What are the top five?

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (22), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (21), U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (17), U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (16) and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (15).

Records & Rankings

The courts with the most senior judges

Which federal court has the most senior judges?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has more judges on senior status than any other federal court: 22, alongside 29 in active service.

Federal courts ranked by how many of their sitting judges have taken senior status. Senior judges remain members of the court and continue to hear cases, usually with a reduced docket.

#	Name	Detail	Senior
1	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit	29 in active service	22
2	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York	25 in active service	21
3	U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida	14 in active service	17
4	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York	15 in active service	16
5	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit	13 in active service	15
6	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit	17 in active service	15
7	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois	23 in active service	15
8	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas	17 in active service	15
9	U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona	13 in active service	13
10	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania	22 in active service	13
11	U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia	15 in active service	12
12	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California	14 in active service	12
13	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida	19 in active service	12
14	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit	12 in active service	11
15	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit	12 in active service	10
16	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit	14 in active service	10
17	U.S. District Court for the Central District of California	28 in active service	10
18	U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota	6 in active service	10
19	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California	12 in active service	10
20	U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington	7 in active service	10
21	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri	9 in active service	9
22	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio	11 in active service	9
23	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio	8 in active service	9
24	U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado	7 in active service	8
25	U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey	17 in active service	8

Questions

Which federal court has the most senior judges?: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has more judges on senior status than any other federal court: 22, alongside 29 in active service.
What are the top five?: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (22), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (21), U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (17), U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (16) and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (15).
How is this list ranked?: Federal courts ranked by how many of their sitting judges have taken senior status. Senior judges remain members of the court and continue to hear cases, usually with a reduced docket.

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Computed from the FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-09-21. Verify against the primary source before relying.