U.S._District_Court_for_the_Northern_District_of_Georgia

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

United States federal district court in Georgia (U.S. state)

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions.

Quick Facts Location, Appeals to ...

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
(N.D. Ga.)
Location	Richard B. Russell Federal Building (Atlanta) More locations Gainesville Newnan Rome
Appeals to	Eleventh Circuit
Established	August 11, 1848
Judges	11
Chief Judge	Timothy Batten
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Ryan K. Buchanan
U.S. Marshal	Thomas E. Brown
www.gand.uscourts.gov

Appeals from cases brought in the Northern District of Georgia are to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

History

The United States District Court for the District of Georgia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.^[1] The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on August 11, 1848, by 9 Stat. 280.^[1]^[2]^[3] The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on May 28, 1926, by 44 Stat. 670.^[1]

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction and venue are enumerated in 28 U.S.C. § 90.

The Atlanta division includes: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, and Rockdale counties.

The Gainesville division serves: Banks, Barrow, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.

The Newnan division hears cases for: Carroll, Coweta, Fayette, Haralson, Heard, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, and Troup counties.

The Rome division serves: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court.

As of May 2, 2022^[update], the United States attorney is Ryan K. Buchanan.^[4]

Current judges

As of December 28, 2022^[update]:

More information #, Title ...

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Active	Chief	Senior	Appointed by
37	Chief Judge	Timothy Batten	Atlanta Newnan	1960	2006–present	2021–present	—	G.W. Bush
39	District Judge	Steve C. Jones	Atlanta	1957	2011–present	—	—	Obama
40	District Judge	Leigh Martin May	Atlanta	1971	2014–present	—	—	Obama
41	District Judge	Mark Howard Cohen	Atlanta	1955	2014–present	—	—	Obama
42	District Judge	Eleanor L. Ross	Atlanta	1967	2014–present	—	—	Obama
43	District Judge	Michael Lawrence Brown	Atlanta	1968	2018–present	—	—	Trump
44	District Judge	William M. Ray II	Atlanta	1963	2018–present	—	—	Trump
45	District Judge	J. P. Boulee	Atlanta	1971	2019–present	—	—	Trump
46	District Judge	Steven D. Grimberg	Atlanta	1974	2019–present	—	—	Trump
47	District Judge	Victoria Calvert	Atlanta	1981	2022–present	—	—	Biden
48	District Judge	Sarah Geraghty	Atlanta	1974	2022–present	—	—	Biden
23	Senior Judge	Orinda Dale Evans	inactive	1943	1979–2008	1999–2006	2008–present	Carter
29	Senior Judge	Clarence Cooper	inactive^[5]	1942	1994–2009	—	2009–present	Clinton
31	Senior Judge	Willis B. Hunt Jr.	inactive	1932	1995–2005	—	2005–present	Clinton
32	Senior Judge	Thomas W. Thrash Jr.	Atlanta	1951	1997–2021	2014–2021	2021–present	Clinton
33	Senior Judge	Richard W. Story	Atlanta Gainesville	1953	1998–2018	—	2018–present	Clinton
34	Senior Judge	Charles A. Pannell Jr.	Atlanta	1946	1999–2013	—	2013–present	Clinton
38	Senior Judge	Amy Totenberg	Atlanta	1950	2011–2021	—	2021–present	Obama

Former judges

More information #, Judge ...

