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).

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		Incumbent	–	–
Paul L. Friedman	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
Ellen Segal Huvelle	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
Henry Harold Kennedy Jr.	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
Colleen Kollar-Kotelly	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
Richard W. Roberts	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
Emmet G. Sullivan	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
Ricardo M. Urbina	Bill Clinton		Incumbent	–	–
John D. Bates	George W. Bush		Incumbent	–	–
Rosemary M. Collyer	George W. Bush		Incumbent	–	–
Richard J. Leon	George W. Bush		Incumbent	–	–
Reggie Walton	George W. Bush		Incumbent	–	–
(Seat Vacant)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)
(Seat Vacant)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)
(Seat Vacant)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)
Joyce Hens Green	Jimmy Carter			Incumbent	–
Louis F. Oberdorfer	Jimmy Carter			Incumbent	–
Thomas F. Hogan	Ronald Reagan			Incumbent	–
Gladys Kessler	Bill Clinton			Incumbent	–
James Robertson	Bill Clinton			Incumbent	–

Former Judges

Judge	Appointed by	Began active service	Ended active service	Ended senior status	End reason
Jesse Corcoran Adkins	Herbert Hoover				death
Thomas H. Anderson	William McKinley			–	death
Thomas Jennings Bailey	Woodrow Wilson				death
Job Barnard	William McKinley			–	retirement
Walter Maximillian Bastian	Harry S. Truman			–	reappointment
Edward Franklin Bingham	Grover Cleveland			–	retirement
Michael Boudin	George H. W. Bush			–	resignation
Andrew Coyle Bradley	Benjamin Harrison			–	death
William Benson Bryant	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
David Kellogg Cartter	Abraham Lincoln			–	death
Harry M. Clabaugh	William McKinley			–	reappointment
Harry M. Clabaugh	Theodore Roosevelt			–	death
Charles Cleaves Cole	Benjamin Harrison			–	resignation
Howard Francis Corcoran	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
James Harry Covington	Woodrow Wilson			–	resignation
Joseph Winston Cox	Herbert Hoover			–	death
Walter Smith Cox	Rutherford B. Hayes			–	retirement
Edward Matthew Curran	Harry S. Truman				death
Edward C. Eicher	Franklin D. Roosevelt			–	death
George P. Fisher	Abraham Lincoln			–	resignation
Thomas Aquinas Flannery	Richard Nixon				death
Oliver Gasch	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
Gerhard Alden Gesell	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
Thomas Alan Goldsborough	Franklin D. Roosevelt			–	death
Peyton Gordon	Calvin Coolidge				death
Ashley Mulgrave Gould	Theodore Roosevelt			–	death
June Lazenby Green	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
Harold H. Greene	Jimmy Carter				death
Alexander Burton Hagner	Rutherford B. Hayes			–	retirement
Stanley S. Harris	Ronald Reagan				retirement
George Luzerne Hart, Jr.	Dwight D. Eisenhower				death
William Hitz	Woodrow Wilson			–	reappointment
Adolph A. Hoehling, Jr.	Warren G. Harding			–	resignation
Alexander Holtzoff	Harry S. Truman				death
David Campbell Humphreys	Ulysses Grant			–	death
Thomas Penfield Jackson	Ronald Reagan				retirement
Charles Pinckney James	Rutherford B. Hayes			–	retirement
Norma Holloway Johnson	Jimmy Carter				retirement
William Blakely Jones	John F. Kennedy				death
Richmond Bowling Keech	Harry S. Truman				death
James Robert Kirkland	Harry S. Truman			–	death
Bolitha James Laws	Franklin D. Roosevelt			–	reappointment
Bolitha James Laws	Franklin D. Roosevelt			–	reappointment
Bolitha James Laws	–	–		–	death
F. Dickinson Letts	Herbert Hoover				death
Oscar Raymond Luhring	Herbert Hoover			–	death
Arthur MacArthur, Sr.	Ulysses Grant			–	retirement
Burnita Shelton Matthews	Harry S. Truman				death
Louis E. McComas	Benjamin Harrison			–	resignation
Walter I. McCoy	Woodrow Wilson			–	reappointment
Walter I. McCoy	Woodrow Wilson			–	retirement
Joseph Charles McGarraghy	Dwight D. Eisenhower				death
Matthew Francis McGuire	Franklin D. Roosevelt				death
Charles F. McLaughlin	Harry S. Truman				death
William Matthew Merrick	Grover Cleveland			–	death
Martin V. Montgomery	Grover Cleveland			–	resignation
James Ward Morris	Franklin D. Roosevelt			–	death
Daniel William O'Donoghue	Herbert Hoover				death
Abram B. Olin	Abraham Lincoln			–	retirement
Barrington D. Parker	Richard Nixon				death
John Garrett Penn	Jimmy Carter				death
David Andrew Pine	Franklin D. Roosevelt				death
John H. Pratt	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
Jeter Connelly Pritchard	Theodore Roosevelt			–	reappointment
James McPherson Proctor	Herbert Hoover			–	reappointment
George Hughes Revercomb	Ronald Reagan			–	death
Charles Robert Richey	Richard Nixon				death
Aubrey Eugene Robinson Jr.	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
Spottswood William Robinson III	Lyndon B. Johnson			–	reappointment
Henry Albert Schweinhaut	Franklin D. Roosevelt				death
Frederick Lincoln Siddons	Woodrow Wilson			–	death
John Sirica	Dwight D. Eisenhower				death
John Lewis Smith Jr.	Lyndon B. Johnson				death
Stanley Sporkin	Ronald Reagan				retirement
Wendell Phillips Stafford	Theodore Roosevelt			–	retirement
Edward Allen Tamm	Harry S. Truman			–	reappointment
Joseph Cornelius Waddy	Lyndon B. Johnson			–	death
Leonard Patrick Walsh	Dwight D. Eisenhower				death
Alfred Adams Wheat	Herbert Hoover			–	reappointment
Alfred Adams Wheat	Herbert Hoover				death
Daniel Thew Wright	Theodore Roosevelt			–	resignation
Andrew Wylie	Abraham Lincoln			–	retirement
Luther Youngdahl	Harry S. Truman				death

Notes

1. Currently Inactive
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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