United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court.

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
(W.D. Va.)
Location	Roanoke More locations Charlottesville Harrisonburg Lynchburg Abingdon Big Stone Gap Danville
Appeals to	Fourth Circuit
Established	February 4, 1819
Judges	4
Chief Judge	Elizabeth K. Dillon
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Zachary T. Lee (acting)
U.S. Marshal	Thomas L. Foster
www.vawd.uscourts.gov

Map of the United States District Courts in Virginia, showing the boundaries of the Eastern and Western Districts, and their divisions.

Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for 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 court is seated at multiple locations in Virginia: Abingdon, Charlottesville, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Roanoke.

History

The United States District Court for the District of Virginia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.

On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, divided Virginia into three judicial districts: the District of Virginia, which included the counties west of the Tidewater and south of the Rappahannock River; the District of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and the District of Potomac, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well as Maryland counties along the Potomac. Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single District again, 2 Stat. 132, effective July 1, 1802.

The District of Virginia was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by 3 Stat. 478. At that time, West Virginia, was still part of Virginia, and was encompassed in Virginia's Western District, while the Eastern District essentially covered what is now the entire state of Virginia. With the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the American Civil War, the Western District of Virginia became the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with the Eastern District to form again a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by 13 Stat. 124. Congress again divided Virginia into Eastern and the Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by 16 Stat. 403.

District courthouse in Lynchburg

Counties of jurisdiction

The Western District of Virginia covers the counties of Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Buchanan, Buckingham, Campbell, Carroll, Charlotte, Clarke, Craig, Culpeper, Cumberland, Dickenson, Floyd, Fluvanna, Franklin, Frederick, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Halifax, Henry, Highland, Lee, Louisa, Madison, Montgomery, Nelson, Orange, Page, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Russell, Scott, Shenandoah, Smyth, Tazewell, Warren, Washington, Wise, and Wythe; and the independent cities of Bedford, Bristol, Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Covington, Danville, Galax, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Norton, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester.

Current judges

As of July 8, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
27	Chief Judge	Elizabeth K. Dillon	Roanoke	1960	2014–present	2024–present	—	Obama
28	District Judge	Thomas T. Cullen	Roanoke	1977	2020–present	—	—	Trump
29	District Judge	Robert S. Ballou	Roanoke	1962	2023–present	—	—	Biden
30	District Judge	Jasmine H. Yoon	Charlottesville	1980	2024–present	—	—	Biden
23	Senior Judge	James Parker Jones	Abingdon	1940	1996–2021	2004–2010	2021–present	Clinton
24	Senior Judge	Norman K. Moon	Lynchburg	1936	1997–2010	—	2010–present	Clinton
26	Senior Judge	Michael F. Urbanski	Roanoke	1956	2011–2024	2017–2024	2024–present	Obama

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	John G. Jackson	VA	1777–1825	1819–1825	—	—	Monroe	death
2	Philip C. Pendleton	VA	1779–1863	1825–1825	—	—	J.Q. Adams	resignation
3	Alexander Caldwell	VA	1774–1839	1825–1839	—	—	J.Q. Adams	death
4	Isaac S. Pennybacker	VA	1805–1847	1839–1845	—	—	Van Buren	resignation
5	John White Brockenbrough	VA	1806–1877	1846–1861	—	—	Polk	resignation
6	John Jay Jackson Jr.	VA	1824–1907	1861–1864	—	—	Lincoln	reassignment to D. W.Va.
7	Alexander Rives	VA	1806–1885	1871–1882	—	—	Grant	retirement
8	John Paul	VA	1839–1901	1883–1901	—	—	Arthur	death
9	Henry C. McDowell Jr.	VA	1861–1933	1901–1931	—	1931–1933	T. Roosevelt	death
10	John Paul Jr.	VA	1883–1964	1932–1958	1948–1958	1958–1964	Hoover	death
11	Floyd H. Roberts	VA	1879–1967	1938–1939	—	—	F. Roosevelt	not confirmed
12	Armistead Mason Dobie	VA	1881–1962	1939–1940	—	—	F. Roosevelt	elevation to 4th Cir.
13	Alfred D. Barksdale	VA	1892–1972	1939–1957	—	1957–1972	F. Roosevelt	death
14	Roby C. Thompson	VA	1898–1960	1957–1960	1958–1960	—	Eisenhower	death
15	Theodore Roosevelt Dalton	VA	1901–1989	1959–1976	1960–1971	1976–1989	Eisenhower	death
16	Thomas J. Michie	VA	1896–1973	1961–1973	—	—	Kennedy	death
17	Hiram Emory Widener Jr.	VA	1923–2007	1969–1972	1971–1972	—	Nixon	elevation to 4th Cir.
18	James Clinton Turk	VA	1923–2014	1972–2002	1973–1993	2002–2014	Nixon	death
19	Glen Morgan Williams	VA	1920–2012	1976–1988	—	1988–2012	Ford	death
20	James Harry Michael Jr.	VA	1918–2005	1980–1995	—	1995–2005	Carter	death
21	Jackson L. Kiser	VA	1929–2020	1981–1997	1993–1997	1997–2020	Reagan	death
22	Samuel Grayson Wilson	VA	1949–present	1990–2014	1997–2004	—	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
25	Glen E. Conrad	VA	1949–2021	2003–2017	2010–2017	2017–2021	G.W. Bush	death

