# United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (in case citations, W.D. Okla. or W.D. Ok.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
The District was established on June 16, 1906, and became operational on November 16, 1907, with Oklahoma achieving statehood.

## Organization

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma is one of three federal judicial districts in Oklahoma. Court for the District is held at Lawton and Oklahoma City.
Enid and Ponca City Division comprises the following counties: Alfalfa, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Noble, and Payne.
Lawton and Mangum Division comprises the following counties: Beckham, Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens, Tillman, and Washita.
Oklahoma City, Guthrie, Chickasha, Pauls Valley, and Shawnee Division comprises the following counties: Blaine, Canadian, Cleveland, Garvin, Grady, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, McClain, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie.
Woodward Division comprises the following counties: Beaver, Cimarron, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Major, Roger Mills, Texas, Woods, and Woodward.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of December 28, 2021 the United States attorney is Robert J. Troester.

## Current judges

As of May 27, 2020:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 24 | Chief Judge | Timothy D. DeGiusti | Oklahoma City | 1962 | 2007–present | 2019–present | — | G.W. Bush |
| 25 | District Judge | Scott L. Palk | Oklahoma City | 1967 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
| 26 | District Judge | Charles Barnes Goodwin | Oklahoma City | 1970 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 27 | District Judge | Patrick Wyrick | Oklahoma City | 1981 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 28 | District Judge | Jodi W. Dishman | Oklahoma City | 1979 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 29 | District Judge | Bernard M. Jones | Oklahoma City | 1979 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 30 | District Judge | John F. Heil III | none | 1968 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 14 | Senior Judge | David Lynn Russell | Oklahoma City | 1942 | 1981–2013 | 1994–2001 | 2013–present | Reagan |
| 15 | Senior Judge | Wayne Alley | inactive | 1932 | 1985–1999 | — | 1999–present | Reagan |
| 17 | Senior Judge | Robin J. Cauthron | inactive | 1950 | 1991–2015 | 2001–2008 | 2015–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 18 | Senior Judge | Timothy D. Leonard | inactive | 1940 | 1992–2006 | — | 2006–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 20 | Senior Judge | Vicki Miles-LaGrange | inactive | 1953 | 1994–2018 | 2008–2015 | 2018–present | Clinton |
| 21 | Senior Judge | James H. Payne | none | 1941 | 2001–2017 | — | 2017–present | G.W. Bush |
| 22 | Senior Judge | Stephen P. Friot | Oklahoma City | 1947 | 2001–2014 | — | 2014–present | G.W. Bush |
| 23 | Senior Judge | Joe L. Heaton | Oklahoma City | 1951 | 2001–2019 | 2015–2019 | 2019–present | G.W. Bush |
* 1 2 Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma.
* ↑ Judge Heil maintains chambers only in the Eastern and Northern Districts.
* ↑ From 1981 to 1990, Judge Russell was jointly appointed to the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma.
* ↑ Judge Payne maintains chambers only in the Eastern and Northern Districts.

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | John Hazelton Cotteral | OK | 1864–1933 | 1907–1928 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | elevation to 8th Cir. |
| 2 | Edgar Sullins Vaught | OK | 1873–1959 | 1928–1956 | 1949–1956 | 1956–1959 | Coolidge | death |
| 3 | Alfred P. Murrah | OK | 1904–1975 | 1937–1940 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to 10th Cir. |
| 4 | Bower Slack Broaddus | OK | 1888–1949 | 1940–1949 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 5 | Stephen Sanders Chandler Jr. | OK | 1899–1989 | 1943–1975 | 1956–1969 | 1975–1989 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 6 | William Robert Wallace | OK | 1886–1960 | 1950–1960 | — | — | Truman | death |
| 7 | Ross Rizley | OK | 1892–1969 | 1956–1969 | — | — | Eisenhower | death |
| 8 | Luther L. Bohanon | OK | 1902–2003 | 1961–1974 | 1969–1972 | 1974–2003 | Kennedy | death |
| 9 | Frederick Alvin Daugherty | OK | 1914–2006 | 1961–1982 | 1972–1982 | 1982–2006 | Kennedy | death |
| 10 | Luther Boyd Eubanks | OK | 1917–1996 | 1965–1986 | 1982–1986 | 1986–1987 | L. Johnson | retirement |
| 11 | H. Dale Cook | OK | 1924–2008 | 1974–1992 | — | 1992–2008 | Ford | death |
| 12 | Ralph Gordon Thompson | OK | 1934–present | 1975–1999 | 1986–1993 | 1999–2007 | Ford | retirement |
| 13 | Lee Roy West | OK | 1929–2020 | 1979–1994 | 1993–1994 | 1994–2020 | Carter | death |
| 16 | Layn R. Phillips | OK | 1952–present | 1987–1991 | — | — | Reagan | resignation |
| 19 | Michael Burrage | OK | 1950–present | 1994–2001 | — | — | Clinton | resignation |
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 3, 1907, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 13, 1908, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1928, confirmed by the Senate on January 8, 1929, and received commission the same day.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the Senate on February 7, 1962, and received commission on February 17, 1962.

## Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat established on November 16, 1907 by 34 Stat. 267 ||
| Cotteral | 1907–1928 |
| Vaught | 1929–1956 |
| Rizley | 1956–1969 |
| Seat abolished on March 4, 1969 (temporary judgeship expired) ||
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on June 22, 1936 by 49 Stat. 1804 (concurrent with Eastern and Northern Districts) ||||
| Murrah | 1937–1940 |
| Broaddus | 1940–1949 |
| Wallace | 1950–1960 |
| Bohanon | 1961–1974 |
| Cook | 1974–1992 |
| Burrage | 1994–2001 |
| Payne | 2001–2017 |
| Heil III | 2020–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on May 24, 1940 by 54 Stat. 219 (temporary) ||||
| Seat made permanent on August 3, 1949 by 63 Stat. 493 ||||
| Chandler, Jr. | 1943–1975 |
| Thompson | 1975–1999 |
| Heaton | 2001–2019 |
| Jones II | 2019–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 (concurrent with Eastern and Northern Districts) ||||
| Daugherty | 1961–1982 |
| Seat reassigned solely to Western District on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Russell | 1981–2013 |
| Wyrick | 2019–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on 1965 pursuant to 71 Stat. 586 (temporary) ||||
| Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on March 4, 1969 ||||
| Eubanks | 1965–1986 |
| Phillips | 1987–1991 |
| Leonard | 1992–2006 |
| DeGiusti | 2007–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| West | 1979–1994 |
| Miles-LaGrange | 1994–2018 |
| Dishman | 2019–present |
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Alley | 1985–1999 |
| Friot | 2001–2014 |
| Palk | 2017–present |
Seat 8 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Cauthron | 1991–2015 |
| Goodwin | 2018–present |