List of United States district and territorial courts

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There are 94 active United States district and territorial courts.[1] Each of the 50 states has between one and four district courts, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico each have a district court.

The insular areas of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands each have one territorial court; these courts are called "district courts" and exercise the same jurisdiction as district courts,[2][3] but differ from district courts in that territorial courts are Article IV courts, with judges who serve ten-year terms rather than the lifetime tenure of judges of Article III courts, such as the district court judges.[3] American Samoa does not have a district court or a federal territorial court, and so federal matters there are sent to either the District of Columbia or Hawaii.[4]

Definition

A multicolored map of the boundaries of the United States
Map of the boundaries of the 94 United States District Courts

The district courts were established by Congress under Article III of the United States Constitution. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court.[2] Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the 13 courts of appeals, organized geographically. The number of district courts in a court of appeals' circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on the number of states in the region and the number of districts in each state. The formal naming convention for the district courts is "United States District Court for" followed by the district name. Each district court has one or more meeting places at which it holds hearings and conducts business. Many federal courthouses are named after notable judges, such as the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City or the Hugo L. Black Courthouse in Birmingham. The largest courthouse is the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse, which serves the Eastern District of Missouri.[5]

The largest courts by number of judges are the Central District of California and the Southern District of New York, each with 28 judgeships. The smallest are the District for the Northern Mariana Islands and the District of Guam, with one judgeship each.

