District Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.
The bench
Who sits on this court?
Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.
| Judge | Since | Nominated by | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Francis Hogan Senior | 1982 | Ronald Reagan | DCD0904 |
| Royce C. Lamberth Senior | 1987 | Ronald Reagan | DCD0608 |
| Paul L. Friedman Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | DCD1204 |
| Emmet G. Sullivan Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | DCD0510 |
| Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Senior | 1997 | William J. Clinton | DCD0805 |
| Henry Harold Kennedy Jr. Senior | 1997 | William J. Clinton | DCD1404 |
| Richard W. Roberts Senior | 1998 | William J. Clinton | DCD0308 |
| Reggie B. Walton Senior | 2001 | George W. Bush | DCD1504 |
| John D. Bates Senior | 2001 | George W. Bush | DCD1105 |
| Richard J. Leon Senior | 2002 | George W. Bush | DCD1604 |
| Beryl Alaine Howell Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | DCD1205 |
| James Emanuel Boasberg | 2011 | Barack Obama | DCD0905 |
| Amy Berman Jackson Senior | 2011 | Barack Obama | DCD1006 |
| Rudolph Contreras | 2012 | Barack Obama | DCD0410 |
| Christopher Reid Cooper | 2014 | Barack Obama | DCD0609 |
| Tanya Sue Chutkan | 2014 | Barack Obama | DCD1701 |
| Randolph Daniel Moss | 2014 | Barack Obama | DCD1307 |
| Amit Priyavadan Mehta | 2014 | Barack Obama | DCD0707 |
| Timothy James Kelly | 2017 | Donald J. Trump | DCD0212 |
| Trevor Neil McFadden | 2017 | Donald J. Trump | DCD1605 |
| Dabney Langhorne Friedrich | 2017 | Donald J. Trump | DCD1505 |
| Carl John Nichols | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | DCD0309 |
| Jia Michelle Cobb | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | DCD0511 |
| Ana Cecilia Reyes | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | DCD0806 |
| Loren Linn AliKhan | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | DCD1007 |
| Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | DCD1206 |
| Sparkle Leah Sooknanan | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | DCD1407 |
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
What seats does this court have?
Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.
- Judges seated now
- 27
- Seat numbers on record
- 81
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCD0212 | Timothy James Kelly | 2017 | 1 |
| DCD0308 | Richard W. Roberts | 1998 | 1 |
| DCD0309 | Carl John Nichols | 2019 | 1 |
| DCD0410 | Rudolph Contreras | 2012 | 1 |
| DCD0510 | Emmet G. Sullivan | 1994 | 1 |
| DCD0511 | Jia Michelle Cobb | 2021 | 1 |
| DCD0608 | Royce C. Lamberth | 1987 | 1 |
| DCD0609 | Christopher Reid Cooper | 2014 | 1 |
| DCD0707 | Amit Priyavadan Mehta | 2014 | 1 |
| DCD0805 | Colleen Kollar-Kotelly | 1997 | 1 |
| DCD0806 | Ana Cecilia Reyes | 2023 | 1 |
| DCD0904 | Thomas Francis Hogan | 1982 | 1 |
| DCD0905 | James Emanuel Boasberg | 2011 | 1 |
| DCD1006 | Amy Berman Jackson | 2011 | 1 |
| DCD1007 | Loren Linn AliKhan | 2023 | 1 |
| DCD1105 | John D. Bates | 2001 | 1 |
| DCD1204 | Paul L. Friedman | 1994 | 1 |
| DCD1205 | Beryl Alaine Howell | 2010 | 1 |
| DCD1206 | Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali | 2024 | 1 |
| DCD1307 | Randolph Daniel Moss | 2014 | 1 |
| DCD1404 | Henry Harold Kennedy Jr. | 1997 | 1 |
| DCD1407 | Sparkle Leah Sooknanan | 2025 | 1 |
| DCD1504 | Reggie B. Walton | 2001 | 1 |
| DCD1505 | Dabney Langhorne Friedrich | 2017 | 1 |
| DCD1604 | Richard J. Leon | 2002 | 1 |
| DCD1605 | Trevor Neil McFadden | 2017 | 1 |
| DCD1701 | Tanya Sue Chutkan | 2014 | 1 |
54 seat numbers with no sitting judge
These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.
