United States District Court for the District of Columbia

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United States federal district court

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the High Court of American Samoa) federal issues that arise in the territory of American Samoa, which has no local federal court or territorial court.[1] Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (except for patent claims, and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

As of November 5, 2021 the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is Matthew M. Graves.[2]

History[edit]

The court was established by Congress in 1863 as the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, replacing the abolished circuit and district courts of the District of Columbia that had been in place since 1801. The court consisted of four justices, including a chief justice, and was granted the same powers and jurisdiction as the earlier circuit court. Any of the justices could convene a United States circuit court or a local criminal court. In 1936, Congress renamed the court the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia. Its current name was adopted in 1948, and from then on justices were known as judges.[3]

Originally housed in the former District of Columbia City Hall, the court now sits in the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse located at 333 Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. The District has no local district attorney or equivalent, and so local prosecutorial matters also fall into the jurisdiction of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) are tasked with prosecution of not only federal crimes but also crimes that would normally be left to the state prosecutor’s discretion. Because of this the District has the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the nation, with around 250 AUSAs.

Current judges[edit]

As of November 12, 2021:

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
96 Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell Washington, D.C. 1956 2010–present 2016–present — Obama
88 District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Washington, D.C. 1943 1997–present — — Clinton
98 District Judge James E. Boasberg Washington, D.C. 1963 2011–present — — Obama
99 District Judge Amy Berman Jackson Washington, D.C. 1954 2011–present — — Obama
100 District Judge Rudolph Contreras Washington, D.C. 1962 2012–present — — Obama
102 District Judge Christopher R. Cooper Washington, D.C. 1966 2014–present — — Obama
103 District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan Washington, D.C. 1962 2014–present — — Obama
104 District Judge Randolph Moss Washington, D.C. 1961 2014–present — — Obama
105 District Judge Amit Mehta Washington, D.C. 1971 2014–present — — Obama
106 District Judge Timothy J. Kelly Washington, D.C. 1969 2017–present — — Trump
107 District Judge Trevor N. McFadden Washington, D.C. 1978 2017–present — — Trump
108 District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich Washington, D.C. 1967 2017–present — — Trump
109 District Judge Carl J. Nichols Washington, D.C. 1970 2019–present — — Trump
110 District Judge Florence Y. Pan Washington, D.C. 1966 2021–present — — Biden
111 District Judge Jia M. Cobb Washington, D.C. 1980 2021–present — — Biden
74 Senior Judge Joyce Hens Green inactive 1928 1979–1995 — 1995–present Carter
77 Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan Washington, D.C. 1938 1982–2008 2001–2008 2008–present Reagan
81 Senior Judge Royce Lamberth Washington, D.C.
San Antonio, Texas[Note 1]		 1943 1987–2013 2008–2013 2013–present Reagan
83 Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman Washington, D.C. 1944 1994–2009 — 2009–present Clinton
84 Senior Judge Gladys Kessler inactive 1938 1994–2007 — 2007–present Clinton
85 Senior Judge Emmet G. Sullivan Washington, D.C. 1947 1994–2021 — 2021–present Clinton
89 Senior Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. inactive 1948 1997–2011 — 2011–present Clinton
90 Senior Judge Richard W. Roberts inactive 1953 1998–2016 2013–2016 2016–present Clinton
91 Senior Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle inactive 1948 1999–2014 — 2014–present Clinton
92 Senior Judge Reggie Walton Washington, D.C. 1949 2001–2015 — 2015–present G.W. Bush
93 Senior Judge John D. Bates Washington, D.C. 1946 2001–2014 — 2014–present G.W. Bush
94 Senior Judge Richard J. Leon Washington, D.C. 1949 2002–2016 — 2016–present G.W. Bush
95 Senior Judge Rosemary M. Collyer inactive 1945 2002–2016 — 2016–present G.W. Bush

Vacancies and pending nominations[edit]

Former judges[edit]

  1. ^ Confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12, 1863; confirmation was reconsidered on March 13, 1863, with no subsequent vote; his nomination expired March 14, 1863.
  2. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 5, 1864; confirmed by the Senate on January 20 and received commission the same day.
  3. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 1, 1879, confirmed by the Senate December 10, 1879, and received commission the same day.
  4. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 14, 1885, confirmed by the Senate March 15, 1856, and received commission the same day.
  5. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1887, confirmed by the Senate January 26, 1888, and received commission the same day.
  6. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1887, confirmed by the Senate January 23, 1888, and received commission the same day.
  7. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1892, confirmed by the Senate January 25, 1893, and received commission the same day.
  8. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 10, 1903, confirmed by the Senate November 16, 1903, and received commission the same day.
  9. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated December 11, 1899, confirmed by the Senate December 19, 1899, and received commission the same day.
  10. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated December 5, 1901, confirmed by the Senate February 4, 1902, and received commission February 6, 1902.
  11. ^ Judge Anderson was given a recess appointment by President McKinley.
  12. ^ Judge Anderson was nominated by President McKinley but was appointed to the Court by (i.e., received his commission from) President Roosevelt.
  13. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated December 6, 1904, confirmed by the Senate December 13, 1904, and received commission the same day.
  14. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated December 15, 1916, confirmed by the Senate January 2, 1917, and received commission the same day.
  15. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated December 15, 1931, confirmed by the Senate February 17, 1932, and received commission February 20, 1932.
  16. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated December 15, 1931, confirmed by the Senate January 26, 1932, and received commission February 23, 1932.
  17. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 8, 1947, confirmed by the Senate January 22, 1947, and received commission January 24, 1947.
  18. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 8, 1947, confirmed by the Senate February 3, 1947, and received commission February 5, 1947.
  19. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 13, 1949, confirmed by the Senate March 29, 1949, and received commission April 1, 1949.
  20. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate March 8, 1950, and received commission March 9, 1950.
  21. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate April 4, 1950, and received commission April 7, 1950.
  22. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate February 27, 1950, and received commission March 1, 1950.
  23. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated November 27, 1950, confirmed by the Senate December 14, 1950, and received commission December 22, 1950.
  24. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated January 17, 1959, confirmed by the Senate September 9, 1959, and received commission September 10, 1959.
  25. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated February 3, 1964, confirmed by the Senate July 1, 1964, and received commission July 2, 1964.

Chief judges[edit]

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, 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 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.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats[edit]

  • Associate Justices Clabaugh, McCoy, Wheat and Laws were elevated to Chief Justice.
  • Chief Justice Laws was assigned to the new Seat 13 by operation of law upon the abolition of the Chief Justice Seat 1.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]