Federal judiciary · U.S. Courts of Appeals
Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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 currently serving on the court: those in regular active service, shown first, followed by those who have taken senior status. 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. 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, 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
- 11
- Senior status
- 4
- Currently serving
- 15
- Court
- www.ca7.uscourts.gov
In active service11
- Frank Hoover EasterbrookActiveActive service · 1985–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- Amy Joan St. EveActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Michael Brian BrennanActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Michael Yale Scudder Jr.ActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Thomas Lee Kirsch IIActiveActive service · 2020–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Candace Rae Jackson-AkiwumiActiveActive service · 2021–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Doris Lenea PryorActiveActive service · 2022–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- John Zihun LeeActiveActive service · 2022–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Joshua Paul KolarActiveActive service · 2024–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Nancy Lee MaldonadoActiveActive service · 2024–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Rebecca Liane TaiblesonActiveActive service · 2025–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
Senior status4
- Kenneth Francis RippleSeniorSenior status · 1985–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- Ilana Kara Diamond RovnerSeniorSenior status · 1992–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Diane S. SykesSeniorSenior status · 2004–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- David Frank HamiltonSeniorSenior status · 2009–presentAppointed by Barack Obama
Related on The Candidate
- Federal judiciaryHow the Article III judiciary fits into the federal government.Open
- Supreme Court justicesThe court above the circuits — every sitting and former Justice.Open
- U.S. presidentsThe appointing authority — every president who has named a federal judge.Open
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