Chief judge

Chief judge is a title that can refer to the highest-ranking judge of a court that has more than one judge. The meaning and usage of the term vary from one court system to another. While the term "chief judge" is used in some courts, other courts use terms such as "chief justice," "presiding judge," "president judge," or "administrative judge."

United States courts of appeals

In the United States courts of appeals, the chief judge has certain administrative responsibilities and presides over en banc sessions of the court and meetings of the Judicial Council. The chief judge remains an active judge of the court hearing and deciding cases, but at his or her option may elect to take on a reduced caseload to provide time to perform administrative responsibilities.

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy in the office of chief judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

Chief Judge of Mega-City One

Chief Judge of Mega-City One is the title of several supporting characters in the Judge Dredd comic strip published in 2000 AD. The chief judge is dictator and head of state of Mega-City One, a fictional future city of around 400 million people in 22nd-century America. The present chief judge (as of December 2015) is Barbara Hershey.

Chief Judge is the highest rank in the Mega-City One Justice Department. The founder of the Judge System, Chief Judge Fargo, originally conceived this office as no more than the head of an elite police force whose members had powers to summarily convict and sentence criminals in 21st-century America, but following a coup d'état in 2070 the US Justice Department took control of the United States and formed a new government under the autocratic rule of the chief judge. Since then the chief judges have wielded immense power, although after the coup the USA split into three independent city-states, including Mega-City One (although the three cities had already enjoyed considerable autonomy since 2052).