1. Court of Appeals: 6 th Circuit JASMINE BRADLEY MR. HITCH

2. What is it?  Established in December 10, 1869  The U.S. courts of appeals were the first federal courts designed exclusively to hear cases on appeal from trial courts. In an effort to relieve the caseload burden in the Supreme Court and to handle a dramatic increase in federal filings, Congress, in the Judiciary Act of 1891, established nine courts of appeals, one for each judicial circuit. The existing circuit judges and a newly-authorized judge in each circuit were the judges of the appellate courts.

3. Cont.  The 6th Circuit, based in Cincinnati, has had a particularly dismal record before the high court. In the seven Supreme Court terms completed since the fall of 2005, the 6th Circuit has been reversed 31 out of 38 times, for an 81.6 percent reversal rate, based on figures compiled by two Philadelphia lawyers.  The court is composed of sixteen judges and is based at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is one of thirteen United States courts of appeals.

4. Cont.  The four states within the Sixth Circuit are Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The Circuit headquarters is in Cincinnati, Ohio. The nine districts in the circuit are the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western District of Michigan, the Northern District of Ohio, the Southern District of Ohio, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the Western District of Kentucky, the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Western District of Tennessee. In each of these districts there are U.S. District Courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, U.S. Probation Offices and, some of the districts contain U.S. Pretrial Services Offices. In addition to the court of appeals, the Judicial Council oversees the operation of these court units.

5.  The Sixth Circuit Judicial Council consists of the chief judge of the circuit and an equal number of court of appeals and district judges from within circuit. The council has the power to take steps that may be required to efficiently manage the caseload of the nine districts within the four states that make up the Sixth Circuit as well as the court of appeals. The council appoints the circuit executive to assist with the administrative responsibilities of the circuit, working closely with the chief judge and the council. Each circuit is required by law to meet in a judicial conference attended by all the court of appeals, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges of the circuit. The judges and invited members of the bar discuss common problems and make recommendations for improving the administration of justice in the circuit.

6. To be chief...  To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.  The court has sixteen seats for active judges, numbered in the order in which they were filled. Judges who retire into senior status remain on the bench but leave their seat vacant. That seat is filled by the next circuit judge appointed by the president.

7. Judges in the 6 th Circuit  53 Chief Judge Alice M. Batchelder Medina, OH — G.H.W. Bush  49 Circuit Judge Danny Julian Boggs Louisville, KY — Reagan  55 Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore Cleveland, OH — Clinton  56 Circuit Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr. Columbus, OH — Clinton  57 Circuit Judge Eric L. Clay Detroit, MI — Clinton  59 Circuit Judge Julia Smith Gibbons Memphis, TN — G.W. Bush  60 Circuit Judge John M. Rogers Lexington, KY — G.W. Bush  61 Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton Columbus, OH — G.W. Bush  62 Circuit Judge Deborah L. Cook Akron, OH — G.W. Bush  63 Circuit Judge David McKeague Lansing, MI — G.W. Bush  64 Circuit Judge Richard Allen Griffin Traverse City, MI — G.W. Bush  66 Circuit Judge Raymond M. Kethledge Ann Arbor, MI — G.W. Bush  67 Circuit Judge Helene N. White Detroit, MI — G.W. Bush  68 Circuit Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch Nashville, TN — Obama  69 Circuit Judge Bernice B. Donald Memphis, TN — Obama  36 Senior Circuit Judge Damon J. Keith Detroit, MI ---- Carter  37 Senior Circuit Judge Gilbert Stroud Merritt, Jr. Nashville, TN – Carter  39 Senior Circuit Judge Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy Detroit, MI - Carter  46 Senior Circuit Judge Ralph B. Guy, Jr. Ann Arbor, MI - Reagan  50 Senior Circuit Judge Alan Eugene Norris Columbus, OH - Reagan  51 Senior Circuit Judge Richard Fred Suhrheinrich Lansing, MI- G.H.W. Bush  52 Senior Circuit Judge Eugene Edward Siler, Jr. London, KY -G.H.W. Bush  54 Senior Circuit Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey Nashville, TN - Clinton  58 Senior Circuit Judge Ronald Lee Gilman Memphis, TN - Clinton

8. 6 th Circuit Today  The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is one of the most powerful courts in the nation, but these days it's suffering through a major slump. The court owns the longest losing streak in the country over the past two years at the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviews decisions and corrects mistakes made by the nation's top appeals courts. The Supreme Court has examined 15 rulings from the 6th Circuit since 2008 and has thrown out every one of them. In each case — from death penalty appeals and tax disputes to disagreements over election law — the Supreme Court found critical errors that tainted the 6th Circuit's decision. The consequences of getting those decisions wrong can be severe and, in some cases, can literally mean the difference between life and death.Three of the 15 overturned cases involve convicted killers who were spared execution by the 6th Circuit only to have the Supreme Court send them back to death row.

9. Bonus  Elena Kagan is the circuit justice for the Sixth Circuit. William Howard Taft, the only person ever to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the United States, once served on the circuit. Four judges of the Sixth Circuit have been elevated to serve on the Supreme Court.

10. Resources  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/judicial_council/judicialcouncil.htm http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/judicial_council/judicialcouncil.htm  "Standard Search". Federal Law Clerk Information System. Retrieved June 26, 2005.  "Instructions for Judicial Directory". Website of the University of Texas Law School. Archived from the original on November 11, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2005.  Phillips, Harry, and Samuel S. Wilson. History of the Sixth Circuit: A Bicentennial Project. Washington D.C.: Bicentennial Commission of the U.S. Judicial Conference, 1977.