The federal courts of appeals are the last stop before the U.S. Supreme Court and, in most cases, the courts with the final say on constitutional and other federal issues. The number of authorized judgeships for the appellate courts has stayed constant since 1990, while the caseload of those courts has increased 32 percent. The federal judiciary has asked Congress to add a total of six permanent judgeships and four temporary positions to the courts of appeals.
| Court | Location | Number of authorized judgeships | Number of vacancies |
| 1st Circuit | Boston | 6 | 0 |
| 2nd Circuit | New York | 13 | 1 |
| 3rd Circuit | Philadelphia | 14 | 2 |
| 4th Circuit | Richmond, Va. | 15 | 3 |
| 5th Circuit | New Orleans | 17 | 3 |
| 6th Circuit | Cincinnati | 16 | 6 |
| 7th Circuit | Chicago | 11 | 0 |
| 8th Circuit | St. Louis | 11 | 0 |
| 9th Circuit | San Francisco | 28 | 4 |
| 10th Circuit | Denver | 12 | 1 |
| 11th Circuit | Atlanta | 12 | 1 |
| District of Columbia Circuit | Washington | 12 | 4 |
| Federal Circuit | Washington | 12 | 0 |
| Totals | 179 | 25 |
SOURCE: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (as of Feb. 11, 2003)
