District Court · Eighth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Douglas Alsop Senior | 1974 | Richard M. Nixon | MND0503 |
| Paul Arthur Magnuson Senior | 1981 | Ronald Reagan | MND0110 |
| Michael James Davis Senior | 1994 | William J. Clinton | MND0206 |
| John R. Tunheim Senior | 1995 | William J. Clinton | MND0504 |
| Ann D. Montgomery Senior | 1996 | William J. Clinton | MND0702 |
| Donovan W. Frank Senior | 1998 | William J. Clinton | MND0406 |
| Joan N. Ericksen Senior | 2002 | George W. Bush | MND0111 |
| Patrick Joseph Schiltz Senior | 2006 | George W. Bush | MND0603 |
| Susan Richard Nelson Senior | 2010 | Barack Obama | MND0802 |
| Wilhelmina Marie Wright Senior | 2016 | Barack Obama | MND0207 |
| Nancy Ellen Brasel | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | MND0703 |
| Eric Christian Tostrud | 2018 | Donald J. Trump | MND0407 |
| Katherine Marie Menendez | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | MND0112 |
| Jerry Wayne Blackwell | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | MND0803 |
| Jeffrey Marc Bryan | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | MND0505 |
| Laura Margarete Provinzino | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | MND0208 |
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
- 16
- Seat numbers on record
- 42
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MND0110 | Paul Arthur Magnuson | 1981 | 1 |
| MND0111 | Joan N. Ericksen | 2002 | 1 |
| MND0112 | Katherine Marie Menendez | 2021 | 1 |
| MND0206 | Michael James Davis | 1994 | 1 |
| MND0207 | Wilhelmina Marie Wright | 2016 | 1 |
| MND0208 | Laura Margarete Provinzino | 2024 | 1 |
| MND0406 | Donovan W. Frank | 1998 | 1 |
| MND0407 | Eric Christian Tostrud | 2018 | 1 |
| MND0503 | Donald Douglas Alsop | 1974 | 1 |
| MND0504 | John R. Tunheim | 1995 | 1 |
| MND0505 | Jeffrey Marc Bryan | 2023 | 1 |
| MND0603 | Patrick Joseph Schiltz | 2006 | 1 |
| MND0702 | Ann D. Montgomery | 1996 | 1 |
| MND0703 | Nancy Ellen Brasel | 2018 | 1 |
| MND0802 | Susan Richard Nelson | 2010 | 1 |
| MND0803 | Jerry Wayne Blackwell | 2022 | 1 |
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MND0101 | Rensselaer Russell Nelson | 1896 | 1 |
| MND0102 | William Lochren | 1908 | 1 |
| MND0103 | Milton Dwight Purdy | 1909 | 1 |
| MND0104 | Milton Dwight Purdy | 1909 | 1 |
| MND0105 | Charles Andrew Willard | 1914 | 1 |
| MND0106 | Wilbur Franklin Booth | 1925 | 1 |
| MND0107 | John Benjamin Sanborn | 1932 | 1 |
| MND0108 | Matthew M. Joyce | 1956 | 1 |
| MND0109 | Edward James Devitt | 1992 | 1 |
| MND0201 | Page Morris | 1924 | 1 |
| MND0202 | William Alexander Cant | 1933 | 1 |
| MND0203 | Robert Cook Bell | 1964 | 1 |
| MND0204 | Earl Richard Larson | 2001 | 1 |
| MND0205 | Harry Hunter MacLaughlin | 2005 | 1 |
| MND0301 | John Franklin McGee | 1925 | 1 |
| MND0401 | Joseph West Molyneaux | 1940 | 1 |
| MND0402 | George F. Sullivan | 1944 | 1 |
| MND0403 | Dennis Francis Donovan | 1974 | 1 |
| MND0404 | Miles Welton Lord | 1985 | 1 |
| MND0405 | David Singleton Doty | 2026 | 1 |
| MND0501 | Gunnar Hans Nordbye | 1977 | 1 |
| MND0502 | Philip Neville | 1974 | 1 |
| MND0601 | Robert George Renner | 2005 | 1 |
| MND0602 | Richard House Kyle | 2021 | 1 |
| MND0701 | Diana E. Murphy | 1994 | 1 |
| MND0801 | James Michael Rosenbaum | 2010 | 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
- 10
- Republican
- 6
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Joseph R. Biden | 4 |
| William J. Clinton | 4 |
| Donald J. Trump | 2 |
| George W. Bush | 2 |
| Barack Obama | 2 |
| Richard M. Nixon | 1 |
| Ronald Reagan | 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)