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Seth Aframe
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2024 - Present
1
Seth Aframe is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on October 4, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 20, 2024, by a vote of 49-40.[1][2][3][4] Aframe was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Prior to joining the court, Aframe was an assistant United States attorney for the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.[5][6]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
On October 4, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Aframe to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.[5][6] He was confirmed by a 49-40 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 20, 2024.[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
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| Nominee Information |
| Name: Seth Aframe |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed Expression error: Unexpected < operator. after nomination. |
 Nominated: October 4, 2023, January 8, 2024
|
| ABA Rating: Well qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: November 1, 2023
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: November 30, 2023 (First), January 18, 2023 (second)
|
| Confirmed: May 20, 2024
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| Vote: 49-40
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Aframe by a vote of 49-40 on May 20, 2024.[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Aframe confirmation vote (May 20, 2024) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
44 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
 Republican |
2 | 40 | 7 | ||||||
 Independent |
3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 49[7] | 40 | 11 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Aframe's nomination on November 1, 2023. He was reported to the full Senate on November 30, 2023, after a 11-10 committee vote.[8] After his renomination, he was again reported to the full Senate on January 18, 2023, after a 11-10 committee vote.[9]
Nomination
On October 4, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Seth Aframe to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Aframe's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2024.[10] The president renominated Aframe on January 8, 2024.[3]
Aframe was nominated to replace Judge Jeffrey R. Howard, who assumed senior status on March 31, 2022.[11]
The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Aframe well qualified.[12] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Biography
Education
Aframe earned a bachelor's degree from Tufts University in 1996 and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999.[4]
Professional career
- 2024-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- 2008-2024: Adjunct professor, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law
- 2007-2024: Assistant U.S. attorney, District of New Hampshire
- 2023-2024: chief, Criminal Division
- 2010-2024: appellate chief
- 2010-2024: Criminal Division
- 2022-2023: deputy chief, Criminal Division
- 2007-2010: Civil Division
- 2006-2007: Instructor of legal research and writing, Boston University School of Law
- 2003-2007: Law clerk, Hon. Jeffrey R. Howard, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- 2000-2003: Private practice
- 1999-2000: Law clerk, Hon. Judith A. Cowin, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts[4]
About the court
| First Circuit |
|---|
| Court of Appeals |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 6 |
| Judges: 5 |
| Vacancies: 1 |
| Judges |
| Chief: |
| Active judges: Seth Aframe, David Barron, Gustavo Gelpí, Lara Montecalvo, Julie Rikelman Senior judges: |
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Appeals are heard in the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. There is another circuit courthouse located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the court sits for two weeks a year.
Two judges of the First Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Stephen Breyer was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1994 by Bill Clinton (D), and David Souter was appointed in 1990 by George H. W. Bush (R). The First Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases fall under federal law, and may be either civil or criminal in nature. Appeals of rulings by the First Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is the circuit justice for the First Circuit.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts:
- District of Maine
- District of Massachusetts
- District of New Hampshire
- District of Puerto Rico
- District of Rhode Island
To read opinions published by this court, click here.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑ The White House, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 8, 2024
- ↑ Congress.gov, PN1065 — Seth Robert Aframe — The Judiciary," accessed November 30, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Congress.gov, PN1238 — Seth Robert Aframe — The Judiciary," accessed January 18, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Federal Judicial Center, "Aframe, Seth Robert," accessed May 20, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The White House, "President Biden Names Thirty-Ninth Round of Judicial Nominees," October 4, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The White House, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," October 4, 2023
- ↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – November 30, 2023," November 30, 2023
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2024," January 19, 2023
- ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days.
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Howard, Jeffrey R.," accessed November 30, 2023
- ↑ [https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/government_affairs_office/emma-web-rating-chart-biden-congress.pdf American Bar Association, "STANDING COMMITTEE ONTHE FEDERAL JUDICIARY," accessed November 28th, 2023]
Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Hampshire • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Hampshire
State courts:
New Hampshire Supreme Court • New Hampshire Superior Courts • New Hampshire Circuit Courts • New Hampshire Probate Courts • New Hampshire District Court • New Hampshire Family Division
State resources:
Courts in New Hampshire • New Hampshire judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Hampshire
