The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

). The court is seated at multiple locations in Virginia: Abingdon, Big Stone Gap, Charlottesville, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Roanoke.

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 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 Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single District again, , effective July 1, 1802.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 form again a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by . Congress again divided Virginia into Eastern and the Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by .

Counties of jurisdiction

The Western District of Virginia covers the counties of Albemarle, Alleghany,

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

, Appomattox, Augusta,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt,

Buchanan Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Buchanan ...

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

, Campbell, Carroll, Charlotte,

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

, Craig, Culpeper,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Dickenson, Floyd, Fluvanna,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, Frederick, Giles,

Grayson Grayson may refer to: Places Canada * Grayson, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan United States * Grayson, California * Grayson, Georgia ** Grayson High School * Grayson, Kentucky * Grayson, Louisiana * Gra ...

, Greene, Halifax, Henry,

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

, Louisa,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Montgomery, Nelson, Orange, Page,

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, Pittsylvania, Pulaski,

Rappahannock Rappahannock may refer to: Education *Rappahannock Academy & Military Institute (1813–1873), a school in Caroline County, Virginia *Rappahannock Community College, a two-year college located in Glenns and Warsaw, Virginia *Rappahannock County ...

, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham,

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

, Shenandoah,

Smyth Smyth is an early variant of the common surname Smith commonly found in Ireland.Citation: Bardsley, 1901 Shown below are notable people who share the surname "Smyth". Notable people sharing the Smyth surname Listed here are people who share the ...

, Tazewell,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

, Washington,

Wise WISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * WISE (AM), a radio station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina *WISE-FM, a radio station licensed to Wise, Virginia * WISE-TV, a television station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana Education * ...

, and Wythe; and the independent cities of Bedford, Bristol, Buena Vista, Charlottesville,

Covington Covington may refer to: People * Covington (surname) Places United Kingdom * Covington, Cambridgeshire * Covington, South Lanarkshire United States * Covington, Georgia * Covington, Indiana * Covington, Kentucky, the largest American cit ...

, Danville,

Galax ''Galax'', the wandplant, wandflower, or beetleweed, is a genus in the flowering plant family Diapensiaceae, containing a single species, ''Galax urceolata'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''G. rotundifolia'', ''G. aphylla''). It is native to the sou ...

, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Norton, Radford, Roanoke,

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, Staunton, Waynesboro, and

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal

The

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Western District of Virginia represents the federal government in the court. the United States Attorney is Christopher R. Kavanaugh. The U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Virginia is Thomas L. Foster.

Former U.S. Attorneys

Thomas B. Mason Thomas Boyd Mason (January 12, 1919 – March 9, 2007) was an American United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (1961–1969), and an actor. Biography Mason was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of ...

(1961–1969) * Leigh B. Hanes (1969-1976) * Paul R. Thomson Jr. (1976-1980) * John S. Edwards (1980–1981) * John P. Alderman (1981–1990) * E. Montgomery Tucker (1990–1993) * Robert P. Crouch Jr. (1993–2001) *

John L. Brownlee John Leslie Brownlee (born January 31, 1965) (payment required) is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2001 to 2008. He has since worked as the chair of the National White Collar ...

(2001–2008) *

Timothy J. Heaphy Timothy J. Heaphy (born 1964) is a white-collar criminal defense attorney, law professor and a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. He served as the lead investigator for the House Select Committee on the January 6 ...

(2009–2015) *

John P. Fishwick Jr. John Palmer Fishwick Jr. (born 1957) is an attorney in Roanoke, Virginia who served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, John is a graduate of Harvard College. He graduated in 1979. Fishwick furthered ...

(2015–2017) *

Thomas T. Cullen Thomas Tullidge Cullen (born 1977) is a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He was formerly United States Attorney for the same district. Education ...

(2018–2020) * Daniel P. Bubar (2020–2021) acting

References

External links

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

United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Official Website

Federal Judicial Center Website - Judges of the W.D. Va.

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia Virginia, Western District Virginia law Washington County, Virginia Wise County, Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Danville, Virginia Harrisonburg, Virginia Lynchburg, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia 1819 establishments in Virginia Courthouses in Virginia Western Virginia Courts and tribunals established in 1819