United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:


 * District of Maryland
 * Eastern District of North Carolina
 * Middle District of North Carolina
 * Western District of North Carolina
 * District of South Carolina
 * Eastern District of Virginia
 * Western District of Virginia
 * Northern District of West Virginia
 * Southern District of West Virginia

The court is based at the Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. With 15 authorized judgeships, it is mid-sized among the 13 United States Courts of Appeals.



Practice in the 4th Circuit
From 2000 to 2008, the Court had the highest rate of non-publication (92%) on the Federal Circuit.

The Chief Justice is always assigned to the Fourth Circuit as the circuit justice, due to Richmond's close proximity to Washington, D.C.

The Fourth Circuit is considered an extremely collegial court. By tradition, the judges of the Fourth Circuit come down from the bench following each oral argument to greet the lawyers.