United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

• Court
• Judges

Eastern District of Virginia Fourth Circuit Chief: Rebecca Smith Judges: 11 Posts: 11 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Allen • Brinkema • Davis • Gibney • Hudson • Jackson • Lee • O'Grady • Spencer • Trenga Senior Judges Bryan • Cacheris • Doumar • Ellis • Friedman • Hilton • Morgan • Payne Magistrate Judges Anderson • Davis • Buchanan • Jones • Miller • Miller • Stillmann • Prince • Dohnal • Lauck Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia.

When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown Richmond, VA, at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia serves as the prosecutor for criminal cases brought by the federal government and represents the United States in civil cases in the court. The U.S. Attorney's office also manages the Project Safe Neighborhoods program within the district to reduce gun violence (part of a nationwide program), and is involved with federal initiatives on drug trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, and the prevention/combating of elder care abuse.

Vacancy warning level

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia's vacancy warning level is currently set at green. The court currently has no vacancies.

Jurisdiction

The Counties and Independent Cities of the Eastern District of Virginia (click for larger map)

The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Virginia consists of all the following counties and independent cities in the eastern part of the state of Virginia.

There are four court divisions, each covering the following counties and cities:

The Alexandria Division, covering Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford Counties, in addition to the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

The Newport Division, covering Gloucester, James City, Mathews and York Counties, in addition to the cities of Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and Williamsburg.

The Norfolk Division, covering Accomack, Isle of Wight, Northampton and Southampton Counties, in addition to the cities of Cape Charles, Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.

The Richmond Division, covering Amelia, Brunswick, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Surry, Sussex and Westmoreland Counties, in addition to the cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Fredericksburg, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond.

The Eastern District of Virginia court's jurisdiction covers slightly over over six million people, comprising approximately 85% of the state's population.

Court locations for the Eastern District of Virginia are located in Alexandria, Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond.

When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Downtown Richmond, VA at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

Cases heard

The Eastern District of Virginia has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

Case load

Federal Court Case Load Statistics*

Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases:	Median time(Criminal)**:	Median time(Civil)**:	3 Year Civil cases#:	Vacant posts:##	Trials/Post
2010	2846	4906	7752	4716	3036	4.9	4.9	59(3.1%)	12	33
2009	2761	4949	7710	4778	2932	5.2	4.6	29(1.7%)	12	35
2008	3038	40985	44023	5034	38989	5.4	4.8	64(4.1%)	24.7	32
2007	3059	5091	8150	4828	3322	5.1	4.8	12(.7%)	20	28
2006	3077	5636	8713	5623	3090	5.4	5.9	240(12.1%)	9	34

*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September.    **Time in months from filing to completion. #This statistic includes cases which have been appealed in higher courts.    ##This is the total number of months that any all judicial posts had spent vacant that year.

Clerk's office

Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 3 , the district is grouped into four divisions, and is served by four courthouses in Richmond, Alexandria, Norfolk, and Newport News. The official clerk of court is Fernando Galindo. Please consult the chart below for more information:

Branch	Address	Phone number	Hours
Alexandria Division	Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse 401 Courthouse Square Alexandria, VA 22314	703-299-2100	8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.-Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.-Friday Only
Newport News Division	United States Courthouse 2400 West Avenue Newport News, VA 23607	757-247-0784	8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.-Monday through Friday
Norfolk Division	Walter E. Hoffman United States Courthouse 600 Granby Street Norfolk, VA 23510	757-222-7201(Civil), 757-222-7202(Criminal)	8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.-Monday through Friday
Richmond Division	Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Federal Courthouse 701 East Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219	804-916-2220(Civil), 804-916-2230(Criminal)	8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.-Monday through Friday

History

Court history

The District of Virginia was established by Congress on September 24, 1789 with one post to cover the entire state. On February 4, 1819 Congress divided the district into the Eastern District of Virginia and the Western District of Virginia with one post each. In June 11, 1864, Congress again redefined the boundaries of the district, transitioning a portion of the Western District of Virginia to the newly formed District of West Virginia and consolidating the entire state of Virginia into one district. On February 3, 1871 Congress again divided the district into its current state, with the Eastern District of Virginia and the Western District of Virginia each holding one post to begin. Over time 10 additional judicial posts were added to the Western District of Virginia for a total of 11 current posts.

