List of federal judges appointed by John Adams

President John Adams saw most of his appointments undone when the circuit courts to which they were appointed were abolished.

It is without question that the most significant impact John Adams had on the judiciary was the appointment of Chief Justice John Marshall.

William Cranch was later elevated by Thomas Jefferson to Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Circuit, and was one of the longest-serving federal judges in U.S. history.

Elijah Paine was one of two District Court judges appointed by Adams whose service surpassed the forty year mark.

Following is a list of all United States federal judges appointed by President John Adams during his presidency.^[1] In total Adams appointed 23 judges, including three Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States (including one Chief Justice), sixteen judges to the United States circuit courts, and four judges to the United States district courts. Fourteen of the sixteen circuit court judges appointed by Adams were to positions created at the end of his tenure in office, in the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, which became known as the Midnight Judges Act. All of these offices were abolished by the repeal of this Act on July 1, 1802, by 2 Stat. 132. The remaining two were to judgeships for the District of Columbia, authorized under a different Act of Congress, not the Judiciary Act.

However, Adams made an indelible impact on the judiciary with the appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice.

United States Supreme Court Justices

Justice	Seat	State	Began active service	Ended active service
Marshall, JohnJohn Marshall	Chief Justice	Virginia	January 31, 1801	July 6, 1835
Moore, AlfredAlfred Moore	Seat 5	North Carolina	December 10, 1799	January 26, 1804
Washington, BushrodBushrod Washington	Seat 1	Virginia	September 29, 1798[Note 1]	November 26, 1829

Also appointed, but declined: John Jay (Chief Justice).

Circuit courts

Judge	Circuit	Began active service	Ended active service
Bassett, RichardRichard Bassett	Third	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Benson, EgbertEgbert Benson	Second	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Bourne, BenjaminBenjamin Bourne	First	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Clay, Jr., JosephJoseph Clay, Jr.	Fifth	February 24, 1801	July 1, 1802
Cranch, WilliamWilliam Cranch	D.C.	March 3, 1801	February 24, 1806[Note 2]
Griffith, WilliamWilliam Griffith	Third	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Hitchcock, SamuelSamuel Hitchcock	Second	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Key, Philip BartonPhilip Barton Key	Fourth	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Lowell, JohnJohn Lowell	First	February 20, 1801	May 6, 1802
Magill, CharlesCharles Magill	Fourth	March 3, 1801	July 1, 1802
Marshall, James MarkhamJames Markham Marshall	D.C.	March 3, 1801	November 16, 1803
McClung, WilliamWilliam McClung	Sixth	February 24, 1801	July 1, 1802
Smith, JeremiahJeremiah Smith	First	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Taylor, George KeithGeorge Keith Taylor	Fourth	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802
Tilghman, WilliamWilliam Tilghman	Third	March 3, 1801	March 8, 1802
Wolcott, Jr., OliverOliver Wolcott, Jr.	Second	February 20, 1801	July 1, 1802

Also appointed, but declined: Thomas Bee (5th circuit), Jared Ingersoll (3rd circuit), Thomas Johnson (D.C. circuit), Charles Lee (4th circuit), and John Sitgreaves (5th circuit).

District courts

Judge	Court [Note 3]	Began active service	Ended active service
Davis, JohnJohn Davis	D. Mass.	February 20, 1801	July 10, 1841
Hobart, John SlossJohn Sloss Hobart	D.N.Y.	April 12, 1798	February 4, 1805
Paine, ElijahElijah Paine	D. Vt.	March 3, 1801	April 1, 1842
Winchester, JamesJames Winchester	D. Md.	October 31, 1799[Note 4]	April 5, 1806

See also

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Stuart v. Laird (1803)
• United States v. More (1805)

Notes

1. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 19, 1798, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 1798, and received commission on December 20, 1798.
2. Elevated to Chief Judges by Thomas Jefferson on February 24, 1806; thereafter served until September 1, 1855. Because of the unique structure of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Thomas Jefferson's elevation of William Cranch to chief judge of the Court is considered a separate appointment.
3. See List of United States district and territorial courts
4. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1799, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 10, 1799, and received commission on December 10, 1799.

References

• "Judges of the United States Courts". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 2009-04-03.

1. Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, passim.

Sources

• Federal Judicial Center