Best Circuit Judge

Frank M. Johnson Jr. was a federal judge serving on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals during the mid-20th century. He is notable for his significant contributions to civil rights law. His rulings in the 1950s and 60s, particularly regarding school desegregation and authorization of the Selma march,...

Richard A. Posner is an American jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A prominent figure in the law and economics movement, he applied economic theory to legal doctrines during his tenure. He also taught at th...

Frank H. Easterbrook has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 1985, including a tenure as chief judge from 2005 to 2012. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, he is widely recognized as a leading proponent of the law and economics movement, which appl...

Diane Pamela Wood is a United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a position she has held since 1995 following her appointment by President Bill Clinton. She served as the Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit from 2013 to 2020. Recognized as a prominent liberal j...

Jon O. Newman is a United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, assuming senior status in 1997. Appointed to the court by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, he previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. He is recognized b...

J. Michael Luttig is a United States federal judge who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1991 to 2006, establishing a reputation as a conservative and originalist jurist. In 2006, he resigned from the federal bench to become the General Counsel and Senior Vice President...

Florence Ellinwood Allen was a pioneering American jurist and a significant figure in the advancement of women in the legal profession. In 1922, she became the first woman elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, where she served for over a decade. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her to...

Merrick B. Garland is an American lawyer and federal judge who served as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and became United States attorney general in 2021. President Barack Obama nominated him to the Supreme Court in 2016, but the Senate did not...

Robert Heron Bork was an American legal scholar and jurist who served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He is widely known for his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, which was rejected by the Senate following...

Phyllis A. Kravitch was a United States Circuit Judge who made history as the first woman appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1979. Nominated by President Jimmy Carter, she continued her service on the newly established Eleventh Circuit following the 1981 circuit reorgani...

Federal judge who sentenced Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death for espionage in 1953 and later served as Chief Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit (2007–2017) known for provocative, often libertarian opinions who resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations in 2017.