District Court · First Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
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 G. Young Senior | 1985 | Ronald Reagan | MAD1201 |
| Douglas Preston Woodlock Senior | 1986 | Ronald Reagan | MAD0602 |
| Nathaniel M. Gorton Senior | 1992 | George H.W. Bush | MAD1301 |
| Patti B. Saris Senior | 1993 | William J. Clinton | MAD0504 |
| Richard Gaylore Stearns | 1993 | William J. Clinton | MAD0802 |
| Michael Adrian Ponsor Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | MAD0113 |
| George A. O'Toole Jr. Senior | 1995 | William J. Clinton | MAD1401 |
| F. Dennis Saylor IV Senior | 2004 | George W. Bush | MAD0702 |
| Denise Jefferson Casper | 2010 | Barack Obama | MAD1003 |
| Indira Talwani | 2014 | Barack Obama | MAD1102 |
| Mark Gerald Mastroianni | 2014 | Barack Obama | MAD0114 |
| Leo Theodore Sorokin | 2014 | Barack Obama | MAD0403 |
| Allison Dale Burroughs | 2014 | Barack Obama | MAD0902 |
| Angel Kelley | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | MAD0603 |
| Margaret Rose Guzman | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | MAD0207 |
| Myong Jin Joun | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | MAD1402 |
| Julia Eleanor Kobick | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | MAD1202 |
| Brian Edward Murphy | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | MAD0505 |
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
- 18
- Seat numbers on record
- 53
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAD0113 | Michael Adrian Ponsor | 1994 | 1 |
| MAD0114 | Mark Gerald Mastroianni | 2014 | 1 |
| MAD0207 | Margaret Rose Guzman | 2023 | 1 |
| MAD0403 | Leo Theodore Sorokin | 2014 | 1 |
| MAD0504 | Patti B. Saris | 1993 | 1 |
| MAD0505 | Brian Edward Murphy | 2024 | 1 |
| MAD0602 | Douglas Preston Woodlock | 1986 | 1 |
| MAD0603 | Angel Kelley | 2021 | 1 |
| MAD0702 | F. Dennis Saylor IV | 2004 | 1 |
| MAD0802 | Richard Gaylore Stearns | 1993 | 1 |
| MAD0902 | Allison Dale Burroughs | 2014 | 1 |
| MAD1003 | Denise Jefferson Casper | 2010 | 1 |
| MAD1102 | Indira Talwani | 2014 | 1 |
| MAD1201 | William G. Young | 1985 | 1 |
| MAD1202 | Julia Eleanor Kobick | 2023 | 1 |
| MAD1301 | Nathaniel M. Gorton | 1992 | 1 |
| MAD1401 | George A. O'Toole Jr. | 1995 | 1 |
| MAD1402 | Myong Jin Joun | 2023 | 1 |
35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAD0101 | John Lowell | 1801 | 1 |
| MAD0102 | John Davis | 1841 | 1 |
| MAD0103 | Peleg Sprague | 1865 | 1 |
| MAD0104 | John Lowell | 1879 | 1 |
| MAD0105 | Thomas Leverett Nelson | 1897 | 1 |
| MAD0106 | Francis Cabot Lowell | 1905 | 1 |
| MAD0107 | Frederic Dodge | 1912 | 1 |
| MAD0108 | James Madison Morton Jr. | 1932 | 1 |
| MAD0109 | Hugh Dean McLellan | 1941 | 1 |
| MAD0110 | Charles Edward Wyzanski Jr. | 1986 | 1 |
| MAD0111 | Levin Hicks Campbell | 1972 | 1 |
| MAD0112 | Frank Harlan Freedman | 2003 | 1 |
| MAD0201 | James Arnold Lowell | 1933 | 1 |
| MAD0202 | George Clinton Sweeney | 1966 | 1 |
| MAD0203 | Frank Jerome Murray | 1995 | 1 |
| MAD0204 | A. David Mazzone | 2004 | 1 |
| MAD0205 | Nancy Gertner | 2011 | 1 |
| MAD0206 | Timothy Spafard Hillman | 2024 | 1 |
| MAD0301 | Elisha Hume Brewster | 1946 | 1 |
| MAD0302 | Arthur Daniel Healey | 1948 | 1 |
| MAD0303 | William T. McCarthy | 1964 | 1 |
| MAD0304 | Andrew Augustine Caffrey | 1993 | 1 |
| MAD0305 | Edward Francis Harrington | 2025 | 1 |
| MAD0401 | Francis Joseph William Ford | 1975 | 1 |
| MAD0402 | Joseph Louis Tauro | 2018 | 1 |
| MAD0501 | Bailey Aldrich | 1959 | 1 |
| MAD0502 | Anthony Julian | 1984 | 1 |
| MAD0503 | Walter Jay Skinner | 2005 | 1 |
| MAD0601 | Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr. | 1999 | 1 |
| MAD0701 | Robert Ernest Keeton | 2006 | 1 |
| MAD0801 | John Joseph McNaught | 1991 | 1 |
| MAD0901 | Rya Weickert Zobel | 2026 | 1 |
| MAD1001 | David Sutherland Nelson | 1998 | 1 |
| MAD1002 | Reginald C. Lindsay | 2009 | 1 |
| MAD1101 | Mark Lawrence Wolf | 2025 | 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
- 14
- Republican
- 4
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama | 5 |
| Joseph R. Biden | 5 |
| William J. Clinton | 4 |
| Ronald Reagan | 2 |
| George H.W. Bush | 1 |
| George 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)