Federal judiciary · U.S. Courts of Appeals
Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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
- 16
- Senior status
- 15
- Currently serving
- 31
- Court
- www.ca6.uscourts.gov
In active service16
- Karen Nelson MooreActiveActive service · 1995–presentAppointed by Bill Clinton
- Eric L. ClayActiveActive service · 1997–presentAppointed by Bill Clinton
- Jeffrey S. SuttonActiveActive service · 2003–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Richard Allen GriffinActiveActive service · 2005–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Raymond M. KethledgeActiveActive service · 2008–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Amul Roger ThaparActiveActive service · 2017–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Joan Louise LarsenActiveActive service · 2017–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- John Kenneth BushActiveActive service · 2017–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- John Baylor NalbandianActiveActive service · 2018–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Chad Andrew ReadlerActiveActive service · 2019–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Eric Earl MurphyActiveActive service · 2019–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
- Andre Bernard MathisActiveActive service · 2022–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Stephanie Dawkins DavisActiveActive service · 2022–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Rachel Sarah BloomekatzActiveActive service · 2023–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Kevin Gafford RitzActiveActive service · 2024–presentAppointed by Joe Biden
- Whitney Downs HermandorferActiveActive service · 2025–presentAppointed by Donald Trump
Senior status15
- James Leo RyanSeniorSenior status · 1985–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- Alan Eugene NorrisSeniorSenior status · 1986–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- Danny Julian BoggsSeniorSenior status · 1986–presentAppointed by Ronald Reagan
- Richard Fred SuhrheinrichSeniorSenior status · 1990–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Alice Moore BatchelderSeniorSenior status · 1991–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Eugene Edward Siler Jr.SeniorSenior status · 1991–presentAppointed by George H W Bush
- Martha Craig DaughtreySeniorSenior status · 1993–presentAppointed by Bill Clinton
- Ransey Guy Cole Jr.SeniorSenior status · 1995–presentAppointed by Bill Clinton
- Ronald Lee GilmanSeniorSenior status · 1997–presentAppointed by Bill Clinton
- John M. RogersSeniorSenior status · 2002–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Julia Smith GibbonsSeniorSenior status · 2002–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Deborah L. CookSeniorSenior status · 2003–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- David William McKeagueSeniorSenior status · 2005–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Helene N. WhiteSeniorSenior status · 2008–presentAppointed by George W Bush
- Jane Branstetter StranchSeniorSenior status · 2010–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
- Federal officesBrowse the federal offices and office holders The Candidate tracks.Open