The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (in case citations, M.D. Tenn.) is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee. Based at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Nashville, it was created in 1839 when Congress added a third district to the state. Tennessee—along with Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan—is located within the area covered by United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and appeals are taken to that court (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee | |
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(M.D. Tenn.) | |
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Location | (Nashville) More locations
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Appeals to | Sixth Circuit |
Established | June 18, 1839 |
Judges | 4 |
Chief Judge | William L. Campbell Jr. |
Officers of the court | |
U.S. Attorney | Thomas J. Jaworski (acting) |
U.S. Marshal | Denny Wade King |
www |
As of January 11, 2023[update] the United States attorney is Henry C. Leventis.
The Middle District has three divisions. (1) The Columbia Division comprises the counties of Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall, Maury, and Wayne. (2) The Northeastern Division comprises the counties of Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, and White. (3) The Nashville Division comprises the counties of Cannon, Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson.
History
The United States District Court for the District of Tennessee was established with one judgeship on January 31, 1797, by 1 Stat. 496. The judgeship was filled by President George Washington's appointment of John McNairy. 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" Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, 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, 2 Stat. 132. 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 5 Stat. 313, Congress divided Tennessee into three districts, Eastern, Middle, and Western. 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, at which time President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed David M. Key as judge for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee. The first judge to serve only the Middle District of Tennessee was John J. Gore, appointed by Warren G. Harding.
Current judges
As of April 15, 2024[update]:
# | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
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Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
23 | Chief Judge | William L. Campbell Jr. | Nashville | 1969 | 2018–present | 2024–present | — | Trump |
19 | District Judge | Aleta Arthur Trauger | Nashville | 1945 | 1998–present | — | — | Clinton |
22 | District Judge | Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. | Nashville | 1956 | 2016–present | 2017–2024 | — | Obama |
24 | District Judge | Eli J. Richardson | Nashville | 1967 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
Former judges
# | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
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1 | Morgan Welles Brown | TN | 1800–1853 | 1839–1853 | — | — | Jackson/Operation of law | death |
2 | West Hughes Humphreys | TN | 1806–1882 | 1853–1862 | — | — | Pierce | impeachment and conviction |
3 | Connally Findlay Trigg | TN | 1810–1880 | 1862–1880 | — | — | Lincoln | death |
4 | David M. Key | TN | 1824–1900 | 1880–1895 | — | — | Hayes | retirement |
5 | Charles Dickens Clark | TN | 1847–1908 | 1895–1908 | — | — | Cleveland | death |
6 | Edward Terry Sanford | TN | 1865–1930 | 1908–1923 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | elevation to Supreme Court |
7 | John J. Gore | TN | 1878–1939 | 1923–1939 | — | — | Harding | death |
8 | Xenophon Hicks | TN | 1872–1952 | 1923–1928 | — | — | Harding | elevation to 6th Cir. |
9 | Leslie Rogers Darr | TN | 1886–1967 | 1939–1940 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | seat abolished |
10 | Elmer David Davies | TN | 1899–1957 | 1939–1957 | 1954–1957 | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
11 | William Ernest Miller | TN | 1908–1976 | 1955–1970 | 1961–1970 | — | Eisenhower | elevation to 6th Cir. |
12 | Frank Gray, Jr. | TN | 1908–1978 | 1961–1977 | 1970–1977 | 1977–1978 | Kennedy | death |
13 | Leland Clure Morton | TN | 1916–1998 | 1970–1984 | 1977–1984 | 1984–1998 | Nixon | death |
14 | Thomas Anderton Wiseman Jr. | TN | 1930–2020 | 1978–1995 | 1984–1991 | 1995–2011 | Carter | retirement |
15 | John Trice Nixon | TN | 1933–2019 | 1980–1998 | 1991–1998 | 1998–2019 | Carter | death |
16 | Thomas Aquinas Higgins | TN | 1932–2018 | 1984–1999 | — | 1999–2018 | Reagan | death |
17 | Robert L. Echols | TN | 1941–present | 1992–2007 | 1998–2005 | 2007–2010 | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
18 | Todd J. Campbell | TN | 1956–2021 | 1995–2016 | 2005–2012 | 2016–2021 | Clinton | death |
20 | William Joseph Haynes Jr. | TN | 1949–present | 1999–2014 | 2012–2014 | 2014–2017 | Clinton | retirement |
21 | Kevin H. Sharp | TN | 1963–present | 2011–2017 | 2014–2017 | — | Obama | resignation |
- Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee
- Jointly appointed to the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee
- From 1862 to 1878, Judge Trigg was jointly appointed to the Western District of Tennessee.
- Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 7, 1962, and received commission on February 17, 1962.
Chief judges
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
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See also
- Courts of Tennessee
- List of current United States district judges
- List of United States federal courthouses in Tennessee
References
- 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 Honorable Harry Phillips, "History of the Sixth Circuit Archived January 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine".
- Alfred Conkling, A Treatise on the Organization, Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States (1842), p. 42.
External links
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Official Website
Author: www.NiNa.Az
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The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in case citations M D Tenn is the federal trial court for most of Middle Tennessee Based at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Nashville it was created in 1839 when Congress added a third district to the state Tennessee along with Kentucky Ohio and Michigan is located within the area covered by United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and appeals are taken to that court except for patent claims and claims against the U S government under the Tucker Act which are appealed to the Federal Circuit United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee M D Tenn Location Nashville More locationsColumbiaCookevilleAppeals toSixth CircuitEstablishedJune 18 1839Judges4Chief JudgeWilliam L Campbell Jr Officers of the courtU S AttorneyThomas J Jaworski acting U S MarshalDenny Wade Kingwww wbr tnmd wbr uscourts wbr gov As of January 11 2023 update the United States attorney is Henry C Leventis The Middle District has three divisions 1 The Columbia Division comprises the counties of Giles Hickman Lawrence Lewis Marshall Maury and Wayne 2 The Northeastern Division comprises the counties of Clay Cumberland DeKalb Fentress Jackson Macon Overton Pickett Putnam Smith and White 3 The Nashville Division comprises the counties of Cannon Cheatham Davidson Dickson Houston Humphreys Montgomery Robertson Rutherford Stewart Sumner Trousdale Williamson and Wilson HistoryThe United States District Court for the District of Tennessee was established with one judgeship on January 31 1797 by 1 Stat 496 The judgeship was filled by President George Washington s appointment of John McNairy 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 Act of 1801 2 Stat 89 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 2 Stat 132 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 5 Stat 313 Congress divided Tennessee into three districts Eastern Middle and Western 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 at which time President Rutherford B Hayes appointed David M Key as judge for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee The first judge to serve only the Middle District of Tennessee was John J Gore appointed by Warren G Harding Current judgesAs of April 15 2024 update Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by Active Chief Senior 23 Chief Judge William L Campbell Jr Nashville 1969 2018 present 2024 present Trump 19 District Judge Aleta Arthur Trauger Nashville 1945 1998 present Clinton 22 District Judge Waverly D Crenshaw Jr Nashville 1956 2016 present 2017 2024 Obama 24 District Judge Eli J Richardson Nashville 1967 2018 present TrumpFormer judges Judge State Born died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for termination 1 Morgan Welles Brown TN 1800 1853 1839 1853 Jackson Operation of law death 2 West Hughes Humphreys TN 1806 1882 1853 