| Seat | Last held by | Until | Holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCD0107 | Edward Clayton Eicher | 1944 | 1 |
| DCD0108 | Bolitha James Laws | 1948 | 1 |
| DCD0208 | Edward Allen Tamm | 1965 | 1 |
| DCD0209 | Oliver Gasch | 1999 | 1 |
| DCD0210 | Thomas Penfield Jackson | 2004 | 1 |
| DCD0211 | Rosemary M. Collyer | 2026 | 1 |
| DCD0306 | Edward Matthew Curran | 1988 | 1 |
| DCD0307 | Charles Robert Richey | 1997 | 1 |
| DCD0407 | Matthew Francis McGuire | 1986 | 1 |
| DCD0408 | Aubrey Eugene Robinson Jr. | 2000 | 1 |
| DCD0409 | Ricardo M. Urbina | 2012 | 1 |
| DCD0508 | William Blakely Jones | 1979 | 1 |
| DCD0509 | Louis Falk Oberdorfer | 2013 | 1 |
| DCD0605 | Walter Maximillian Bastian | 1954 | 1 |
| DCD0606 | Joseph Charles McGarraghy | 1975 | 1 |
| DCD0607 | Barrington Daniels Parker Sr. | 1993 | 1 |
| DCD0703 | Richmond Bowling Keech | 1986 | 1 |
| DCD0704 | Joseph Cornelius Waddy | 1978 | 1 |
| DCD0705 | John Garrett Penn | 2007 | 1 |
| DCD0706 | Ellen Segal Huvelle | 2025 | 1 |
| DCD0802 | Henry Albert Schweinhaut | 1970 | 1 |
| DCD0803 | John Joseph Sirica | 1992 | 1 |
| DCD0804 | Harold H. Greene | 2000 | 1 |
| DCD0902 | David Andrew Pine | 1970 | 1 |
| DCD0903 | William Benson Bryant | 2005 | 1 |
| DCD1001 | Bolitha James Laws | 1945 | 1 |
| DCD1002 | Alexander Holtzoff | 1969 | 1 |
| DCD1003 | John Helm Pratt | 1995 | 1 |
| DCD1004 | Michael Boudin | 1992 | 1 |
| DCD1005 | Gladys Kessler | 2023 | 1 |
| DCD1101 | Thomas Alan Goldsborough | 1951 | 1 |
| DCD1102 | Luther Wallace Youngdahl | 1978 | 1 |
| DCD1103 | John Lewis Smith Jr. | 1992 | 1 |
| DCD1104 | Stanley S. Harris | 2001 | 1 |
| DCD1201 | James Ward Morris | 1960 | 1 |
| DCD1202 | Spottswood William Robinson III | 1966 | 1 |
| DCD1203 | Gerhard Alden Gesell | 1993 | 1 |
| DCD1301 | Bolitha James Laws | 1958 | 1 |
| DCD1302 | Leonard Patrick Walsh | 1980 | 1 |
| DCD1303 | Thomas Aquinas Flannery | 2007 | 1 |
| DCD1304 | George Hughes Revercomb | 1993 | 1 |
| DCD1305 | James Robertson | 2010 | 1 |
| DCD1306 | Robert Leon Wilkins | 2014 | 1 |
| DCD1401 | Charles Francis McLaughlin | 1976 | 1 |
| DCD1402 | Howard Francis Corcoran | 1989 | 1 |
| DCD1403 | Joyce Hens Green | 2024 | 1 |
| DCD1405 | Ketanji Brown Jackson | 2021 | 1 |
| DCD1406 | Florence Y. Pan | 2022 | 1 |
| DCD1501 | Burnita Shelton Matthews | 1988 | 1 |
| DCD1502 | June Lazenby Green | 2001 | 1 |
| DCD1503 | Stanley Sporkin | 2000 | 1 |
| DCD1601 | James Robert Kirkland | 1958 | 1 |
| DCD1602 | George Luzerne Hart Jr. | 1984 | 1 |
| DCD1603 | Norma Holloway Johnson | 2003 | 1 |
This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.
Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
How this bench was built
Who appointed them?
The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.
- Democratic
- 18
- Republican
- 9
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama | 8 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 5 |
| William J. Clinton | 5 |
| Donald J. Trump | 4 |
| George W. Bush | 3 |
| Ronald Reagan | 2 |
The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)