United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Western District of Virginia
Fourth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 4
Judges: 4
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Michael Urbanski
Active judges: Robert S. Ballou, Thomas T. Cullen, Elizabeth K. Dillon, Michael Urbanski Senior judges: James Jones, Norman Moon

The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based in downtown Richmond, Virginia at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, out of the court's four judicial positions.

Pending nominations

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Jasmine Yoon	Joe Biden (D)		University of Virginia, 2003	University of Virginia Law, 2006

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Michael Urbanski	Barack Obama (D)	May 13, 2011 -	College of William and Mary, 1978	University of Virginia Law, 1981
Elizabeth K. Dillon	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014 -	Lenoir-Rhyne College, 1983	Wake Forest University
Thomas T. Cullen	Donald Trump (R)	September 15, 2020 -	Furman University, 2000	William and Mary Law School, 2004
Robert S. Ballou	Joe Biden (D)	March 9, 2023 -	University of Virginia, 1984	University of Virginia, 1987

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 3
• Republican appointed: 1

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Norman Moon	Bill Clinton (D)	July 1, 2010 -	University of Virginia, 1959	University of Virginia Law, 1962
James Jones	Bill Clinton (D)	August 30, 2021 -	Duke University, 1962	University of Virginia School of Law, 1965

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 2
• Republican appointed: 0

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Pamela Sargent		December 15, 1997 -
Joel C. Hoppe	United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia	February 10, 2014 -	University of Richmond Law, 2002

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

James Jones - (2004 - 2010) Samuel Wilson - (1997 - 2004) Jackson Kiser - (1993 - 1997) James Turk - (1973 - 1993)

Hiram Widener - (1971 - 1972) Ted Dalton - (1960 - 1971) Roby Thompson - (1958 - 1960) John Paul, Jr. - (1948 - 1958)

Former judges

For more information on the judges of the Western District of Virginia, see former federal judges of the Western District of Virginia.

Jurisdiction

The Counties and Independent Cities of the Western District of Virginia (click for larger map)

The Western District of Virginia has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are seven court divisions, each covering the following counties and cities:

The Abingdon Division, covering Buchanan, Russell, Smyth, Tazewell and Washington counties, in addition to the cities of Bristol.

The Big Stone Gap Division, covering Dickenson, Lee, Scott and Wise counties, in addition to the cities of Norton.

The Charlottesville Division, covering Albemarle, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange and Rappahannock counties, in addition to the cities of Charlottesville.

The Danville Division, covering Charlotte, Halifax, Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania counties, in addition to the cities of Danville, Martinsville and South Boston.

The Harrisonburg Division, covering Augusta, Bath, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockingham and Shenandoah and Warren counties, in addition to the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.

The Lynchburg Division, covering Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Cumberland and Rockbridge counties, in addition to the cities of Bedford, Buena Vista, Lexington and Lynchburg.

The Roanoke Division, covering Alleghany, Bland, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, and Wythe counties, in addition to the cities of Clifton Forge, Covington, Galax, Radford, Roanoke and Salem.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2023. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	1,716	1,681	1,274	4	6	429	41	8	8	11	2
2011	1,571	1,536	1,103	4	4	393	49	7	9	16	2
2012	1,881	1,809	1,330	4	0	470	42	7	8	12	2
2013	1,807	1,827	1,332	4	0	452	45	8	8	19	3
2014	1,740	1,762	1,263	4	5	435	37	10	10	18	2
2015	1,653	1,681	1,227	4	0	413	38	9	10	18	2
2016	1,821	1,654	1,362	4	0	455	38	11	9	25	3
2017	1,588	1,722	1,243	4	0	397	40	9	9	18	2
2018	1,746	1,552	1,433	4	12	437	44	8	10	21	2
2019	1,936	1,696	1,670	4	12	484	45	9	11	30	3
2020	1,746	1,737	1,673	4	8	437	339	12	12	38	3
2021	1,451	1,614	1,502	4	0	363	27	12	11	51	5
2022	1,561	1,645	1,418	4	0	390	24	15	14	60	6
Average	1,709	1,686	1,372	4	4	427	62	10	10	26	3

History

The District of Virginia was established by Congress on September 24, 1789, with one post to cover the entire state. On February 4, 1819, Congress divided the district into the Eastern District of Virginia and the Western District of Virginia with one post each. In June 11, 1864, Congress again redefined the boundaries of the district, transitioning a portion of the Western District of Virginia to the newly formed District of West Virginia and consolidating the entire state of Virginia into one district. On February 3, 1871, Congress again divided the district into its current state, with the Eastern District of Virginia and the Western District of Virginia each holding one post to begin. Over time three additional judicial posts were added to the Western District of Virginia for a total of four current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Western District of Virginia:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73	1 (Whole state)
February 4, 1819	3 Stat. 478	1
June 11, 1864	13 Stat. 124 (Consolidation due to creation of West Virginia)	1(Whole state)
February 3, 1871	16 Stat. 403	1
May 31, 1938	52 Stat. 584	2
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	4

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the Western District of Virginia.

Federal courthouse

There are seven federal courthouses that serve the Western District of Virginia and are located in Abingdon, Big Stone Gap, Charlottesville, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, and Roanoke.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through July 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Joe Biden had the most district court appointments with 156.

Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.

Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.

Step	A Candidacy Proceeds	A Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President	President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee	President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate	Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation	Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation	Candidate becomes federal judge	Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
• District of Maryland
• Eastern District of North Carolina
• Middle District of North Carolina
• Western District of North Carolina
• District of South Carolina
• Eastern District of Virginia
• Northern District of West Virginia
• Southern District of West Virginia

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia Official Website
• United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Official Website
• Opinions of the Western District of Virginia