 1975–1982 Bowman II MO 1983–2003 Gruender MO 2004–present

Seat 7 Established on February 28, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1346 Gardner SD 1929–1960 Ridge MO 1961–1965 F. Gibson MO 1965–1979 J. Gibson MO 1982–1994 Murphy MN 1994–2016 Stras MN 2018–present

Seat 8 Established on May 24, 1940, by 54 Stat. 219 Johnsen NE 1940–1965 Lay MN 1966–1992 M. Arnold AR 1992–2006 Shepherd AR 2006–present

Seat 9 Established on May 24, 1940, by 54 Stat. 219 Riddick AR 1941–1953 Vogel ND 1954–1968 Bright ND 1968–1985 Magill ND 1986–1997 J.D. Kelly ND 1998 Bye ND 2000–2015 Erickson ND 2017–present

Seat 10 Established on March 18, 1966, by 80 Stat. 75 Heaney MN 1966–1988 Loken MN 1990–present

Seat 11 Established on October 20, 1978, by 92 Stat. 1629 R. Arnold AR 1980–2001 L. Smith AR 2002–present

Seat 12 Established on July 10, 1984, by 98 Stat. 333 Wollman SD 1985–2018 Kobes SD 2018–present

Seat 13 Established on December 1, 1990, by 104 Stat. 5089 Hansen IA 1991–2003 Colloton IA 2003–present

See also

• Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts#Eighth Circuit
• List of current United States circuit judges