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| United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
|---|---|
| (D.D.C.) | |
 | |
 Location of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia | |
| Location | E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse (Washington, D.C., U.S.) |
| Appeals to | District of Columbia Circuit |
| Established | March 3, 1863 |
| Judges | 15 |
| Chief Judge | James Boasberg |
| Officers of the court | |
| U.S. Attorney | Matthew M. Graves |
| U.S. Marshal | Lamont Ruffin (acting) |
| www.dcd.uscourts.gov | |
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the High Court of American Samoa, it also sometimes handles federal issues that arise in the territory of American Samoa, which has no local federal court or territorial court.[1]
Appeals from the District Court are taken to 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.
The current United States Attorney for the District of Columbia is Matthew M. Graves, who was sworn into office on November 5, 2021.[2]
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 of the United States for the District of Columbia. Its current name was adopted in 1948, and from then on justices were known as judges.[3]
Originally housed in the former District of Columbia City Hall, the court now sits in the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse located at 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., in Washington, D.C. 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 (AUSAs) are tasked with prosecution of not only federal crimes but also crimes that would normally be left to the state prosecutor's discretion. The District Court has the largest U.S. Attorney's Office in the nation, with around 250 assistant U.S. attorneys.
Current judges
As of February 1, 2024[update]:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 98 | Chief Judge | James Boasberg | Washington, D.C. | 1963 | 2011–present | 2023–present | — | Obama |
| 100 | District Judge | Rudolph Contreras | Washington, D.C. | 1962 | 2012–present | — | — | Obama |
| 102 | District Judge | Christopher R. Cooper | Washington, D.C. | 1966 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 103 | District Judge | Tanya Chutkan | Washington, D.C. | 1962 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 104 | District Judge | Randolph Moss | Washington, D.C. | 1961 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 105 | District Judge | Amit Mehta | Washington, D.C. | 1971 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 106 | District Judge | Timothy J. Kelly | Washington, D.C. | 1969 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
| 107 | District Judge | Trevor N. McFadden | Washington, D.C. | 1978 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
| 108 | District Judge | Dabney L. Friedrich | Washington, D.C. | 1967 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
| 109 | District Judge | Carl J. Nichols | Washington, D.C. | 1970 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 111 | District Judge | Jia M. Cobb | Washington, D.C. | 1980 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 112 | District Judge | Ana C. Reyes | Washington, D.C. | 1974 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 113 | District Judge | Loren AliKhan | Washington, D.C. | 1983 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 114 | District Judge | vacant | Washington, D.C. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 115 | District Judge | vacant | Washington, D.C. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 74 | Senior Judge | Joyce Hens Green | inactive | 1928 | 1979–1995 | — | 1995–present | Carter |
| 77 | Senior Judge | Thomas F. Hogan | inactive | 1938 | 1982–2008 | 2001–2008 | 2008–present | Reagan |
| 81 | Senior Judge | Royce Lamberth | Washington, D.C. San Antonio, Texas[Note 1] |
1943 | 1987–2013 | 2008–2013 | 2013–present | Reagan |
| 83 | Senior Judge | Paul L. Friedman | Washington, D.C. | 1944 | 1994–2009 | — | 2009–present | Clinton |
| 85 | Senior Judge | Emmet G. Sullivan | Washington, D.C. | 1947 | 1994–2021 | — | 2021–present | Clinton |
| 88 | Senior Judge | Colleen Kollar-Kotelly | Washington, D.C. | 1943 | 1997–2023 | — | 2023–present | Clinton |
| 89 | Senior Judge | Henry H. Kennedy Jr. | inactive | 1948 | 1997–2011 | — | 2011–present | Clinton |
| 90 | Senior Judge | Richard W. Roberts | inactive | 1953 | 1998–2016 | 2013–2016 | 2016–present | Clinton |
| 91 | Senior Judge | Ellen Segal Huvelle | inactive | 1948 | 1999–2014 | — | 2014–present | Clinton |
| 92 | Senior Judge | Reggie Walton | Washington, D.C. | 1949 | 2001–2015 | — | 2015–present | G.W. Bush |
| 93 | Senior Judge | John D. Bates | Washington, D.C. | 1946 | 2001–2014 | — | 2014–present | G.W. Bush |
| 94 | Senior Judge | Richard J. Leon | Washington, D.C. | 1949 | 2002–2016 | — | 2016–present | G.W. Bush |
| 95 | Senior Judge | Rosemary M. Collyer | inactive | 1945 | 2002–2016 | — | 2016–present | G.W. Bush |
| 96 | Senior Judge | Beryl Howell | Washington, D.C. | 1956 | 2010–2024 | 2016–2023 | 2024–present | Obama |
| 99 | Senior Judge | Amy Berman Jackson | Washington, D.C. | 1954 | 2011–2023 | — | 2023–present | Obama |
- ^ Judge Lamberth has sat with the Western District of Texas for several months each year since 2015.
Vacancies and pending nominations
| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Washington, D.C. | Florence Y. Pan | Elevation | September 28, 2022 | Sparkle L. Sooknanan | February 27, 2024 |
| 12 | Beryl Howell | Senior status | February 1, 2024 | Amir Ali | February 1, 2024 |