The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (in case citations, W.D. Tenn.) is the federal district court covering the western part of the state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Appeals from the Western District of Tennessee are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

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 ...

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Western District of Tennessee comprises the following counties: Benton, Carroll,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Crockett Crockett may refer to: People and fictional characters *Crockett Gillmore (born 1991), American National Football League player *Crockett Johnson, pen name of David Johnson Liesk (1906-1975), American cartoonist and children's book illustrator *C ...

, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette,

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

, Hardeman, Hardin,

Haywood Haywood may refer to: Places Canada * Haywood, Manitoba United Kingdom * Haywood, Herefordshire * Great Haywood, Staffordshire * Little Haywood, Staffordshire United States * Hayward, California, formerly Haywood * Haywood, Kentucky * Haywood, ...

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

, Henry,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 trunk road, which runs from Darlington to E ...

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 ...

, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Tipton, and Weakley. The court's jurisdiction includes the entirety of

West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions (Tennessee), Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Miss ...

, plus Perry County in

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

. This area includes the cities of Jackson and Memphis. The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. the United States Attorney is

Kevin G. Ritz Kevin Gafford Ritz is an American lawyer who has served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee since September 2022. He is a nominee to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for ...

History

The

United States District Court for the District of Tennessee The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

was established with one judgeship on January 31, 1797, by .Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 391.U.S. District Courts of Tennessee, 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 ...

''. The judgeship was filled by President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's appointment of

John McNairy John McNairy (March 30, 1762 – November 12, 1837) was a British-American federal judge of the United States District Court for the District of Tennessee, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the United Sta ...

. Since Congress failed to assign the district to a circuit, the court had the jurisdiction of both a district court and a circuit court. Appeals from this one district court went directly to the United States Supreme Court. On February 13, 1801, in the famous "

Midnight Judges The Midnight Judges Act (also known as the Judiciary Act of 1801; , and officially An act to provide for the more convenient organization of the Courts of the United States) represented an effort to solve an issue in the U.S. Supreme Court during t ...

" Act of 1801, , Congress abolished the U.S. district court in Tennessee, and expanded the number of circuits to six, provided for independent circuit court judgeships, and abolished the necessity of Supreme Court Justices riding the circuits. It was this legislation which created the grandfather of the present Sixth Circuit. The act provided for a "Sixth Circuit" comprising two districts in the State of Tennessee, one district in the State of Kentucky and one district, called the Ohio District, composed of the Ohio and Indiana territories (the latter including the present State of Michigan). The new Sixth Circuit Court was to be held at "Bairdstown" in the District of Kentucky, at Knoxville in the District of East Tennessee, at Nashville in the District of West Tennessee, and at Cincinnati in the District of Ohio. Unlike the other circuits which were provided with three circuit judges, the Sixth Circuit was to have only one circuit judge with district judges from Kentucky and Tennessee comprising the rest of the court. Any two judges constituted a quorum. New circuit judgeships were to be created as district judgeships in Kentucky and Tennessee became vacant. The repeal of this Act restored the District on March 8, 1802, . The District was divided into the Eastern and Western Districts on April 29, 1802. On February 24, 1807, Congress again abolished the two districts and created the United States Circuit for the District of Tennessee. On March 3, 1837, Congress assigned the judicial district of Tennessee to the Eighth Circuit. On June 18, 1839, by , Congress divided Tennessee into three districts, Eastern, Middle, and Western. Alfred Conkling, ''A Treatise on the Organization, Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States'' (1842), p. 42. Again, only one judgeship was allotted for all three districts. On July 15, 1862, Congress reassigned appellate jurisdiction to the Sixth Circuit. Finally, on June 14, 1878, Congress authorized a separate judgeship for the Western District of Tennessee. President Rutherford B. Hayes then appointed

Eli Shelby Hammond Eli Shelby Hammond (April 1, 1838 – December 17, 1904) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Education and career Born in Brandon, Mississippi, Hammond graduated from Uni ...

as the first judge for only the Western District of Tennessee. There are now five permanent judgeships and four magistrate judgeships for the Western District of Tennessee.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

Courthouses

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee is based out of two courthouses, the

Clifford Davis Federal Building Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name *William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford *Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford * Clifford baronets *Clifford fam ...

on 167 North Main Street in downtown Memphis and the

Ed Jones Federal Building Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

List of U.S. Attorneys

* Thomas Stuart 1803–1810 *

John E. Beck John Edward Beck (May 10, 1869 – July 25, 1952) was a Massachusetts businessman, and politician who served in both branches of the Massachusetts legislature; and as a member of the Board of Aldermen, and the twenty fourth Mayor of Chelsea, Ma ...

1810–1818 * Henry Crabb 1818–1827 * Thomas H. Fletcher 1827–1829 *

James Collinsworth James Thompson Collinsworth (1802 – July 11, 1838) was an American-born Texian lawyer and political figure in early history of the Republic of Texas. Early life Collinsworth was born in 1802 Davidson County, Tennessee. His father, Edward Collin ...