Active courts

Exterior view of a red-brown building with two trees and a flagpole in the foreground.
Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse in San Diego, California
Exterior view of a beige building, composed largely of windows with several small trees in the foreground.
Robert E. Coyle Courthouse in Fresno, California
Exterior view of the front of a large, white building with ten pillars, and a set of stairs.
Richard C. Lee Courthouse in New Haven, Connecticut
Exterior view of a tall beige building with many windows.
Theodore Roosevelt Courthouse in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn
Exterior view of a gray building at a street corner. A separate, taller structure is visible in the background.
Central District of Illinois Courthouse in Peoria, Illinois
Exterior view of a beige building composed largely of windows. A large overhang attached to the building is supported by a single pillar.
Lloyd D. George Courthouse in Las Vegas, Nevada
Exterior view of a white building with numerous pillars. An inscription reads "United States Court House".
Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York, New York
Exterior view of the Western District of Pennsylvania Courthouse building in Erie, Pennsylvania
Western District of Pennsylvania Courthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania
Exterior view of the Clemente Ruiz Nazario Federal Courthouse building in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Clemente Ruiz Nazario Courthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exterior view of the Central District of California Courthouse building in Los Angeles, California
Central District of California Courthouse in Los Angeles, California
Exterior view of the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse building in Birmingham, Alabama
Hugo L. Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama
Exterior view of the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse building in Washington, D.C.
E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C.
Key
Citation The abbreviation used to refer to court decisions.
Established The date the district court was established as a court or the date it was subdivided from a larger district.
Judges The number of judgeships authorized for the district.
Meeting places The number of locations at which the court hears cases.
Region Citation Court of
Appeals
Established Judges Meeting
places
Chief judge
Northern District of Alabama N.D. Ala. 11th 1824 8 8 L. Scott Coogler
Middle District of Alabama M.D. Ala. 11th 1839 3 3 Emily C. Marks
Southern District of Alabama S.D. Ala. 11th 1824 3 2 Jeff Beaverstock
District of Alaska D. Alaska 9th 1958 3 5 Sharon L. Gleason
District of Arizona D. Ariz. 9th 1910 13 6 G. Murray Snow
Eastern District of Arkansas E.D. Ark. 8th 1851 5 3 D. Price Marshall Jr.
Western District of Arkansas W.D. Ark. 8th 1851 3 6 Susan Owens Hickey
Central District of California C.D. Cal. 9th 1966 28 4 Philip S. Gutierrez
Eastern District of California E.D. Cal. 9th 1966 6 3 Kimberly J. Mueller
Northern District of California N.D. Cal. 9th 1886 14 4 Richard Seeborg
Southern District of California S.D. Cal. 9th 1850 13 1 Dana Sabraw
District of Colorado D. Col. or D. Colo. 10th 1876 7 8 Philip A. Brimmer
District of Connecticut D. Conn. 2nd 1789 8 5 Michael P. Shea
District of Delaware D. Del. 3rd 1789 4 1 Colm Connolly
District of Columbia D.D.C. D.C. 1863 15 1 Beryl A. Howell
Northern District of Florida N.D. Fla. or N.D. Fl. 11th 1847 4 6 Mark E. Walker
Middle District of Florida M.D. Fla. or M.D. Fl. 11th 1962 15 8 Timothy J. Corrigan
Southern District of Florida S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl. 11th 1847 18 5 Cecilia Altonaga
Northern District of Georgia N.D. Ga. 11th 1848 11 4 Timothy Batten
Middle District of Georgia M.D. Ga. 11th 1926 4 7 Marc Thomas Treadwell
Southern District of Georgia S.D. Ga. 11th 1848 3 6 James Randal Hall
District of Guam D. Guam 9th 1951 1 1 Frances Tydingco-Gatewood
District of Hawaii D. Haw. 9th 1959 4 1 John Michael Seabright
District of Idaho D. Idaho 9th 1890 2 4 David Nye
Northern District of Illinois N.D. Ill. 7th 1855 22 4 Rebecca R. Pallmeyer
Central District of Illinois C.D. Ill. 7th 1978 4 6 Sara Lynn Darrow
Southern District of Illinois S.D. Ill. 7th 1855 4 4 Nancy J. Rosenstengel
Northern District of Indiana N.D. Ind. 7th 1928 5 4 Jon DeGuilio
Southern District of Indiana S.D. Ind. 7th 1928 5 5 Tanya Walton Pratt
Northern District of Iowa N.D. Iowa 8th 1882 2 6 Leonard Terry Strand
