United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Creation of the Eleventh Circuit

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was created in 1981. The decision to create a new Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was contentious, with the debate over the reorganization of the Fifth Circuit lasting nearly two decades. The question of creating a new circuit first arose in the early 1960s as the Southern states contained within the Fifth Circuit underwent major changes including rapid population growth and regional industrialization and specialization. Both of these factors led to an increase in the Fifth Circuit's caseload, necessitating the addition of more judges to the Court.During this time, the Fifth Circuit also became known for their jurisprudence on cases pertaining to desegregation and voting rights for African Americans. This led to opposition from groups who believed the Fifth Circuit judges were inappropriately untilising judicial activism to advance civil rights. These groups wanted to divide the court, and create a new Eleventh Circuit in order to decrease the Fifth Circuit judges’ power to advance civil rights cases from the bench.

While more liberal judges on the court, like Chief Justice Tuttle, did not necessarily favor a split, they believed that more judges were necessary for the court to function properly. By 1963, in a 7-2 vote, the judges of the Fifth Circuit voted in favor of reorganization, if dividing the circuit was the only way to add judges to the court. However, legislation creating the Eleventh Circuit was still not passed for another 17 years. In this duration, the 1966 Omnibus Act provided some relief to overwhelmed Fifth Circuit judges by placing temporary judges on the Court to handle their overwhelming caseload.

Two months prior to the passage of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act, the judges of the Fifth Court exercised the power granted to them through the Omnibus Judgeship Act, dividing the Fifth Circuit into two units; one consisting of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi and the other Florida, Georgia and Alabama. After Congress voted unanimously to pass the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act on October 14, 1980, this second unit was set to become the Eleventh Circuit the following year.

On October 1, 1981, when the Fifth Circuit was officially split, the Eleventh Circuit was formed by 12 Fifth Circuit Judges who left the Fifth to create the new Eleventh Circuit.

The court today

Judges on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals hear most cases in three-judge panels, however cases with significant policy implications may be heard en banc by all active judges. The Eleventh Circuit Court has not been expanded since its creation when 12 seats from the Fifth Circuit were reassigned to the Eleventh Circuit. It is the only United States Circuit Court of Appeals without additional seats created since its inception. As of February 2026, five active judges are appointees of democratic presidents. Seven active judges have been appointed by republican presidents, and six justices alone appointed by President Trump. Since 2008, the University of Miami has published an annual updated review of the Eleventh Circuit’s Juris Prudence, providing guidance to litigators who practice within the Eleventh Circuit and providing critical analysis of the Circuit Court’s decisions.

Current composition of the court

As of January 2, 2025:

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their circuits, and preside over any panel on which they serve, unless the circuit justice (the Supreme Court justice responsible for the circuit) is also on the panel. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the circuit judges.

To be chief, 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 is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges, with seniority determined first by commission date, then by age. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. If no judge qualifies to be chief, the youngest judge over the age of 65 who has served on the court for at least one year shall act as chief until another judge qualifies. If no judge has served on the court for more than a year, the most senior judge shall act as chief. Judges can forfeit or resign their chief judgeship or acting chief judgeship while retaining their active status as a circuit judge.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

The court has twelve seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were initially filled. Judges who assume senior status enter a kind of retirement in which they remain on the bench but vacate their seats, thus allowing the U.S. President to appoint new judges to fill their seats.