1829–1835 *

William T. Brown William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

1835–1836 *

James P. Grundy James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

1836–1838 *

Joseph H. Talbot Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

1838-1838 *

Henry W. McCorry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

1838–1850 *

Charles N. Gibbs 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 " ...

1850–1853 *

Richard J. Hays Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

1853–1856 *

Alexander W. McCampbell Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

1856–1861 *

John M. McCarmack John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

1861–1877 * W.W. Murray 1877–1882 * William F. Poston 1882–1885 *

1885–1889 *

Samuel W. Hawkins Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

1889–1894 *

Julius A. Taylor The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the c ...

1894–1895 *

Charles B. Simonton Charles Bryson Simonton (September 8, 1838 – June 10, 1911) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the Tennessee's 9th congressional district, 9th congressional district of Tennessee. Biography ...

1895–1898 *

George Randolph George Wythe Randolph (March 10, 1818 – April 3, 1867) was a Virginia lawyer, planter, politician and Confederate general. After representing the City of Richmond during the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861, during eight months in 18 ...

1898–1910 *

Casey Todd Casey may refer to: Places Antarctica *Casey Station *Casey Range Australia * Casey, Australian Capital Territory * City of Casey, Melbourne * Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives Canada * Casey, Ontario * Ca ...

1910–1914 *

Hubert F. Fisher Hubert Frederick Fisher (October 6, 1877 – June 16, 1941) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 10th congressional district of Tennessee. Biography Fisher was born on October 6, 1877 in ...

1914–1917 *

William D. Kyser William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

1917–1921 *

S.E. Murray SE, Se, or Sé may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Sé'' (album), by Lúnasa, 2006 * Se (instrument), a traditional Chinese musical instrument Businesses and organizations * Sea Ltd (NYSE: SE), tech conglomerate headquartered in Singapore ...

1921–1926 *

Tilmon A. Lancaster Tilmon is an unincorporated community in Caldwell County, in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 117 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area. History Tilmon ...

1926–1926 *

Nugent Dodds Nugent may refer to: * Nugent (album), ''Nugent'' (album), album by Ted Nugent * Nugent (surname) * Nugent, Tasmania, town in Australia * Nugent, United States Virgin Islands, village * Nugents department store (B. Nugent & Brother), St. Louis, MO, ...

1926–1926 *

Lindsay B. Phillips Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

1926–1931 *

Nelson H. Carver Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

1931–1932 *

Dwayne D. Maddox Dwayne or Dewayne is a traditionally male name. It is Gaelic in origin, deriving from the Irish saint Dubhán. History St. Dubhán was an Irish monk who established an abbey in Hook Head, Ireland during the 5th century. As a surname it is O'Dubh ...

1932–1933 *

William McClanahan William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

1933–1948 *

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

1948–1953 * Milsaps Fitzhugh 1953–1960 *

Warner Hodges Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter Me ...

1960–1961 *

Thomas L. Robinson Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

1961–1969 *

Thomas F. Turley, Jr. Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

1969–1977 *

W.J. Michael Cody WJ may refer to: * Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ), a generation of Jeep Grand Cherokee * Air Labrador, based in Canada (IATA code WJ) * West Jersey Railroad, a predecessor of the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad * WestJet airlines * Wiking-Jugend, a Ge ...

1977–1981 *

Hickman Ewing W. Hickman Ewing, Jr. is an American attorney. Ewing served as the United States Attorney for the western district of Tennessee from 1981 to 1991. He later served as the special prosecutor overseeing the Whitewater investigation. Early life Ewi ...

1981–1991 * Ed Bryant 1991–1993 * Daniel A. Clancy 1993 *

Veronica F. Coleman Veronica, Veronika, etc., may refer to: People * Veronica (name) * Saint Veronica * Saint Veronica of Syria Arts and media Comics and literature * ''Veronica'', an 1870 novel by Frances Eleanor Trollope * ''Veronica'', a 2005 novel by Mary Gaits ...

1993–2001 *

Lawrence J. Laurenzi Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

2001-2001 *

Terrell L. Harris Terrell, Terell, Terrel, or Terrelle may refer to: Places United States *Terrell, Georgia, unincorporated community *Terrell, North Carolina, unincorporated community in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States *Terrell, Texas, city in Kau ...

2001–2005 *

2005–2006 * David Kustoff 2006–2008 *

2008–2010 *

Edward L. Stanton III Edward Lesley Stanton III (born 1972) is a former United States attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and is a former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. ...

2010–2017 *

2017 *

D. Michael Dunavant David Michael Dunavant (born 1970) is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee from 2017 to 2021. He formerly served as the District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District in Ten ...

2017–2021

References

External links

United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee official website

United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Tennessee, Western District Tennessee law Jackson, Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee Courthouses in Tennessee 1801 establishments in the United States 1802 disestablishments in the United States 1802 establishments in the United States 1807 disestablishments in the United States 1839 establishments in the United States Courts and tribunals established in 1801 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1802 Courts and tribunals established in 1802 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1807 Courts and tribunals established in 1839