There are also courts of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the Federal Circuit, but those courts do not have the same connection to state geography as the regional circuit courts of appeals. A 1997 law requires that every state within a circuit be represented among appeals court judges by a resident of that state. In addition, except for the D.C. and Federal Circuits, appeals nominees must "reside" within the circuit at the time of appointment and "thereafter while in active service." Otherwise, the President is not required by statute to nominate appeals judges from particular states. On April 2, 2009, President Obama nominated Judge Andre M. Davis of the District Court of Maryland to fill this seat. In the 111 th Congress, the confirmation of Albert Diaz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit resulted in a change in state representation, moving a seat from South Carolina to North Carolina. In the present Congress, no nomination pending, if confirmed, would result in changes to state representation in a circuit. This report limits the inquiry to 1891-2009. Changes in State Representation

The data indicate that a seat is usually filled by a judge nominated from the same state as the predecessor in that seat. One explanation for the latter two patterns might be a practice of rotating seats among smaller states, particularly before a federal statute required that each state be represented on its circuit court and before Congress created enough judgeships within each circuit to allow each state to be represented at the same time. The cells in the table list the number of changes in state representation each President made in each circuit (e.g., "1 of 2," meaning one change in state representation out of two total appointments to that circuit). Of the 455 opportunities for changes in state representation since 1891, 104 confirmed nominations (23%) resulted in such changes. Specifically, 40% of appointments through the Kennedy Administration marked changes in state representation, as compared with 13% from the Lyndon Johnson Administration to the present. On that circuit, only four of 54 appointments to the court (7%) have resulted in changes in state representation.
When a seat becomes vacant on a federal court of appeals (the "circuit courts"), the President has the opportunity to nominate a new judge for the Senate's consideration. Geography is often a factor in the decision, particularly whether the new judge will be nominated from the same state as the predecessor. One scholar refers to the custom of maintaining state continuity in seats within a court (e.g., a "Missouri seat" or an "Ohio seat") as "state representation." Federal statutes currently require that judges "reside" in the circuit at the time of appointment and while in active service, and that each state within the circuit be represented among the court's judges, but do not require that particular seats be reserved for nominees from particular states.
As of this writing, President Obama has nominated 23 individuals to circuit court judgeships (excluding nominations made to the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia) during the 111th and 112th Congresses. Of the 16 confirmed, only one — that of Albert Diaz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — has resulted in a change in state representation. Of the seven whose nominations have not yet received final action, none would result in changes in state representation.
This report provides an overview and analysis of changes in state representation of circuit court judges confirmed since 1891, when Congress created the modern regional appeals courts. The data reveal that some seats are consistently filled by judges from the same state. Other seats are filled by judges from various states in that circuit. Overall, changes in state representation have occurred in 23% of confirmed nominations since 1891. Changes in state representation were more common prior to the 1960s than in recent decades. Over 40% of appointments made during the Kennedy Administration or earlier have resulted in changes to state representation in a circuit; 13% of circuit court appointments after the Kennedy Administration have made such a change. The frequency of those changes has also varied by circuit.
This report will be updated periodically to reflect changes in state representation or other notable developments.