HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a
lower court A lower court or inferior court is a court from which an appeal may be taken, usually referring to courts other than supreme court. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is being reviewed ...
or circuit court with more than one
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
. According to the
Federal judiciary of the United States The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...
, the chief judge has primary responsibility for the administration of the court. Chief judges are determined by seniority. The chief judge commonly presides over
trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
and
hearings In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and ...
. In the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
the highest-ranking member is the Chief Justice of the United States.


Federal


United States courts of appeals

In the
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 ...
, the chief judge has certain administrative responsibilities and presides over ''
en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller p ...
'' sessions of the court and meetings of the Judicial Council. The chief judge remains an active judge of the court hearing and deciding cases, but at their option may elect to take on a reduced caseload to provide time to perform administrative responsibilities. In order to qualify for the office of chief judge, 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 in the office of chief judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of their promotion. See . These rules have applied since October 1, 1982. The office of chief judge was created in 1948 and until August 6, 1959, was filled by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as
senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
or declined to serve as chief judge. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70. Lists of the judges who have served as chief judge of each of the courts of appeals can be found in the articles for the respective circuits, such as
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts ...
.


United States district courts

In
United States district court 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 co ...
s with at least two judges, the chief judge has certain administrative responsibilities, including presiding over some meetings of the judges. The chief judge remains an active judge of the court hearing and deciding cases, but may take on a reduced caseload to perform administrative tasks. The qualifications for chief judge and the selection process are essentially the same for the district courts as well as for the courts of appeals. See .


Judicial Conference

Chief judges of each judicial court and the Chief Judge of the
Court of International Trade The United States Court of International Trade ( case citations: Int'l Trade or Intl. Trade) is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in New York City, it exercise ...
ad members — along with a district judge from each judicial circuit — of the
Judicial Conference The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...
. The Chief Justice of the United States is the presiding officer of the Conference. provides that chief judge of a circuit may serve seven years or until they attain the age of 70. There are some limited exceptions. Similar provisions apply for the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade. See
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
258.


New York

In the U.S. state of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, the judge that presides over the state's highest court, the
New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...
, is titled the "chief judge". Similarly, their fellow jurists on that court are titled "judges", while jurists who sit on lower courts are titled "justices". This is the reverse of usage in other states, where jurists who sit on the state's highest court(s) are titled "justices" and those in lower courts are titled "judges".


References

{{Reflist *Judge ta:தலைமை நீதிபதி