Southern District of Iowa S.D. Iowa 8th 1882 3 6 Stephanie Marie Rose
District of Kansas D. Kan. 10th 1861 6 9 Eric F. Melgren
Eastern District of Kentucky E.D. Ky. 6th 1901 6 9 Danny C. Reeves
Western District of Kentucky W.D. Ky. 6th 1901 5 4 Gregory N. Stivers
Eastern District of Louisiana E.D. La. 5th 1849 12 2 Nannette Jolivette Brown
Middle District of Louisiana M.D. La. 5th 1971 3 1 Shelly Deckert Dick
Western District of Louisiana W.D. La. 5th 1881 7 6 S. Maurice Hicks Jr.
District of Maine D. Me. 1st 1789 3 2 Jon D. Levy
District of Maryland D. Md. 4th 1789 10 4 James K. Bredar
District of Massachusetts D. Mass. 1st 1789 13 4 F. Dennis Saylor IV
Eastern District of Michigan E.D. Mich. 6th 1863 15 5 Sean Cox
Western District of Michigan W.D. Mich. 6th 1863 4 6 Hala Y. Jarbou
District of Minnesota D. Minn. 8th 1858 7 6 Patrick J. Schiltz
Northern District of Mississippi N.D. Miss. 5th 1838 3 7 Debra M. Brown
Southern District of Mississippi S.D. Miss. 5th 1838 6 7 Daniel Porter Jordan III
Eastern District of Missouri E.D. Mo. 8th 1857 9 3 Rodney W. Sippel
Western District of Missouri W.D. Mo. 8th 1857 7 5 Mary Elizabeth Phillips
District of Montana D. Mont. 9th 1889 3 11 Brian Morris
District of Nebraska D. Neb. 8th 1867 3 3 Robert F. Rossiter Jr.
District of Nevada D. Nev. 9th 1865 7 6 Miranda Du
District of New Hampshire D.N.H. 1st 1789 3 2 Landya B. McCafferty
District of New Jersey D.N.J. 3rd 1789 17 6 Freda L. Wolfson
District of New Mexico D.N.M. 10th 1910 7 3 William Paul Johnson
Eastern District of New York E.D.N.Y. 2nd 1865 15 4 Margo Kitsy Brodie
Northern District of New York N.D.N.Y. 2nd 1814 5 8 Brenda K. Sannes
Southern District of New York S.D.N.Y. 2nd 1814 28 3 Laura Taylor Swain
Western District of New York W.D.N.Y. 2nd 1900 4 5 Elizabeth A. Wolford
Eastern District of North Carolina E.D.N.C. 4th 1872 4 7 Richard E. Myers II
Middle District of North Carolina M.D.N.C. 4th 1927 4 3 Thomas D. Schroeder
Western District of North Carolina W.D.N.C. 4th 1872 5 5 Martin Karl Reidinger
District of North Dakota D.N.D. 8th 1890 2 4 Peter D. Welte
District of the Northern Mariana Islands D.N. Mar. I. 9th 1977 1 1 Ramona Villagomez Manglona
Northern District of Ohio N.D. Ohio 6th 1855 11 5 Patricia Anne Gaughan
Southern District of Ohio S.D. Ohio 6th 1855 8 5 Algenon L. Marbley
Eastern District of Oklahoma E.D. Ok. or E.D. Okla. 10th 1906 2 8 Ronald A. White
Northern District of Oklahoma N.D. Ok. or N.D. Okla. 10th 1925 4 5 John F. Heil III
Western District of Oklahoma W.D. Ok. or W.D. Okla. 10th 1906 7 10 Timothy D. DeGiusti
District of Oregon D. Or. or D. Ore. 9th 1859 6 7 Marco A. Hernandez
Eastern District of Pennsylvania E.D. Pa. 3rd 1818 22 5 Juan Ramon Sánchez
Middle District of Pennsylvania M.D. Pa. 3rd 1901 6 5 Matthew W. Brann
Western District of Pennsylvania W.D. Pa. 3rd 1818 10 3 Mark R. Hornak
District of Puerto Rico D.P.R. 1st 1966 7 3 Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach
District of Rhode Island D.R.I. 1st 1790 3 1 John J. McConnell Jr.
District of South Carolina D.S.C. 4th 1789 10 11 Robert Bryan Harwell
District of South Dakota D.S.D. 8th 1889 3 5 Roberto Lange
Eastern District of Tennessee E.D. Tenn. 6th 1802 5 4 Travis Randall McDonough
Middle District of Tennessee M.D. Tenn. 6th 1839 4 3 Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr.
Western District of Tennessee W.D. Tenn. 6th 1802 5 3 Stanley Thomas Anderson
Eastern District of Texas E.D. Tex. 5th 1857 8 7 James Rodney Gilstrap
Northern District of Texas N.D. Tex. 5th 1879 12 7 David C. Godbey
Southern District of Texas S.D. Tex. 5th 1902 19 7 Lee H. Rosenthal
Western District of Texas W.D. Tex. 5th 1857 13 8 Orlando Luis Garcia
District of Utah D. Utah 10th 1894 5 4 Robert J. Shelby
District of Vermont D. Vt. 2nd 1791 2 7 Geoffrey W. Crawford
District of the Virgin Islands D.V.I. 3rd 1936 2 2 Robert A. Molloy
Eastern District of Virginia E.D. Va. 4th 1819 11 4 Mark Steven Davis
Western District of Virginia W.D. Va. 4th 1819 4 7 Michael F. Urbanski
Eastern District of Washington E.D. Wash. 9th 1905 4 4 Stanley Bastian
Western District of Washington W.D. Wash. 9th 1905 7 3 David Estudillo
Northern District of West Virginia N.D. W. Va. 4th 1901 3 5 Tom Kleeh
Southern District of West Virginia S.D. W. Va. 4th 1901 5 6 Thomas E. Johnston
Eastern District of Wisconsin E.D. Wis. 7th 1870 5 3 Pamela Pepper
Western District of Wisconsin W.D. Wis. 7th 1870 2 5 James D. Peterson
District of Wyoming D. Wyo. 10th 1890 3 6 Scott W. Skavdahl