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	John Cochran Nicoll	GA	1793–1863	1848–1861^{[Note 1]}^{[Note 2]}	—	—	Van Buren/Operation of law	resignation
2	John Erskine	GA	1813–1895	1865–1882^{[Note 3]}^{[Note 2]}	—	—	A. Johnson	seat abolished
3	Henry Kent McCay	GA	1820–1886	1882–1886	—	—	Arthur	death
4	William Truslow Newman	GA	1843–1920	1886–1920^{[Note 4]}	—	—	Cleveland	death
5	Samuel Hale Sibley	GA	1873–1958	1919–1931	—	—	Wilson	elevation to 5th Cir.
6	Emory Marvin Underwood	GA	1877–1960	1931–1948	—	1948–1960	Hoover	death
7	Robert Lee Russell	GA	1900–1955	1940–1949	1949	—	F. Roosevelt	elevation to 5th Cir.
8	Maurice Neil Andrews	GA	1894–1967	1949–1950^{[Note 5]}	1949–1950	—	Truman	resignation
9	Frank Arthur Hooper	GA	1895–1985	1949–1967^{[Note 6]}	1950–1965	1967–1985	Truman	death
10	William Boyd Sloan	GA	1895–1970	1951–1965	—	1965–1970	Truman	death
11	Lewis Render Morgan	GA	1913–2001	1961–1968	1965–1968	—	Kennedy	elevation to 5th Cir.
12	Sidney Oslin Smith Jr.	GA	1923–2012	1965–1974	1968–1974	—	L. Johnson	resignation
13	Newell Edenfield	GA	1911–1981	1967–1981	1974–1976	1981	L. Johnson	death
14	Albert John Henderson	GA	1920–1999	1968–1979	1976–1979	—	L. Johnson	elevation to 5th Cir.
15	Charles Allen Moye Jr.	GA	1918–2010	1970–1988	1979–1987	1988–2010	Nixon	death
16	William Clark O'Kelley	GA	1930–2017	1970–1996	1988–1994	1996–2017	Nixon	death
17	Richard Cameron Freeman	GA	1926–1999	1971–1991	—	1991–1999	Nixon	death
18	James Clinkscales Hill	GA	1924–2017	1974–1976	—	—	Nixon	elevation to 5th Cir.
19	Harold Lloyd Murphy	GA	1927–2022	1977–2017	—	2017–2022	Carter	death
20	Marvin Herman Shoob	SC	1923–2017	1979–1991	—	1991–2017	Carter	death
21	Robert L. Vining Jr.	GA	1931–2022	1979–1996	1995–1996	1996–2022	Carter	death
22	George Ernest Tidwell	GA	1931–2011	1979–1999	1996–1999	1999–2011	Carter	death
24	Robert Howell Hall	GA	1921–1995	1979–1990	—	1990–1995	Carter	death
25	Horace Ward	GA	1927–2016	1979–1993	—	1993–2016	Carter	death
26	J. Owen Forrester	GA	1939–2014	1981–2004	—	2004–2014	Reagan	death
27	Jack Tarpley Camp Jr.	GA	1943–present	1988–2008	2006–2008	2008–2010	Reagan	retirement
28	Julie E. Carnes	GA	1950–present	1992–2014	2009–2014	—	G.H.W. Bush	elevation to 11th Cir.
30	Frank M. Hull	GA	1948–present	1994–1997	—	—	Clinton	elevation to 11th Cir.
35	Beverly B. Martin	GA	1955–present	2000–2010	—	—	Clinton	elevation to 11th Cir.
36	William S. Duffey Jr.	GA	1952–present	2004–2018	—	—	G.W. Bush	retirement

[N 1]
Reassigned from the District of Georgia.
[N 2]
Jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia.
[N 3]
Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1865, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 1866, and received commission the same day.
[N 4]
Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 9, 1886, confirmed by the Senate on January 13, 1887, and received commission the same day.
[N 5]
Recess appointment; resigned before the Senate considered the appointment.
[N 6]
Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on February 21, 1950, and received commission on February 23, 1950.

Chief judges

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

More information Seat 1, Seat 2 ...

