User:AlexKnight/sandbox

Article III of the U.S. Consitution establishes the judicial branch of the United States government. The Article establishes the Supreme Court as the top court of the nation. It also gives Congress the power to establish lower courts - a power it has used to establish the three-tiered federal judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the District Courts. Additionally, a number of specific subject-matters courts have been established at the district court-level and below, whose existence falls outside the purview of Article III. Article II gives the President of the United States (Donald Trump since January 20, 2017) the power to nominate judges to federal courts. The Appointments Clause provides that the Senate (currently with a Republican majority) advises and consents on Presidential nominations. The Senate Judiciary Committee is charged with holding hearings into nominees and recommending to the full Senate either confirmation or rejection of the candidate. Judges are often appointed on ideological grounds in line with the appointing President - this is particularly true for higher-level appointments. The necessity of the Senate's confirmation tempers this where the President and Senate majority are of different political parties, forcing a President to nominate a more ideologically moderate candidate, as in the case of Anthony Kennedy.

This article lists current active and senior judges of the Article III and non-Article III courts and tribunals in the United States by seniority.

Bold denotes the Chief Judge of the court.

Italcised denotes a senior status judge.