WriteTheUS

District Court · Tenth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

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.

Judges currently in service
JudgeSinceNominated bySeat
David Lynn Russell Senior1981Ronald ReaganOKWD0402
Wayne Edward Alley Senior1985Ronald ReaganOKWD0701
Robin J. Cauthron Senior1991George H.W. BushOKWD0801
Vicki Miles-LaGrange Senior1994William J. ClintonOKWD0602
Stephen P. Friot Senior2001George W. BushOKWD0702
Joe L. Heaton Senior2001George W. BushOKWD0303
Timothy D. DeGiusti2007George W. BushOKWD0504
Scott Lawrence Palk2017Donald J. TrumpOKWD0703
Charles Barnes Goodwin2018Donald J. TrumpOKWD0802
Patrick Robert Wyrick2019Donald J. TrumpOKWD0403
Jodi Warmbrod Dishman2019Donald J. TrumpOKWD0603
Bernard M. Jones2019Donald J. TrumpOKWD0304
John Frederick Heil III2020Donald J. TrumpOKWD0208

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
13
Seat numbers on record
30
Seats with a sitting judge
SeatHeld bySinceHolders to date
OKWD0208John Frederick Heil III20201
OKWD0303Joe L. Heaton20011
OKWD0304Bernard M. Jones20191
OKWD0402David Lynn Russell19811
OKWD0403Patrick Robert Wyrick20191
OKWD0504Timothy D. DeGiusti20071
OKWD0602Vicki Miles-LaGrange19941
OKWD0603Jodi Warmbrod Dishman20191
OKWD0701Wayne Edward Alley19851
OKWD0702Stephen P. Friot20011
OKWD0703Scott Lawrence Palk20171
OKWD0801Robin J. Cauthron19911
OKWD0802Charles Barnes Goodwin20181
17 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.

SeatLast held byUntilHolders
OKWD0101John Hazelton Cotteral19281
OKWD0102Edgar Sullins Vaught19591
OKWD0103Ross Rizley19691
OKWD0201Alfred Paul Murrah19401
OKWD0202Bower Slack Broaddus19491
OKWD0203William Robert Wallace19601
OKWD0204Luther Lee Bohanon20031
OKWD0205Harold Dale Cook20081
OKWD0206Billy Michael Burrage20011
OKWD0207James H. Payne20251
OKWD0301Stephen Sanders Chandler Jr.19891
OKWD0302Ralph Gordon Thompson20071
OKWD0401Frederick Alvin Daugherty20061
OKWD0501Luther Boyd Eubanks19871
OKWD0502Layn R. Phillips19911
OKWD0503Timothy D. Leonard20261
OKWD0601Lee Roy West20201

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.

Republican
12
Democratic
1
Sitting judges by appointing president
PresidentJudges
Donald J. Trump6
George W. Bush3
Ronald Reagan2
George H.W. Bush1
William J. Clinton1

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)