Seat 1
Seat reassigned from the District of Georgia on August 11, 1848 by 9 Stat. 280 (concurrent with Southern District)
Nicoll	1848–1861
Erskine	1865–1882
Seat reassigned solely to the Southern District on April 25, 1882 by 22 Stat. 47

Seat 2
Seat established on April 25, 1882 by 22 Stat. 47
McCay	1882–1886
Newman	1887–1920
Seat abolished on February 14, 1920 (Temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 3
Seat established on August 5, 1919 pursuant to 40 Stat. 1156 (temporary)
Seat became permanent upon the abolishment of Seat 2 on February 14, 1920
Sibley	1919–1931
Underwood	1931–1948
Seat abolished on March 5, 1948 (Temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 4
Seat established on May 24, 1940 by 54 Stat. 219 (temporary)
Seat became permanent upon the abolishment of Seat 3 on March 5, 1948
Russell	1940–1949
Hooper	1949–1967
Edenfield	1967–1981
Forrester	1981–2004
Duffey, Jr.	2004–2018
Boulee	2019–present

More information Seat 5, Seat 6 ...

Seat 5
Seat established on August 3, 1949 by 63 Stat. 493
Andrews	1949–1950
Sloan	1951–1965
Smith, Jr.	1965–1974
Hill	1974–1976
Murphy	1977–2017
Ray II	2018–present

Seat 6
Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Morgan	1961–1968
Henderson	1968–1979
Evans	1979–2008
Jones	2011–present

Seat 7
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Moye, Jr.	1970–1988
Camp Jr.	1988–2008
Totenberg	2011–2021
Geraghty	2022–present

Seat 8
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
O'Kelley	1970–1996
Story	1998–2018
Grimberg	2019–present

More information Seat 9, Seat 10 ...

Seat 9
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Freeman	1971–1991
Cooper	1994–2009
Cohen	2014–present

Seat 10
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Shoob	1979–1991
Hull	1994–1997
Pannell, Jr.	1999–2013
Ross	2014–present

Seat 11
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Tidwell	1979–1999
Martin	2000–2010
May	2014–present

Seat 12
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Vining, Jr.	1979–1996
Thrash, Jr.	1997–2021
Calvert	2022–present

More information Seat 13, Seat 14 ...

Seat 13
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Hall	1979–1990
Carnes	1992–2014
Brown	2018–present

Seat 14
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Ward	1979–1993
Hunt, Jr.	1995–2005
Batten	2006–present

U.S. Attorneys

Emory Speer 1883-85 ^[6]
Ben H. Hill, Jr. 1885-89
Sion A. Darnell 1889-93
Joseph S. James 1893-97
Edgar A. Angier 1897-1905
Farish C. Tate 1905-13
Hooper Alexander 1913-21
Clint W. Hager 1921-34
Lawrence S. Camp 1934-42
J. Ellis Mundy 1942
M. Neil Andrews 1942-46
J. Ellis Mundy 1946-53
James W. Dorsey 1953-59
Charles D. Read, Jr. 1959-61
Charles L. Goodson 1961-77
William L. Harper 1977-81
Robert J. Castellani 1981
Dorothy Y. Kirkley 1981
James E. Baker 1981-82
Larry D. Thompson 1982-86
Stephen S. Cowen 1986
Bob Barr 1986-90
Rimantas Rukstele 1990
Joe D. Whitley 1990-93
Gerrilyn G. Brill 1993
Kent B. Alexander 1994-97
Janet King 1997-98
Richard H. Deane, Jr. 1998-2001
William S. Duffey Jr. 2001-2004
Sally Yates 2004-2004
David Nahmias 2004-2009
Sally Quillan Yates 2010-2015
John A. Horn 2015-2017
BJay Pak 2017-2021
Bobby Christine 2021
Kurt Erskine 2021-2022
Ryan K. Buchanan 2022-present

References

[1]
U.S. District Courts of Georgia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
[2]
Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 390.
[3]
Alfred Conkling, A Treatise on the Organization, Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States (1864), p. 179.
[4]
"Ryan K. Buchanan sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia" (Press release). Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
[5]
"The Honorable Clarence Cooper Assumes Inactive Senior Status After More Than 27 Years of Service | Northern District of Georgia | United States District Court".
[6]
"Northern District of Georgia | Former U.S. Attorneys for the Northern District of Georgia". www.justice.gov. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2024-04-08.

External links

Home of Northern District of Georgia

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