1862 Pierce impeachment and conviction 3 Connally Findlay Trigg TN 1810 1880 1862 1880 Lincoln death 4 David M Key TN 1824 1900 1880 1895 Hayes retirement 5 Charles Dickens Clark TN 1847 1908 1895 1908 Cleveland death 6 Edward Terry Sanford TN 1865 1930 1908 1923 T Roosevelt elevation to Supreme Court 7 John J Gore TN 1878 1939 1923 1939 Harding death 8 Xenophon Hicks TN 1872 1952 1923 1928 Harding elevation to 6th Cir 9 Leslie Rogers Darr TN 1886 1967 1939 1940 F Roosevelt seat abolished 10 Elmer David Davies TN 1899 1957 1939 1957 1954 1957 F Roosevelt death 11 William Ernest Miller TN 1908 1976 1955 1970 1961 1970 Eisenhower elevation to 6th Cir 12 Frank Gray Jr TN 1908 1978 1961 1977 1970 1977 1977 1978 Kennedy death 13 Leland Clure Morton TN 1916 1998 1970 1984 1977 1984 1984 1998 Nixon death 14 Thomas Anderton Wiseman Jr TN 1930 2020 1978 1995 1984 1991 1995 2011 Carter retirement 15 John Trice Nixon TN 1933 2019 1980 1998 1991 1998 1998 2019 Carter death 16 Thomas Aquinas Higgins TN 1932 2018 1984 1999 1999 2018 Reagan death 17 Robert L Echols TN 1941 present 1992 2007 1998 2005 2007 2010 G H W Bush retirement 18 Todd J Campbell TN 1956 2021 1995 2016 2005 2012 2016 2021 Clinton death 20 William Joseph Haynes Jr TN 1949 present 1999 2014 2012 2014 2014 2017 Clinton retirement 21 Kevin H Sharp TN 1963 present 2011 2017 2014 2017 Obama resignation Jointly appointed to the Eastern Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee Jointly appointed to the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee From 1862 to 1878 Judge Trigg was jointly appointed to the Western District of Tennessee Recess appointment formally nominated on January 15 1962 confirmed by the United States Senate on February 7 1962 and received commission on February 17 1962 Chief judgesChief 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 seatsSeat 1 Seat assigned on June 18 1839 by 5 Stat 313 concurrent with Eastern and Western Districts Brown 1839 1853 Humphreys 1853 1862 Trigg 1862 1880 Concurrency with Western District abolished on June 14 1878 by 20 Stat 132 Key 1880 1895 Clark 1895 1908 Sanford 1908 1923 Hicks 1923 1928 Seat reassigned solely to Eastern District on May 23 1928 pursuant to 42 Stat 837 Seat 2 Seat established on September 14 1922 by 42 Stat 837 Gore 1923 1939 Davies 1939 1957 Seat abolished on January 7 1957 temporary judgeship expired Seat 3 Seat established on May 31 1938 by 52 Stat 584 temporary concurrent with Eastern District Darr 1939 1940 Seat reassigned solely to Eastern District and made permanent on November 27 1940 by 54 Stat 1216 Seat 4 Seat established on February 10 1954 by 68 Stat 8 10 temporary Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 2 on January 7 1957 Miller 1955 1970 Morton 1970 1984 Higgins 1984 1999 Haynes Jr 1999 2014 Crenshaw Jr 2016 present Seat 5 Seat established on May 19 1961 by 75 Stat 80 Gray Jr 1962 1977 Wiseman Jr 1978 1995 T Campbell 1995 2016 Richardson 2018 present Seat 6 Seat established on October 20 1978 by 92 Stat 1629 Nixon 1980 1998 Trauger 1998 present Seat 7 Seat established on December 1 1990 by 104 Stat 5089 Echols 1992 2007 Sharp 2011 2017 W Campbell Jr 2018 presentSee alsoCourts of Tennessee List of current United States district judges List of United States federal courthouses in TennesseeReferencesAsbury 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 Honorable Harry Phillips History of the Sixth Circuit Archived January 11 2007 at the Wayback Machine Alfred Conkling A Treatise on the Organization Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States 1842 p 42 External linksUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Official Website 36 09 40 N 86 46 58 W 36 1612 N 86 7828 W 36 1612 86 7828