(S.D. W. Va.) |
Charleston More locations
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Fourth Circuit |
January 22, 1901 |
5 |
Thomas E. Johnston |
William S. Thompson |
Michael Baylous |
www.wvsd.uscourts.gov |
The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (in case citations, S.D. W. Va.) is a federal court in 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 District was established on June 22, 1901.[1]
As of October 13, 2021, the United States Attorney for the District is William S. Thompson.[2]
Organization of the court[edit]
The Southern District spans the counties colored blue on this map.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia is one of two federal judicial districts in West Virginia.[3] Court for the Southern District is held at Beckley, Bluefield, Charleston, and Huntington.
Beckley Division comprises the following counties: Greenbrier, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming.
Bluefield Division comprises the following counties: Mercer, McDowell, and Monroe.
Charleston Division comprises the following counties: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Nicholas, Roane, Wirt, and Wood.
Huntington Division comprises the following counties: Cabell, Mason, Putnam, and Wayne.
Current judges[edit]
As of October 17, 2019:
17 | Chief Judge | Thomas E. Johnston | Charleston | 1967 | 2006–present | 2017–present | — | G.W. Bush |
15 | District Judge | Joseph Robert Goodwin | Charleston | 1942 | 1995–present | 2007–2012 | — | Clinton |
16 | District Judge | Robert Charles Chambers | Huntington | 1952 | 1997–present | 2012–2017 | — | Clinton |
18 | District Judge | Irene C. Berger | Charleston | 1954 | 2009–present | — | — | Obama |
19 | District Judge | Frank W. Volk | Beckley | 1965 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
10 | Senior Judge | John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. | Charleston | 1925 | 1976–2018 | — | 2018–present | Ford |
14 | Senior Judge | David A. Faber | Bluefield | 1942 | 1991–2008 | 2002–2007 | 2008–present | G.H.W. Bush |
Former judges[edit]
1 | Benjamin Franklin Keller | WV | 1857–1921 | 1901–1921 | — | — | McKinley | death |
2 | George Warwick McClintic | WV | 1866–1942 | 1921–1941 | — | 1941–1942 | Harding | death |
3 | Harry Evans Watkins | WV | 1898–1963 | 1937–1963[Note 1] | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
4 | Ben Moore | WV | 1891–1958 | 1941–1958 | 1948–1958 | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
5 | John A. Field Jr. | WV | 1910–1995 | 1959–1971 | 1959–1971 | — | Eisenhower | elevation to 4th Cir. |
6 | Sidney Lee Christie | WV | 1903–1974 | 1964–1974[Note 1] | 1971–1973 | — | L. Johnson | death |
7 | Dennis Raymond Knapp | WV | 1912–1998 | 1970–1983 | 1973–1982 | 1983–1998 | Nixon | death |
8 | Kenneth Keller Hall | WV | 1918–1999 | 1971–1976 | — | — | Nixon | elevation to 4th Cir. |
9 | Charles Harold Haden II | WV | 1937–2004 | 1975–2004[Note 2] | 1982–2002 | — | Ford | death |
11 | Robert Jackson Staker | WV | 1925–2008 | 1979–1994 | — | 1994–2005 | Carter | retirement |
12 | William Matthew Kidd | WV | 1918–1998 | 1979–1983 | — | — | Carter | reassignment to N.D. W. Va. |
13 | Elizabeth Virginia Hallanan | WV | 1925–2004 | 1983–1996 | — | 1996–2004 | Reagan | death |
- ^ a b Jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia
- ^ From 1975 to 1983, Judge Haden was jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.
Chief judges[edit]
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
Succession of seats[edit]
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See also[edit]
- Courts of West Virginia
- List of current United States district judges
- List of United States federal courthouses in West Virginia
References[edit]
- ^ //www.fjc.gov/history/courts/u.s.-district-courts-districts-west-virginia-legislative-history U.S. District Courts of West Virginia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center
- ^ "William S. Thompson Sworn In as United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia". www.justice.gov. 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
- ^ 28 U.S.C. § 129
External links[edit]
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
- The United States Attorney's Office Southern District of West Virginia
Coordinates: 38°21′9.1″N 81°38′20.1″W / 38.352528°N 81.638917°W