District Court · Fourth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| William M. Nickerson Senior | 1990 | George H.W. Bush | MDD0206 |
| Deborah K. Chasanow Senior | 1993 | William J. Clinton | MDD0503 |
| Richard D. Bennett Senior | 2003 | George W. Bush | MDD0703 |
| James Kelleher Bredar Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | MDD1102 |
| Ellen Lipton Hollander Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | MDD0404 |
| George Levi Russell III | 2012 | Barack Obama | MDD0903 |
| Theodore David Chuang | 2014 | Barack Obama | MDD0306 |
| Paula Xinis | 2016 | Barack Obama | MDD0504 |
| Stephanie Agli Gallagher | 2019 | Donald J. Trump | MDD0208 |
| Lydia Kay Griggsby | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | MDD1004 |
| Deborah Lynn Boardman | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | MDD0704 |
| Julie Rebecca Rubin | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | MDD0405 |
| Brendan Abell Hurson | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | MDD0805 |
| Matthew James Maddox | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | MDD0605 |
| Adam Ben Abelson | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | MDD1103 |
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
- 15
- Seat numbers on record
- 56
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDD0206 | William M. Nickerson | 1990 | 1 |
| MDD0208 | Stephanie Agli Gallagher | 2019 | 1 |
| MDD0306 | Theodore David Chuang | 2014 | 1 |
| MDD0404 | Ellen Lipton Hollander | 2010 | 1 |
| MDD0405 | Julie Rebecca Rubin | 2022 | 1 |
| MDD0503 | Deborah K. Chasanow | 1993 | 1 |
| MDD0504 | Paula Xinis | 2016 | 1 |
| MDD0605 | Matthew James Maddox | 2023 | 1 |
| MDD0703 | Richard D. Bennett | 2003 | 1 |
| MDD0704 | Deborah Lynn Boardman | 2021 | 1 |
| MDD0805 | Brendan Abell Hurson | 2023 | 1 |
| MDD0903 | George Levi Russell III | 2012 | 1 |
| MDD1004 | Lydia Kay Griggsby | 2021 | 1 |
| MDD1102 | James Kelleher Bredar | 2010 | 1 |
| MDD1103 | Adam Ben Abelson | 2024 | 1 |
41 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDD0101 | William Paca | 1799 | 1 |
| MDD0102 | James Winchester | 1806 | 1 |
| MDD0103 | James Houston | 1819 | 1 |
| MDD0104 | Theodorick Bland | 1824 | 1 |
| MDD0105 | Elias Glenn | 1836 | 1 |
| MDD0106 | Upton Scott Heath | 1852 | 1 |
| MDD0107 | John Glenn | 1853 | 1 |
| MDD0108 | William Fell Giles | 1879 | 1 |
| MDD0109 | Thomas John Morris | 1912 | 1 |
| MDD0201 | John Carter Rose | 1922 | 1 |
| MDD0202 | Morris Ames Soper | 1931 | 1 |
| MDD0203 | William Calvin Chesnut | 1962 | 1 |
| MDD0204 | Roszel Cathcart Thomsen | 1992 | 1 |
| MDD0205 | Herbert Frazier Murray | 1999 | 1 |
| MDD0207 | William D. Quarles Jr. | 2016 | 1 |
| MDD0301 | William Caldwell Coleman | 1955 | 1 |
| MDD0302 | Robert Dorsey Watkins | 1986 | 1 |
| MDD0303 | Joseph H. Young | 2015 | 1 |
| MDD0304 | Marvin J. Garbis | 2018 | 1 |
| MDD0305 | Roger W. Titus | 2019 | 1 |
| MDD0401 | Edward Skottowe Northrop | 2003 | 1 |
| MDD0402 | Walter Evan Black Jr. | 2014 | 1 |
| MDD0403 | Andre Maurice Davis | 2009 | 1 |
| MDD0501 | Harrison Lee Winter | 1966 | 1 |
| MDD0502 | Alexander Harvey II | 2017 | 1 |
| MDD0601 | Frank Albert Kaufman | 1997 | 1 |
| MDD0602 | Paul Victor Niemeyer | 1990 | 1 |
| MDD0603 | Benson Everett Legg | 2013 | 1 |
| MDD0604 | Paul William Grimm | 2022 | 1 |
| MDD0701 | James Rogers Miller Jr. | 1986 | 1 |
| MDD0702 | Frederic N. Smalkin | 2011 | 1 |
| MDD0801 | Charles Stanley Blair | 1980 | 1 |
| MDD0802 | Norman Park Ramsey | 1992 | 1 |
| MDD0803 | Alexander Williams Jr. | 2014 | 1 |
| MDD0804 | George Jarrod Hazel | 2023 | 1 |
| MDD0901 | Joseph Clemens Howard | 2000 | 1 |
| MDD0902 | Peter Jo Messitte | 2025 | 1 |
| MDD1001 | Shirley Brannock Jones | 1982 | 1 |
| MDD1002 | John Raymond Hargrove Sr. | 1997 | 1 |
| MDD1003 | Catherine C. Blake | 2026 | 1 |
| MDD1101 | J. Frederick Motz | 2023 | 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
- 12
- Republican
- 3
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Joseph R. Biden | 6 |
| Barack Obama | 5 |
| George W. Bush | 1 |
| William J. Clinton | 1 |
| Donald J. Trump | 1 |
| George H.W. Bush | 1 |
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)