"Rocket Docket"

During the 1960s, Judge Albert Bryan Jr. ran the Alexandria court, often ruling on cases immediately after motions were argued. The court earned the nickname, the "rocket docket", for the speed and efficiency for which it processed its cases. Since 1997, the court has processed civil law cases the fastest of the 94 federal districts, and is eighth fastest in dealing with criminal cases.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Western District of Virginia:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73	1 (Whole state)
February 4, 1819	3 Stat. 478	1
June 11, 1864	13 Stat. 124 (Consolidation due to creation of West Virginia)	1(Whole state)
February 3, 1871	16 Stat. 403	1
August 2, 1935	49 Stat. 508	2
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	3
March 18, 1966	80 Stat. 75	5
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	6
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	8
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	9
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	10 (1 temporary)
December 21, 2000	114 Stat. 2762	11 (1 temporary)
November 2, 2002	116 Stat. 1758	11

Notable cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the Eastern District of Virginia.

• Suit Against The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the courts      *Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius 3:10CV188

On March 22, 2010, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced that the state would file suit against the federal government as soon as the act was signed, and indeed, did so on March 23 in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Cuccinelli believed that Virginia was in a unique position to sue because of a statute passed in 2010. That statute, Virginia Code 38.2-3430.1:1, declared no resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall be required to have insurance or be penalized for not having it. The case was filed as Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius. In the complaint filed, the state argued that the individual mandate exceeded powers granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of Article I. It further asked that they entire act be declared invalid because the individual mandate is an "essential, non-severable" provision. Cuccinelli also asked the court to declare Virginia Code 38.2-3430.1:1 a valid exercise of state power. On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as "Obamacare." To learn more about the law's path through the federal court system, see: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the courts.

Federal courthouse

There are four federal courthouses that serve the Eastern District of Virginia.

Major news

For new stories and other related material see Virginia judicial news.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

External links

• US District Court-Eastern Virginia
• Opinions of the Eastern District of Virginia
• US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia
• Judges of the Eastern District of Virginia

References

Eastern District of Virginia Fourth Circuit Chief: Rebecca Smith Judges: 11 Posts: 11 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Allen • Brinkema • Davis • Gibney • Hudson • Jackson • Lee • O'Grady • Spencer • Trenga Senior Judges Bryan • Cacheris • Doumar • Ellis • Friedman • Hilton • Morgan • Payne Magistrate Judges Anderson • Davis • Buchanan • Jones • Miller • Miller • Stillmann • Prince • Dohnal • Lauck Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Active judges

Article III judges

See: Article III federal judge
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has 11 posts and 0 vacancies. The current Chief Judge is Rebecca Smith. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Judge Mark Davis	1962	Portsmouth, Virginia	W. Bush	06/23/2008 - Present		T.S. Ellis	U. of Virginia, B.A., 1984	Washington & Lee U. Law, J.D., 1988
Judge James Spencer	1949	Florence, SC	Reagan	10/14/1986 - Present	2004 - 2011	John MacKenzie	Clark College, Atlanta, Georgia, B.A., 1971	Harvard Law, J.D., 1974
Judge Anthony Trenga	1949	Wilkensburg, PA	W. Bush	10/14/2008 - Present		Walter Kelley	Princeton U., A.B., 1971	U. of Virginia Law, J.D., 1974
Judge Liam O'Grady	1950	Newark, NJ	W. Bush	07/11/2007 - Present		Claude Hilton	Franklin & Marshall College, B.A., 1973	George Mason U. Law, J.D., 1977
Judge Gerald Lee	1952	Washington, DC	Clinton	10/01/1998 - Present		James Cacheris	American U., B.A., 1973	American U. Law, J.D., 1976
Judge Leonie Brinkema	1944	Teaneck, NJ	Clinton	10/20/1993 - Present		Albert Bryan Jr.	Rutgers U., B.A., 1966	Cornell Law, J.D., 1976
Chief Judge Rebecca Smith	1949	Hopewell, VA	H.W. Bush	10/25/1989 - Present	2011 - Present	David Warriner	College of William and Mary, B.A., 1971	College of William and Mary Law, J.D., 1979
Judge Raymond Jackson	1949	Sussex, VA	Clinton	11/22/1993 - Present		Richard Williams	Norfolk State U., B.A., 1970	U. of Virginia Law, J.D., 1973
Judge Henry Hudson	1947	Washington, DC	W. Bush	08/02/2002 - Present		New Seat|114 Stat. 2762	American U., B.A., 1969	American U. Law, J.D., 1974
Judge John A. Gibney	1951	Coatesville, PA	Obama	12/16/2010 - Present		Robert Payne	College of William & Mary, 1973	U. of Virginia Law, 1976
Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen	1960	Philadelphia, PA	Obama	05/11/2011 - Present		Jerome Friedman	Kutztown State College, B.A., 1982	North Carolina Central U. Law, J.D., 1985

