Take the Fifth: 2024 election consequences for the U.S. Fifth Circuit

Posted on by tadbartlett

While the public rightly focuses on the implications of Presidential elections when it comes to the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court, the decisions of the Courts of Appeals arguably touch more lives more directly every day, due to the nature of their decisions coming from appeals-of-right and not just hand-selected certiorari review. So, with that in mind, take a look at the 17 active-duty judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and their respective ages by the end of 2024 (listed here in order of seniority on the Court), and contemplate the implications of the upcoming Presidential election for shaping our Court:

  • Judge Edith Jones, 75 (appointed by Pres. Reagan) **
  • Judge Jerry Smith, 78 (appointed by Pres. Reagan) **
  • Judge Carl Stewart, 74 (appointed by Pres. Clinton) **
  • Chief Judge Jennifer Elrod, 58 (appointed by Pres. Geo. W. Bush)
  • Judge Leslie Southwick, 74 (appointed by Pres. Geo. W. Bush) **
  • Judge Priscilla Richman, 70 (appointed by Pres. Geo. W. Bush) **
  • Judge Catharina Haynes, 61 (appointed by Pres. Geo. W. Bush) *
  • Judge James Graves, 67 (appointed by Pres. Obama) **
  • Judge Stephen Higginson, 63 (appointed by Pres. Obama) *
  • Judge Don Willett, 58 (appointed by Pres. Trump)
  • Judge James Ho, 51 (appointed by Pres. Trump)
  • Judge Stuart Duncan, 52 (appointed by Pres. Trump)
  • Judge Kurt Engelhardt, 64 (appointed by Pres. Trump) *
  • Judge Andrew Oldham, 46 (appointed by Pres. Trump)
  • Judge Cory Wilson, 54 (appointed by Pres. Trump)
  • Judge Dana Douglas, 49 (appointed by Pres. Biden)
  • Judge Irma Ramirez, 60 (appointed by Pres. Biden)

For those keeping score, that’s two Reagan-appointees, one Clinton-appointee, four George W. Bush-appointees, two Obama-appointees, six Trump-appointees, and two Biden-appointees.

Note that a federal judge may retire at full compensation or take senior status after they reach the age of 65 and their age plus years of federal judgeship added together equal at least 80. Under those calculations, the six judges above noted with two asterisks (**) are eligible now, and the three others noted with one asterisk (*) will be eligible in the next four years. That totals to more than half of the active membership of the Court. No matter your political or judicial ideological (and this Court has shown that these are not necessarily the same) preference, it is clear that this election will matter.

And just for completeness, here are the nine Fifth Circuit judges who have taken senior status, most of whom regularly still sit on panels and continue to contribute to the development of the law in the Circuit:

  • Judge Carolyn King, 86 (Pres. Carter)
  • Judge Grady Jolly, 87 (Pres. Reagan)
  • Judge Patrick Higginbotham, 86 (Pres. Reagan)
  • Judge Eugene Davis, 88 (Pres. Reagan)
  • Judge John Duhe, 91 (Pres. Reagan) (no longer sits on panels)
  • Judge Jacques Wiener, 90 (Pres. Geo. H.W. Bush)
  • Judge Rhesa Barksdale, 80 (Pres. Geo. H.W. Bush)
  • Judge James Dennis, 88 (Pres. Clinton)
  • Judge Edith Clement, 76 (Pres. Geo. W. Bush)