Seth Aframe

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] 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.

Nomination Tracker
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
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: Levin Hicks Campbell, Jeffrey R. Howard, William Kayatta, Kermit Lipez, Sandra Lea Lynch, Bruce Marshall Selya, Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson

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

• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes