Federal judiciary · U.S. Courts of Appeals
Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is one of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals — the intermediate appellate courts of the federal judiciary that sit between the district courts and the Supreme Court of the United States. This page lists every judge of the court The Candidate tracks: those in regular active service, shown first; those who have taken senior status; and former judges whose circuit service has ended. A senior judge is not retired — having met the age-and-service threshold set by statute, a senior judge continues to hear cases on a reduced caseload while opening a seat for a new appointment, so each senior judge below is still a sitting Article III judge. Former judges include those who left the court by elevation to the Supreme Court, resignation, retirement, or death — their circuit service ended, even when the same person continues to serve elsewhere (a sitting Justice's former circuit page never says "Former Justice"). Circuit judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate, and under Article III of the Constitution they hold office during good behavior — in practice, for life, until they resign, are impeached, elevated, or die in office. Unlike senators and representatives, a circuit judge represents no state and belongs to no party while serving; each profile records the President who appointed the judge, the seat they fill, their confirmation and commission dates, and their full span of service, but never assigns the judge a party of their own. Each row links to a sourced page covering the judge's biography, appointment and service record, and the external authority records — the Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory, Wikipedia, and Wikidata — that back every fact. The full machine-readable roster is published as a versioned JSON dataset for downstream researchers and language models.
- In active service
- 10
- Senior status
- 6
- Currently serving
- 16
- Former judges
- 45
- Court
- www.ca8.uscourts.gov
In active service10
- James B. LokenActiveActive service · 1990–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Lavenski R. SmithActiveActive service · 2002–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Steven M. CollotonActiveActive service · 2003–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Raymond W. GruenderActiveActive service · 2004–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Bobby E. ShepherdActiveActive service · 2006–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Jane Louise KellyActiveActive service · 2013–presentAppointed by Barack Obama
- Ralph R. EricksonActiveActive service · 2017–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- David Ryan StrasActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Jonathan Allen KobesActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Leonard Steven GraszActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
Senior status6
- Pasco Middleton Bowman IISeniorSenior status · 1983–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- Roger Leland WollmanSeniorSenior status · 1985–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- David Rasmussen HansenSeniorSenior status · 1991–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Morris Sheppard ArnoldSeniorSenior status · 1992–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Michael Joseph MelloySeniorSenior status · 2002–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- William Duane BentonSeniorSenior status · 2004–presentAppointed by George W Bush
Former judges45
- William Jay RileyActive service · 2001–2023Appointed by George W Bush
- Kermit Edward ByeActive service · 2000–2016Appointed by Bill Clinton
- John David KellyActive service · 1998–1998Appointed by Bill Clinton
- Diana E. MurphyActive service · 1994–2018Appointed by Bill Clinton
- C[larence] Arlen BeamActive service · 1987–2025Appointed by Ronald Reagan
- Frank J. MagillActive service · 1986–2013Appointed by Ronald Reagan
- George Gardner FaggActive service · 1982–2015Appointed by Ronald Reagan
- John R. GibsonActive service · 1982–2014Appointed by Ronald Reagan
- Richard Sheppard ArnoldActive service · 1980–2004Appointed by Jimmy Carter
- Theodore McMillianActive service · 1978–2006Appointed by Jimmy Carter
- Jesse Smith HenleyActive service · 1975–1997Appointed by Gerald Ford
- William Hedgcock WebsterActive service · 1973–1978Appointed by Richard Nixon
- Roy Laverne StephensonActive service · 1971–1982Appointed by Richard Nixon
- Donald Roe RossActive service · 1970–2013Appointed by Richard Nixon
- Myron H. BrightActive service · 1968–2016Appointed by Lyndon B Johnson
- Donald Pomery LayActive service · 1966–2007Appointed by Lyndon B Johnson
- Gerald William HeaneyActive service · 1966–2006Appointed by Lyndon B Johnson
- Floyd Robert GibsonActive service · 1965–2001Appointed by Lyndon B Johnson
- Pat MehaffyActive service · 1963–1981Appointed by John F Kennedy
- Albert Alphonso RidgeActive service · 1961–1967Appointed by John F Kennedy
- Harry Andrew BlackmunActive service · 1959–1970Appointed by Dwight D Eisenhower
- Marion Charles MatthesActive service · 1958–1980Appointed by Dwight D Eisenhower
- Charles Evans WhittakerActive service · 1956–1957Appointed by Dwight D Eisenhower
- Charles Joseph VogelActive service · 1954–1980Appointed by Dwight D Eisenhower
- Martin Donald Van OosterhoutActive service · 1954–1979Appointed by Dwight D Eisenhower
- John Caskie ColletActive service · 1947–1955Appointed by Harry S Truman
- Walter Garrett RiddickActive service · 1941–1953Appointed by Franklin D Roosevelt
- Harvey M. JohnsenActive service · 1940–1975Appointed by Franklin D Roosevelt
- Seth ThomasActive service · 1936–1962Appointed by Franklin D Roosevelt
- Charles Breckenridge FarisActive service · 1935–1938Appointed by Franklin D Roosevelt
- Joseph William WoodroughActive service · 1933–1977Appointed by Franklin D Roosevelt
- John Benjamin SanbornActive service · 1932–1964Appointed by Herbert Hoover
- Archibald K. GardnerActive service · 1929–1962Appointed by Herbert Hoover
- Arba Seymour Van ValkenburghActive service · 1925–1944Appointed by Calvin Coolidge
- Wilbur Franklin BoothActive service · 1925–1944Appointed by Calvin Coolidge
- William Squire KenyonActive service · 1922–1933Appointed by Warren G Harding
- Kimbrough StoneActive service · 1916–1958Appointed by Woodrow Wilson
- John Emmett CarlandActive service · 1911–1922Appointed by William Howard Taft
- Walter Inglewood SmithActive service · 1911–1922Appointed by William Howard Taft
- Elmer Bragg AdamsActive service · 1905–1916Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt
- William Cather HookActive service · 1903–1921Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt
- Willis Van DevanterActive service · 1903–1910Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt
- Amos Madden ThayerActive service · 1894–1905Appointed by Grover Cleveland
- Walter Henry SanbornActive service · 1892–1928Appointed by Benjamin Harrison
- Henry Clay CaldwellActive service · 1891–1903Appointed by None Assignment
Related on The Candidate
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