In the United States, the title of
federal judge
usually means a
judge appointed by the
President of the United
States and confirmed by the
United States Senate in accordance with
Article III of
the
United States
Constitution.
In
addition to the Supreme Court of the United
States
, whose existence and some aspects of whose
jurisdiction are beyond the constitutional power of Congress to
alter, acts of Congress have established 13 courts of appeals (also
called "circuit courts") with appellate jurisdiction over different
regions of the United States, and 94 United States district
courts. Every judge appointed to such a court falls
within the category of federal judges. These include the
Chief Justice and
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, Circuit Judges of the
courts of appeals, and district judges of the
United States district courts.
In addition, judges of the
Court of International Trade
are appointed pursuant to Article III.
Other judges serving in the federal courts, including
magistrate judges and
bankruptcy judges,
are also sometimes referred to as "federal judges." However, they
are not appointed pursuant to the procedures designated in Article
III. The distinction is sometimes expressed by saying that they are
not "Article III judges," because the power of these other kinds of
federal judges does not derive from Article III of the U.S.
Constitution. See
Article I and Article III
tribunals.
Tenure and salary
"Article III federal judges" (as opposed to judges of some courts
with special jurisdictions) serve "during good behavior" (often
paraphrased as appointed "for life"). Judges hold their seats until
they resign, die, or are removed from office. Although the legal
orthodoxy is that judges cannot be removed from office except by
impeachment by the
House of Representatives followed by conviction by the Senate,
several legal scholars, including
William Rehnquist, Saikrishna Prakash and
Steven D. Smith, have argued that the Good Behaviour Clause may, in
theory, permit removal by way of a writ of
scire facias filed before a federal court,
without resort to impeachment.
Since the impeachment process requires a trial by the
United States Senate, and since the
constitutional provision concerning federal judges' tenure cannot
be changed without the ratifications of three-fourths of the
states, federal judges have perhaps the best job security available
in the United States. Moreover, the Constitution forbids Congress
to diminish a federal judge's salary. Twentieth-century experience
suggests that Congress is generally unwilling to take time out of
its busy schedule to impeach and try a federal judge until, after
criminal conviction, he or she is already in prison and still
drawing a salary, which cannot otherwise be taken away (see
Nixon v.
United States, a key
Supreme Court case about Congress's discretion in impeaching and
trying federal judges).
As of January 2008, federal district court judges were paid
$169,300 a year, courts of appeals judges $179,500,
Associate
Justices of the Supreme Court $208,100 and the
Chief Justice of the United
States $217,400. All were permitted to earn a maximum of an
additional $21,000 a year for teaching.
Chief Justice John Roberts has repeatedly pleaded for an increase
in judicial pay, calling the situation a "constitution crisis." He
has warned that "judges are no longer drawn primarily from among
the best lawyers in the practicing bar" and "If judicial
appointment ceases to be the capstone of a distinguished career and
instead becomes a stepping stone to a lucrative position in private
practice, the Framers‘ goal of a truly independent judiciary will
be placed in serious jeopardy."
Number of judges
The total number of active federal judges is constantly in flux,
for two reasons. First, judges retire or die, and a lapse of time
usually occurs before new judges are appointed to fill those
positions. Second, from time to time Congress will increase (or,
less frequently, decrease) the number of federal judgeships in a
particular judicial district, usually in response to shifting
population numbers or a changing workload in that district.
As of January 2009, a total of 3,168 individuals had been appointed
to federal judgeships, including 2,645 district court judges, 687
courts of appeals judges, 50 judges to the now-extinct
circuit courts, and the 110
Supreme Court justices. This adds up to 3,492 total appointments; a
substantial number of appellate judges (including Supreme Court
justices) had previously served on the lower court bench.
There are currently 866 authorized Article III judgeships: nine on
the Supreme Court, 179 on the courts of appeals, and 678 for the
district courts. Although the number of Supreme Court Justices has
remained the same for well over a century, the number of court of
appeals judges has more than doubled since 1950, and the number of
district court judges has increased more than three times in that
period.
Non-Article III judges
Unlike the judges of Article III courts, non-Article III judges are
appointed for specified terms of office. Examples include
United States magistrate
judges and judges of the
United States bankruptcy
courts,
United States Tax
Court,
United
States Court of Federal Claims, and
United States territorial
courts.
See also
References
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