| United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.D.C.) |
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| Map | |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
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| Appeals to | District of Columbia Circuit |
| Established | 1863 |
| Judges assigned | 15 |
| Chief judge | Royce C. Lamberth |
| Official site | |
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is the United States district court that hears cases originating in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), over which federal courts have original jurisdiction. Cases dealing with the laws of the District of Columbia are heard by this court only under the same circumstances that would cause a case under state law to come before a federal court. Appeals from this court are heard by 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).
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History
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 for the District of Columbia. Its current name was adopted in 1948, and from then on justices were known as judges.
The court sits in the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse located on Constitution Avenue NW. 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 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
- As of January 22, 2007, a vacancy exists in the District Court for the District of Columbia due to the decision of Judge Gladys Kessler to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.
- As of May 1, 2008, a second vacancy exists in the District due to the decision of Judge Thomas F. Hogan to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.
- As of December 31, 2008, a third vacancy exists in the District due to the decision of Judge James Robertson to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.
| Judge | Appointed by | Began active service |
Ended active service |
Ended senior status |
End reason |
| Royce C. Lamberth | Ronald Reagan | November 16, 1987 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Paul L. Friedman | Bill Clinton | June 16, 1994 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Ellen Segal Huvelle | Bill Clinton | October 26, 1999 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Henry Harold Kennedy Jr. | Bill Clinton | September 18, 1997 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Colleen Kollar-Kotelly | Bill Clinton | March 26, 1997 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Richard W. Roberts | Bill Clinton | June 23, 1998 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Emmet G. Sullivan | Bill Clinton | June 16, 1994 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Ricardo M. Urbina | Bill Clinton | June 16, 1994 | Incumbent | – | – |
| John D. Bates | George W. Bush | December 14, 2001 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Rosemary M. Collyer | George W. Bush | November 15, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Richard J. Leon | George W. Bush | February 19, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Reggie Walton | George W. Bush | September 24, 2001 | Incumbent | – | – |
| Joyce Hens Green | Jimmy Carter | May 11, 1979 | July 1, 1995 | Incumbent[1] | – |
| Louis F. Oberdorfer | Jimmy Carter | October 11, 1977 | July 31, 1992 | Incumbent | – |
| Thomas F. Hogan | Ronald Reagan | August 20, 1982 | May 1, 2008 | Incumbent | – |
| Gladys Kessler | Bill Clinton | June 16, 1994 | January 22, 2007 | Incumbent | – |
| James Robertson | Bill Clinton | October 11, 1994 | December 31, 2008 | Incumbent | – |
Former Judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Began active service |
Ended active service |
Ended senior status |
End reason |
| Jesse Corcoran Adkins | Herbert Hoover | June 17, 1930 | October 15, 1946 | March 29, 1955 | death |
| Thomas H. Anderson | William McKinley | April 23, 1901[2] | October 1, 1916 | – | death |
| Thomas Jennings Bailey | Woodrow Wilson | May 22, 1918 | November 1, 1950 | January 9, 1963 | death |
| Job Barnard | William McKinley | October 1, 1899[3] | June 8, 1914 | – | retirement |
| Walter Maximillian Bastian | Harry S. Truman | October 23, 1950[4] | December 15, 1954 | – | reappointment |
| Edward Franklin Bingham | Grover Cleveland | April 22, 1887[5] | April 30, 1903 | – | retirement |
| Michael Boudin | George H. W. Bush | August 7, 1990 | January 31, 1992 | – | resignation |
| Andrew Coyle Bradley | Benjamin Harrison | March 23, 1889 | May 15, 1902 | – | death |
| William Benson Bryant | Lyndon B. Johnson | August 11, 1965 | January 31, 1982 | November 13, 2005 | death |
| David Kellogg Cartter | Abraham Lincoln | March 11, 1863 | April 16, 1887 | – | death |
| Harry M. Clabaugh | William McKinley | March 2, 1899 | May 1, 1903 | – | reappointment |
| Harry M. Clabaugh | Theodore Roosevelt | April 1, 1903[6] | March 6, 1914 | – | death |
| Charles Cleaves Cole | Benjamin Harrison | January 28, 1893 | April 22, 1901 | – | resignation |
| Howard Francis Corcoran | Lyndon B. Johnson | March 11, 1965 | November 30, 1977 | May 11, 1989 | death |
| James Harry Covington | Woodrow Wilson | June 15, 1914 | May 31, 1918 | – | resignation |
| Joseph Winston Cox | Herbert Hoover | July 7, 1930 | September 9, 1939 | – | death |