1. Recess appointment; the United States Senate later rejected the appointment.
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 13, 1825, confirmed by the Senate on January 3, 1826, and received commission the same day.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 29, 1840, confirmed by the Senate on February 17, 1840, and received commission the same day.
4. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 5, 1901, confirmed by the Senate on December 18, 1901, and received commission the same day.
5. Recess appointment; the Senate later rejected the appointment.
6. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 11, 1940, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 1, 1940, and received commission on February 5, 1940.

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

Seat 1 Seat established on February 4, 1819 by 3 Stat. 478 Jackson 1819–1825 Pendleton 1825–1825 Caldwell 1826–1839 Pennybacker 1840–1845 Brockenbrough 1846–1861 Jackson, Jr. 1861–1864 Seat reassigned to the District of West Virginia on June 11, 1864 by 13 Stat. 124

Seat 2 Seat established on February 3, 1871 by 16 Stat. 403 Rives 1871–1882 Paul 1883–1901 McDowell, Jr. 1901–1931 Paul, Jr. 1932–1958 Dalton 1959–1976 Williams 1976–1988 Wilson 1990–2014 Dillon 2014–present

Seat 3 Seat established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 584 Roberts 1938–1939 Dobie 1939–1940 Barksdale 1940–1957 Thompson 1957–1960 Michie 1961–1973 Seat abolished on April 9, 1973 pursuant to the provisions of 71 Stat. 586

Seat 4 Seat established on July 14, 1969 pursuant to the provisions of 71 Stat. 586 (temporary) Widener, Jr. 1969–1972 Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 3 on April 9, 1973 Turk 1972–2002 Conrad 2003–2017 Cullen 2020–present

Seat 5 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Michael, Jr. 1980–1995 Jones 1996–2021 Ballou 2023–present

Seat 6 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Kiser 1981–1997 Moon 1997–2010 Urbanski 2011–2024 Yoon 2024–present

U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal

The U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia represents the federal government in the court. As of December 21, 2024^[update] the acting United States attorney is Zachary T. Lee.

The current^[update] U.S. marshal for the Western District of Virginia is Thomas L. Foster.

Former U.S. attorneys

• (1824-1829)
• William A. Harrison (1829-1834)
• (1834-1842)
• (1842-1843)
• (1843-1846)
• George H. Lee (1846-1848)
• George W. Thompson (1848-1850)
• Benjamin H. Smith (1850-1853)
• (1853-1861)
• Thomas W. Harrison (1861)
• Aquilla B. Caldwell (1861-1862)
• Benjamin H. Smith (1862)
• (1877-1882)
• (1882-1885)
• Henry C. Allen (1885-1889)
• (1889-1893)
• A. J. Montague (1893-1898)
• (1898-1902)
• (1902-1910)
• (1910-1914)
• Richard E. Byrd (1914-1920)
• (1920-1921)
• (1921-1922)
• (1922-1924)
• Joseph C. Shaffer (1924-1929)
• John Paul (1929-1932)
• Joseph C. Shaffer (1932-1933)
• (1933-1940)
• Frank S. Tavenner Jr. (1940-1948)
• Howard C. Gilmer Jr. (1948-1953)
• (1953-1961)
• Thomas B. Mason (1961–1969)
• (1969-1976)
• (1976-1980)
• John S. Edwards (1980–1981)
• (1981–1990)
• (1990–1993)
• (1993–2001)
• John L. Brownlee (2001–2008)
• Timothy J. Heaphy (2009–2015)
• John P. Fishwick Jr. (2015–2017)
• Thomas T. Cullen (2018–2020)
• (2020–2021) acting
• Christopher R. Kavanaugh (2021-2024)

See also

• Courts of Virginia
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Virginia
• United States Attorney for the District of Virginia

References

1. Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 388.
2. U.S. District Courts of Virginia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
3. "First Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee to Serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia" (Press release). United States Attorney's Office of the Western District of Virginia. December 20, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
4. "The Political Graveyard: U.S. District Attorneys in Virginia".
5. "Western District of Virginia | Christopher R. Kavanaugh Sworn in as United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia | United States Department of Justice". 12 October 2021.
6. "United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh Steps Down" (Press release). United States Attorney's Office of the Western District of Virginia. December 20, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2025.

External links

• United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia Official Website
• United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Official Website
• Federal Judicial Center Website - Judges of the W.D. Va.
• History of Marshals for the Western District of Virginia^{[permanent dead link]}