A specialized Article III court / Established 1855

U.S. Court of Claims

Washington, D.C. · A specialized federal court.

The U.S. Court of Claims was the federal court that heard monetary claims against the United States from 1855 until 1982, when it was abolished: its trial work passed to the new Article I Court of Federal Claims and its appellate work to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Its judges were nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. This page lists every judge to serve on the court.

Judges in history

Currently serving

Seats over time

22 / 27

Appointed D / R

Current judges

No currently serving judges on record.

Former judges

Judge	Appointed by	Years
Daniel Mortimer Friedman · Chief	Carter (D)	1978–1982
Edward Samuel Smith	Carter (D)	1978–1982
Marion Tinsley Bennett	Nixon (R)	1972–1982
Shiro Kashiwa	Nixon (R)	1972–1982
Robert Lowe Kunzig	Nixon (R)	1972–1982
Philip Nichols Jr.	Johnson (D)	1966–1982
Byron George Skelton	Johnson (D)	1966–1982
Linton McGee Collins	Johnson (D)	1964–1972
Arnold Wilson Cowen · Chief	Johnson (D)	1964–1982
Oscar Hirsh Davis	Kennedy (D)	1962–1982
James Randall Durfee	Eisenhower (R)	1960–1977
Don Nelson Laramore	Eisenhower (R)	1954–1982
George Evan Howell	Truman (D)	1947–1953
Joseph Warren Madden	Roosevelt (D)	1941–1972
John Marvin Jones · Chief	Roosevelt (D)	1940–1976
Samuel Estill Whitaker	Roosevelt (D)	1939–1967
Richard Smith Whaley	Hoover (R)	1930–1951
Benjamin Horsley Littleton	Hoover (R)	1929–1966
Thomas Sutler Williams	Hoover (R)	1929–1940
William Raymond Green	Coolidge (R)	1928–1947
Nicholas John Sinnott	Coolidge (R)	1928–1929
John McKenzie Moss	Coolidge (R)	1926–1929
Samuel Jordan Graham	Wilson (D)	1919–1951
George Eddy Downey	Wilson (D)	1916–1926
James Hay	Wilson (D)	1916–1931
Edward Kernan Campbell	Wilson (D)	1913–1938
George Wesley Atkinson	Roosevelt (R)	1906–1916
Samuel Stebbins Barney	Roosevelt (R)	1905–1919
Fenton Whitlock Booth	Roosevelt (R)	1905–1947
Francis Marion Wright	Roosevelt (R)	1903–1905
Charles Bowen Howry	Cleveland (D)	1897–1915
Stanton Judkins Peelle	Harrison (R)	1892–1913
John Davis	Arthur (R)	1885–1902
Lawrence Weldon	Arthur (R)	1883–1905
Glenni William Scofield	Garfield (R)	1881–1891
William Henry Hunt	Hayes (R)	1878–1881
John Chandler Bancroft Davis	Hayes (R)	1877–1883
William Adams Richardson	Grant (R)	1874–1896
Charles Daniel Drake	Grant (R)	1870–1885
Samuel Milligan	Johnson (D)	1868–1874
Charles Cooper Nott	Lincoln (R)	1865–1905
Ebenezer Peck	Lincoln (R)	1863–1878
David Wilmot	Lincoln (R)	1863–1868
Joseph Casey	Lincoln (R)	1861–1870
James Hughes	Buchanan (D)	1860–1864
Edward Greely Loring	Buchanan (D)	1858–1877
George Parker Scarburgh	Pierce (D)	1856–1861
Isaac Newton Blackford	Pierce (D)	1855–1859
John James Gilchrist	Pierce (D)	1855–1858

How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1855.

Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-06-29. Verify against the primary source before relying.