Nearly appointed six-in-ten current federal judges were appointed by Democratic presidents Share of active judges by party of appointing president
As of July 12, the current federal judiciary overall consists of 725 active judges across 94 district courts, 13 appeals courts, the Supreme Court and one additional court, the Court of International Trade. (This analysis counts only Article III judges who are included in the Federal Judicial Center’s biographical database, which excludes three district-level courts in U.S. territories.) Of these judges, 58% were appointed by Democratic presidents and 42% were appointed by Republicans, according to the Center’s analysis.
But these shares differ considerably by the level of court in question. Five of the nine current Supreme Court justices (counting Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement takes effect on July 31) were appointed by Republican presidents. The appeals courts are roughly evenly populated with appellate judges appointed by Democratic (51%) and Republican presidents (49%). In district courts, 61% of active judges were appointed by Democratic presidents and just 39% were appointed by Republicans.
Nearly appointed six-in-ten current federal judges were  | appointed by Democratic presidents  | Share of active judges by party of appointing president  | 50%  | DEMOCRAT  | REPUBLICAN  | All active judges  | 58% 42%  | Supreme Court justices  | 44 56  | 51  | 49  | Appeals court judges  | District court judges  | 61  | 39  | Note: Data as ofJuly 12, 2018. One federal appeals court judge Roger Gregory,  | received a recess appointment from Bill Clinton and was reappointed Roger to Gregory, the same  | position by George W Bush He is counted under Bush's total only. Judges on the  | Court of Intern ational Trade are not shown separately but are included in overall tota  | Source: Pew Research Center fana lysis of Federal Judical Center data.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 