United States Post Office and Courthouse (1934), Norfolk city, Virginia

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia,

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

, and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

metro areas and surrounding locations with courthouses located in Alexandria, Norfolk,

and Newport News (whose judges are shared with Norfolk). Appeals from the Eastern District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for

patent claims In a patent or patent application, the claims define, in technical terms, the extent, i.e. the scope, of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application. In other words, the purpose of the claims is to define ...

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 Virginia was one of the original 13 courts established by the

Judiciary Act of 1789 The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...

, , on September 24, 1789.Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 388.U.S. District Courts of Virginia, Legislative history
''

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of respo ...

''. On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, , divided Virginia into three judicial districts: the District of Virginia, which included the counties west of the

Tidewater Tidewater may refer to: * Tidewater (region), a geographic area of southeast Virginia, southern Maryland, and northeast North Carolina. ** Tidewater accent, an accent of American English associated with the Tidewater region of Virginia * Tidewater ...

and south of the Rappahannock River; the District of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and the

District of Potomac The United States District Court for the District of Potomac was a short-lived United States federal court. Named for the Potomac River, it had jurisdiction over the District of Columbia and pieces of Maryland and Virginia, making it the first (an ...

, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well as Maryland counties along the Potomac. Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single district again, , effective July 1, 1802. The District of Virginia was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by . At that time, West Virginia was still part of Virginia, and was encompassed in Virginia's Western District, while the Eastern District essentially covered what is now the entire state of Virginia. With the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the American Civil War, the Western District of Virginia became the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with the Eastern District to again form a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by . Congress again divided Virginia into the Eastern and Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by . During the 1960s, Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. ran the Alexandria court, often ruled cases on the spot after motions were argued. The court earned the nickname of " rocket docket" for the speed and efficiency for which it processes its cases. Since 1997, the court has processed

civil cases Civil law is a major branch of the law. Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non- criminal law. The law r ...

the fastest of the 94 federal districts, and eighth fastest in dealing with criminal cases. Courts at Richmond are located in the

Spottswood W. Robinson III Spottswood William Robinson III (July 26, 1916 – October 11, 1998) was an American educator, civil rights attorney, and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after previously s ...

and

Robert R. Merhige Jr. Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. (February 5, 1919 – February 18, 2005) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia who was known for his rulings on desegregation in the 1970s. Educatio ...

Federal Courthouse, having previously been held in the historic

Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse The Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse, also known as the U.S. Post Office and Customhouse, is a historic custom house, post office and courthouse located in Richmond, Virginia. Originally constructed in 1858, it was for decades a courtho ...

Jurisdiction

The Eastern District of Virginia court's jurisdiction covers slightly over six million people, comprising approximately 85% of the state's population. Its jurisdiction is grouped into four geographic divisions:

Alexandria Division

US District Court Eastern Virginia Alexandria

The Alexandria Division covers the counties of suburban Washington, D.C.: Arlington,

Fairfax Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

, and includes the independent cities of Alexandria,

Fairfax City The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the p ...

, Manassas,

Manassas Park Manassas Park is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas, Virginia, Manas ...

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

, and Fredericksburg.

Richmond Division

The Richmond Division comprises the counties of Amelia, Brunswick,

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

Charles City Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, James City, King and Queen,

King George King George may refer to: People Monarchs ;Bohemia *George of Bohemia (1420-1471, r. 1458-1471), king of Bohemia ;Duala people of Cameroon *George (Duala king) (late 18th century), king of the Duala people ;Georgia * George I of Georgia (998 or ...

, King William, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George,

, Spotsylvania, Surry,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and Westmoreland, as well as independent cities such as Colonial Heights.

Norfolk Division

Norfolk Division includes the counties of Accomack,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, Isle of Wight, Southampton, and independent cities such as

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

, Norfolk, Portsmouth,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and Virginia Beach.

Newport News Division

The Newport News Division includes the counties of Gloucester, Mathews, York County, and cities such as Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

United States Attorney

the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is

Jessica D. Aber Jessica Diane Aber (born 1981) is an American lawyer who is the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Education Aber received her Bachelor of Arts, ''magna cum laude'', from the University of Richmond in 2003 and her J ...

, serving as prosecution for criminal cases brought by the federal government, and representing 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 A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

, terrorism, cybercrime, and the prevention/combating of elder care abuse.U.S. Attorney's Office – Eastern District of Virginia
– Priorities

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

Notable cases

The Eastern District of Virginia has handled many notable cases, including: * ''United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui'',United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Notable cases
/ref> No. 01-455-A (E.D. Va.) * ''United States v.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali Ahmed Omar Abu Ali ( ar, احمد عمر أبو علي) is an American who was convicted of providing material support to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and conspiracy to assassinate United States President George W. Bush. His case has been t ...

'' * ''United States v. John Walker Lindh'', No. 02-37-A (E.D. Va.) * '' Yaser Hamdi v. Donald Rumsfeld'', No. 02-439 (E.D. Va.) * ''United States v. Michael Vick'', No. 3:07CR274 (E.D. Va) (the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting case) * '' eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C.'', 271 F. Supp. 2d 789 (E.D. Va. 2002) (in which the court took the position, eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, that a prevailing plaintiff in a patent suit is not necessarily entitled to injunctive relief) * '' Extradition of Kevin Dahlgren'', charged with committing mass murder in Brno, Czech Republic in 2013 * ''

Bostic v. Rainey Bostic is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Caleb Bostic, American football linebacker * Earl Bostic (1913–1965), American saxophonist * Jameson Bostic, American boxer * Jason Bostic, American football defensive back *Jeff Bo ...

'' * ''Matter of Baby K'', controversial ruling to provide life-sustaining care to an anencephalic newborn. * '' United States v. Paul J. Manafort Jr.'' * Chelsea Manning's contempt of court case * '' United States v Daniel Hale'' * ''United States v

Javaid Perwaiz Jawed ( fa, جاويد); ''Javed'', ''Javid'' ( ur, جاويد); ''Jawed'', ''Javed'' ( pa, ਜਾਵੇਦ) is a masculine given name of Persian origin meaning of "eternal, immortal" and is also the word for "eternity". The name is from Moder ...

'' * ''United States v. Virginia jihad network, Randall Todd Royer, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi, Masoud Ahmad Khan, Yong Ki Kwon, Mohammed Aatique, Seifullah Chapman, Donald Thomas Surratt, Caliph Basha Ibn Abdur-Raheem, Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, and Sabri Benkhala'' (E.D. Va., 2004) * ''Cable News Network L.P. v. CNNews.com'', 162 F.Supp.2d 484 (E.D. Va., 2001)

References

External links

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Official Website

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Virginia, Eastern District Virginia law Alexandria, Virginia Newport News, Virginia Norfolk, Virginia Organizations based in Richmond, Virginia 1819 establishments in Virginia Courthouses in Virginia Courts and tribunals established in 1819