| Walter Smith Cox | Rutherford B. Hayes | March 1, 1879 | July 1, 1899 | – | retirement |
| Edward Matthew Curran | Harry S. Truman | October 16, 1946[7] | April 2, 1971 | January 10, 1988 | death |
| Edward C. Eicher | Franklin D. Roosevelt | January 23, 1942 | November 30, 1944 | – | death |
| George P. Fisher | Abraham Lincoln | March 11, 1863 | May 1, 1870 | – | resignation |
| Thomas Aquinas Flannery | Richard Nixon | December 6, 1971 | May 10, 1985 | September 20, 2007 | death |
| Oliver Gasch | Lyndon B. Johnson | August 11, 1965 | November 30, 1981 | July 8, 1999 | death |
| Gerhard Alden Gesell | Lyndon B. Johnson | December 12, 1967 | January 22, 1993 | February 19, 1993 | death |
| Thomas Alan Goldsborough | Franklin D. Roosevelt | February 23, 1939 | June 16, 1951 | – | death |
| Peyton Gordon | Calvin Coolidge | March 29, 1928 | February 4, 1941 | September 17, 1946 | death |
| Ashley Mulgrave Gould | Theodore Roosevelt | December 8, 1902 | May 20, 1921 | – | death |
| June Lazenby Green | Lyndon B. Johnson | June 7, 1968 | January 15, 1984 | February 2, 2001 | death |
| Harold H. Greene | Jimmy Carter | May 19, 1978 | August 6, 1995 | January 29, 2000 | death |
| Alexander Burton Hagner | Rutherford B. Hayes | January 21, 1879 | June 1, 1903 | – | retirement |
| Stanley S. Harris | Ronald Reagan | November 14, 1983 | February 1, 1996 | June 2, 2001 | retirement |
| George Luzerne Hart, Jr. | Dwight D. Eisenhower | August 29, 1958[8] | May 16, 1979 | May 21, 1984 | death |
| William Hitz | Woodrow Wilson | November 15, 1916[9] | February 13, 1931 | – | reappointment |
| Adolph A. Hoehling, Jr. | Warren G. Harding | June 13, 1921 | December 31, 1927 | – | resignation |
| Alexander Holtzoff | Harry S. Truman | September 28, 1945 | December 31, 1967 | September 6, 1969 | death |
| David Campbell Humphreys | Ulysses Grant | May 13, 1870 | July 2, 1879 | – | death |
| Thomas Penfield Jackson | Ronald Reagan | June 25, 1982 | January 31, 2002 | August 31, 2004 | retirement |
| Charles Pinckney James | Rutherford B. Hayes | July 24, 1879[10] | December 1, 1892 | – | retirement |
| Norma Holloway Johnson | Jimmy Carter | May 12, 1980 | June 18, 2001 | December 31, 2003 | retirement |
| William Blakely Jones | John F. Kennedy | April 12, 1962 | March 20, 1977 | July 31, 1979 | death |
| Richmond Bowling Keech | Harry S. Truman | October 14, 1946[11] | November 1, 1966 | April 13, 1986 | death |
| James Robert Kirkland | Harry S. Truman | October 21, 1949[12] | February 25, 1958 | – | death |
| Bolitha James Laws | Franklin D. Roosevelt | June 24, 1938 | February 23, 1945 | – | reappointment |
| Bolitha James Laws | Franklin D. Roosevelt | February 23, 1945 | September 1, 1948 | – | reappointment |
| Bolitha James Laws | – | – | November 14, 1958 | – | death |
| F. Dickinson Letts | Herbert Hoover | May 5, 1931[13] | May 31, 1961 | January 19, 1965 | death |
| Oscar Raymond Luhring | Herbert Hoover | July 3, 1930 | August 18, 1944 | – | death |
| Arthur MacArthur, Sr. | Ulysses Grant | July 15, 1870 | April 1, 1887 | – | retirement |
| Burnita Shelton Matthews | Harry S. Truman | October 21, 1949[14] | March 1, 1968 | April 25, 1988 | death |
| Louis E. McComas | Benjamin Harrison | November 17, 1892[15] | March 3, 1899 | – | resignation |
| Walter I. McCoy | Woodrow Wilson | October 2, 1914 | May 22, 1918 | – | reappointment |
| Walter I. McCoy | Woodrow Wilson | May 22, 1918 | December 8, 1929 | – | retirement |
| Joseph Charles McGarraghy | Dwight D. Eisenhower | December 3, 1954 | December 17, 1967 | November 29, 1975 | death |
| Matthew Francis McGuire | Franklin D. Roosevelt | August 1, 1941 | October 7, 1966 | January 24, 1986 | death |
| Charles F. McLaughlin | Harry S. Truman | October 21, 1949[16] | December 31, 1964 | February 5, 1976 | death |
| William Matthew Merrick | Grover Cleveland | May 1, 1885[17] | February 4, 1889 | – | death |
| Martin V. Montgomery | Grover Cleveland | April 1, 1887[18] | October 2, 1892 | – | resignation |
| James Ward Morris | Franklin D. Roosevelt | June 19, 1939 | November 15, 1960 | – | death |
| Daniel William O'Donoghue | Herbert Hoover | October 28, 1931[19] | October 31, 1946 | June 29, 1948 | death |
| Abram B. Olin | Abraham Lincoln | March 11, 1863 | January 13, 1879 | – | retirement |
| Barrington D. Parker | Richard Nixon | December 19, 1969 | December 19, 1985 | June 2, 1993 | death |
| John Garrett Penn | Jimmy Carter | March 23, 1979 | March 31, 1998 | September 9, 2007 | death |
| David Andrew Pine | Franklin D. Roosevelt | March 29, 1940 | April 2, 1965 | June 11, 1970 | death |
| John H. Pratt | Lyndon B. Johnson | June 7, 1968 | December 1, 1989 | August 11, 1995 | death |
| Jeter Connelly Pritchard | Theodore Roosevelt | November 16, 1903 | June 1, 1904 | – | reappointment |
| James McPherson Proctor | Herbert Hoover | March 2, 1931 | March 5, 1948 | – | reappointment |
| George Hughes Revercomb | Ronald Reagan | December 17, 1985 | August 1, 1993 | – | death |
| Charles Robert Richey | Richard Nixon | May 5, 1971 | January 23, 1997 | March 19, 1997 | death |
| Aubrey Eugene Robinson Jr. | Lyndon B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | March 1, 1992 | February 27, 2000 | death |