Defunct courts

Exterior view of the defunct District of the Canal Zone Federal Courthouse building in Panama City, Panama
District of the Canal Zone Courthouse in Panama City, Panama

Note: Defunct courts do not include courts consisting of an entire state that were later subdivided.

Name Citation Established Disestablished
District of Edenton 1794 1797
District of New Bern 1794 1797
District of Wilmington 1794 1797
District of East Jersey 1801 1802
District of West Jersey 1801 1802
District of Potomac 1801 1802
District of Norfolk 1801 1802
District of Albemarle 1802 1872
District of Cape Fear 1802 1872
District of Pamptico 1802 1872
District of Orleans 1804 1812
Eastern District of Illinois E.D. Ill. 1905 1978
District of China 1906 1943
Eastern District of South Carolina E.D.S.C. 1911 1965
Western District of South Carolina W.D.S.C. 1911 1965
District of the Canal Zone D.C.Z. 1914 1982
District of Berlin D.Berlin 1955 1990

Subdivided courts

Name Citation Established Subdivided
District of Alabama D. Ala. April 21, 1820 March 10, 1824
District of Arkansas D. Ark. June 15, 1836 March 3, 1851
District of California D. Cal. July 27, 1866[6] August 5, 1886
District of Florida D. Fla. March 3, 1845 February 23, 1847
District of Georgia D. Ga. September 24, 1789 August 11, 1848
District of Illinois D. Ill. March 3, 1819 February 13, 1855
District of Indiana D. Ind. March 3, 1817 April 21, 1928
District of Iowa D. Iowa March 3, 1845 July 20, 1882
District of Kentucky D. Ky. September 24, 1789
March 8, 1802[7]
February 13, 1801
February 12, 1901
District of Louisiana D. La. April 8, 1812
February 13, 1845
July 27, 1866
March 3, 1823
March 3, 1849
March 3, 1881
District of Michigan D. Mich. July 1, 1836 February 24, 1863
District of Mississippi D. Miss. April 3, 1818 June 18, 1838
District of Missouri D. Mo. March 16, 1822 March 3, 1857
District of New York D.N.Y. September 24, 1789 April 9, 1814
District of North Carolina D.N.C. June 4, 1790
March 3, 1797
June 9, 1794
April 29, 1802
District of Ohio D. Ohio February 19, 1803 February 10, 1855
District of Pennsylvania D. Pa. September 24, 1789 April 20, 1818
District of Tennessee D. Tenn. January 31, 1797
March 8, 1802[8]
February 13, 1801
April 29, 1802
District of Texas D. Tex. December 29, 1845 February 21, 1857
District of Virginia D. Va. September 24, 1789
March 8, 1802
June 11, 1864
February 13, 1801
February 4, 1819
February 3, 1871
District of Washington D. Wash. April 5, 1890 March 2, 1905
District of West Virginia D.W.Va. June 11, 1864 January 22, 1901
District of Wisconsin D. Wis. May 29, 1848 June 30, 1870

See also

References

General
  • Association of Legal Writing Directors (December 2002). ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation (PDF). New York, New York: Aspen Publishers. pp. 431–438. ISBN 978-0-7355-3640-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  • Federal Judicial History Office (2009). "The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary". History of the Federal Judiciary. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  • "U.S. Courts | Frequently Asked Questions". Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
Specific
  1. ^ "United States District Courts". Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  2. ^ a b Article III Judges Division (2001-08-01). "An Introduction for Judges and Judicial Administrators in Other Countries" (PDF). The Federal Court System in the United States. Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  3. ^ a b "Territorial Courts". History of the Federal Judiciary. Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  4. ^ https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1124T GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office. AMERICAN SAMOA: Issues Associated with Some Federal Court Options. September 18, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse". St. Louis - Eastern Division. Archived from the original on 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  6. ^ California was originally established with two district courts on September 28, 1850; these districts were merged into a single District of California on July 27, 1866.
  7. ^ The District of Kentucky was abolished on February 13, 1801 by the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, and was restored with the repeal of this Act on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132. U.S. District Courts of Kentucky, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
  8. ^ The District of Tennessee was abolished on February 13, 1801 by the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, and was restored with the repeal of this Act on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132. U.S. District Courts of Tennessee, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.

External links