Pending appointments

There are no current pending appointments for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has 8 judges on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge T.S. Ellis	Reagan	08/06/1987 - 03/31/2007		04/01/2007 - Present	Princeton, B.S.E., 1961	Harvard, J.D., 1969
Senior Judge Claude Hilton	Reagan	07/11/1985 - 12/30/2005	1997 - 2004	12/31/2005 - Present	Ohio State U., B.S., 1963	American U. Law, J.D., 1966
Senior Judge James Cacheris	Reagan	12/01/1981 - 03/29/1998	1991 - 1997	03/30/1998 - Present	U. of Pennsylvania, B.S., 1955	George Washington U. Law, J.D., 1960
Senior Judge Robert Doumar	Reagan	12/03/1981 - 04/29/1996		04/30/1996 - Present	U. of Virginia, B.A., 1951	U. of Virginia School of Law, LL.B., 1953
Senior Judge Henry Morgan	H.W. Bush	04/13/1992 - 02/07/2004		02/08/2004 - Present	Washington and Lee U., B.S., 1957	Washington and Lee U. Law, J.D., 1960
Senior Judge Jerome Friedman	Clinton	11/12/1997 - 11/29/2010		11/30/2010 - Present	Old Dominion College, B.S., 1965	Wake Forest U. Law, J.D., 1969
Senior Judge Robert Payne	H.W. Bush	05/13/1992 - 05/06/2007		05/07/2007 - Present	Washington and Lee U., B.A., 1963	Washington and Lee U. Law, J.D., 1967
Senior Judge Albert Bryan, Jr.	Nixon	07/29/1971 - 11/30/1991	1985 - 1991	12/01/1991 - Present		U. of Virginia Law, LL.B., 1950

Magistrate judges

Judge	Active	Bachelors	Law
Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson	01/22/2008 - Present
Magistrate Judge Ivan Davis	09/22/2008 - Present	U. of Virginia, B.A., 1984	Howard U. Law, J.D., 1987
Magistrate Judge Hannah Lauck	05/03/2005 - Present	Wellesley College	Yale Law, J.D.
Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan
Magistrate Judge Rawles Jones, Jr.
Magistrate Judge Tommy Miller
Magistrate Judge (Recalled) William Prince
Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller	11/03/2009 - Present	James Madison U., 1984	College of William and Mary Law, J.D., 1995
Magistrate Judge David Novak
Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard	10/01/2012 - Present

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
Albert Bryan, Jr.	1985 - 1991
John MacKenzie	1979 - 1985
Richard Kellam	1973 - 1979
Charles Hutcheson	1948 - 1959
Walter Hoffman	1961 - 1973
Albert Bryan, Sr.	1959 - 1961
James Cacheris	1991 - 1997
Claude Hilton	1997 - 2004
James Spencer	2004 - 2011

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, 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.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court by 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. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

Former judges

1. George Tucker
2. George Hay
3. Philip Pendelton Barbour
4. Peter Vivian Daniel
5. John Young Mason
6. James Dandridge Halyburton
7. John Curtiss Underwood
8. Robert William Hughes
9. Edmund Waddill
10. Richard Williams
11. Duncan Groner
12. Luther Way
13. Robert Nelson Pollard
14. Albert Bryan, Sr.
15. John Butzner
16. Joseph Clarke
17. Walter Hoffman
18. Charles Hutcheson
19. Richard Kellam
20. Walter Kelley
21. Oren Lewis
22. John MacKenzie
23. Robert Merhige
24. David Warriner