| Spottswood William Robinson III | Lyndon B. Johnson | January 6, 1964[20] | November 8, 1966 | – | reappointment |
| Henry Albert Schweinhaut | Franklin D. Roosevelt | December 19, 1944 | November 16, 1956 | June 22, 1970 | death |
| Frederick Lincoln Siddons | Woodrow Wilson | January 15, 1915 | June 19, 1931 | – | death |
| John Sirica | Dwight D. Eisenhower | March 28, 1957 | October 31, 1977 | August 14, 1992 | death |
| John Lewis Smith Jr. | Lyndon B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | January 31, 1983 | September 4, 1992 | death |
| Stanley Sporkin | Ronald Reagan | December 17, 1985 | February 12, 1999 | January 15, 2000 | retirement |
| Wendell Phillips Stafford | Theodore Roosevelt | June 1, 1904[21] | May 4, 1931 | – | retirement |
| Edward Allen Tamm | Harry S. Truman | June 22, 1948[22] | March 16, 1965 | – | reappointment |
| Joseph Cornelius Waddy | Lyndon B. Johnson | March 4, 1967 | August 1, 1978 | – | death |
| Leonard Patrick Walsh | Dwight D. Eisenhower | September 14, 1959 | October 5, 1971 | February 13, 1980 | death |
| Alfred Adams Wheat | Herbert Hoover | May 3, 1929 | June 4, 1930 | – | reappointment |
| Alfred Adams Wheat | Herbert Hoover | June 4, 1930 | December 31, 1941 | May 11, 1943 | death |
| Daniel Thew Wright | Theodore Roosevelt | November 17, 1903 | November 15, 1914 | – | resignation |
| Andrew Wylie | Abraham Lincoln | March 18, 1863[23] | May 1, 1885 | – | retirement |
| Luther Youngdahl | Harry S. Truman | August 29, 1951 | May 29, 1966 | June 21, 1978 | death |
Notes
- ^ Currently Inactive
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 5, 1901, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 4, 1902, and received commission on February 6, 1902.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 11, 1899, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1899, and received commission on December 19, 1899.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 27, 1950, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 1950, and received commission on December 22, 1950.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1887, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 23, 1888, and received commission on January 23, 1888.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 10, 1903, confirmed by the United States Senate on November 16, 1903, and received commission on November 16, 1903.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 8, 1947, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 3, 1947, and received commission on February 5, 1947.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 17, 1959, confirmed by the United States Senate on September 9, 1959, and received commission on September 10, 1959.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1916, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 1917, and received commission on January 2, 1917.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 1, 1879, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 10, 1879, and received commission on December 10, 1879.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 8, 1947, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 1947, and received commission on January 24, 1947.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 8, 1950, and received commission on March 9, 1950.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1931, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 17, 1932, and received commission on February 20, 1932.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the United States Senate on April 4, 1950, and received commission on April 7, 1950.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1892, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 25, 1893, and received commission on January 25, 1893.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 27, 1950, and received commission on March 1, 1950.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 14, 1885, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 30, 1886, and received commission on March 30, 1886.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1887, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1888, and received commission on January 26, 1888.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1931, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1932, and received commission on February 23, 1932.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on February 3, 1964, confirmed by the United States Senate on July 1, 1964, and received commission on July 2, 1964.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1904, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 1904, and received commission on December 13, 1904.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 13, 1949, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 29, 1949, and received commission on April 1, 1949.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1864, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 1864, and received commission on January 20, 1864.
External links
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia official site
- Federal Judicial Center's History of the District of Columbia Federal Courts
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