# United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (in case citations, W.D. Tenn.) is the federal district court covering the western part of the state of Tennessee. Appeals from the Western District of Tennessee are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

## Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Western District of Tennessee comprises the following counties: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Tipton, and Weakley.
The court's jurisdiction includes the entirety of West Tennessee, plus Perry County in Middle Tennessee. This area includes the cities of Jackson and Memphis.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of September 18, 2024 the Office of the United States attorney is vacant.

## History

The United States District Court for the District of Tennessee was established with one judgeship on January 31, 1797, by 1 Stat. 496. The judgeship was filled by President George Washington's appointment of John McNairy. Since Congress failed to assign the district to a circuit, the court had the jurisdiction of both a district court and a circuit court. Appeals from this one district court went directly to the United States Supreme Court.
On February 13, 1801, in the famous "Midnight Judges" Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, Congress abolished the U.S. district court in Tennessee, and expanded the number of circuits to six, provided for independent circuit court judgeships, and abolished the necessity of Supreme Court Justices riding the circuits. It was this legislation which created the grandfather of the present Sixth Circuit. The act provided for a "Sixth Circuit" comprising two districts in the State of Tennessee, one district in the State of Kentucky and one district, called the Ohio District, composed of the Ohio and Indiana territories (the latter including the present State of Michigan). The new Sixth Circuit Court was to be held at "Bairdstown" in the District of Kentucky, at Knoxville in the District of East Tennessee, at Nashville in the District of West Tennessee, and at Cincinnati in the District of Ohio. Unlike the other circuits which were provided with three circuit judges, the Sixth Circuit was to have only one circuit judge with district judges from Kentucky and Tennessee comprising the rest of the court. Any two judges constituted a quorum. New circuit judgeships were to be created as district judgeships in Kentucky and Tennessee became vacant.
The repeal of this Act restored the District on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132. The District was divided into the Eastern and Western Districts on April 29, 1802. On February 24, 1807, Congress again abolished the two districts and created the United States Circuit for the District of Tennessee. On March 3, 1837, Congress assigned the judicial district of Tennessee to the Eighth Circuit. On June 18, 1839, by 5 Stat. 313, Congress divided Tennessee into three districts, Eastern, Middle, and Western. Again, only one judgeship was allotted for all three districts. On July 15, 1862, Congress reassigned appellate jurisdiction to the Sixth Circuit. Finally, on June 14, 1878, Congress authorized a separate judgeship for the Western District of Tennessee. President Rutherford B. Hayes then appointed Eli Shelby Hammond as the first judge for only the Western District of Tennessee.
There are now five permanent judgeships and four magistrate judgeships for the Western District of Tennessee.

## Current judges

As of January 20, 2023:
| # | 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 | Sheryl H. Lipman | Memphis | 1963 | 2014–present | 2023–present | — | Obama |
| 22 | District Judge | S. Thomas Anderson | Jackson | 1953 | 2008–present | 2017–2023 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 25 | District Judge | Tommy Parker | Memphis | 1963 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 26 | District Judge | Mark Norris | Memphis | 1955 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 27 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Senior Judge | James Dale Todd | inactive | 1943 | 1985–2008 | 2001–2007 | 2008–present | Reagan |
| 18 | Senior Judge | Jon Phipps McCalla | Memphis | 1947 | 1992–2013 | 2008–2013 | 2013–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 20 | Senior Judge | Samuel H. Mays Jr. | Memphis | 1948 | 2002–2015 | — | 2015–present | G.W. Bush |
| 21 | Senior Judge | J. Daniel Breen | Jackson | 1950 | 2003–2017 | 2013–2017 | 2017–present | G.W. Bush |
| 23 | Senior Judge | John T. Fowlkes Jr. | Memphis | 1951 | 2012–2022 | — | 2022–present | Obama |

## Vacancies and pending nominations

| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| 3 | Memphis | John T. Fowlkes Jr. | Senior status | September 1, 2022 | – | – |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | John McNairy | TN | 1762–1837 | 1802–1833 | — | — | Washington/Operation of law | resignation |
| 2 | Morgan Welles Brown | TN | 1800–1853 | 1834–1853 | — | — | Jackson | death |
| 3 | West Hughes Humphreys | TN | 1806–1882 | 1853–1862 | — | — | Pierce | impeachment and conviction |
| 4 | Connally Findlay Trigg | TN | 1810–1880 | 1862–1878 | — | — | Lincoln | seat abolished |
| 5 | Eli Shelby Hammond | TN | 1838–1904 | 1878–1904 | — | — | Hayes | death |
| 6 | John E. McCall | TN | 1859–1920 | 1905–1920 | — | — | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 7 | John William Ross | TN | 1878–1925 | 1921–1925 | — | — | Harding | death |
| 8 | Harry Bennett Anderson | TN | 1879–1935 | 1925–1935 | — | — | Coolidge | death |
| 9 | John Donelson Martin Sr. | TN | 1883–1962 | 1935–1940 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to 6th Cir. |
| 10 | Marion Speed Boyd | TN | 1900–1988 | 1940–1966 | 1961–1966 | 1966–1988 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 11 | Bailey Brown | TN | 1917–2004 | 1961–1979 | 1966–1979 | — | Kennedy | elevation to 6th Cir. |
| 12 | Robert Malcolm McRae Jr. | TN | 1921–2004 | 1966–1986 | 1979–1986 | 1986–2004 | L. Johnson | death |
| 13 | Harry W. Wellford | TN | 1924–2021 | 1970–1982 | — | — | Nixon | elevation to 6th Cir. |
| 14 | Odell Horton | TN | 1929–2006 | 1980–1995 | 1987–1994 | 1995–2006 | Carter | death |
| 15 | Julia Smith Gibbons | TN | 1950–present | 1983–2002 | 1994–2000 | — | Reagan | elevation to 6th Cir. |
| 17 | Jerome Turner | TN | 1942–2000 | 1987–2000 | — | — | Reagan | death |
| 19 | Bernice B. Donald | TN | 1951–present | 1995–2011 | — | — | Clinton | elevation to 6th Cir. |
* ↑ Reassigned from the District of Tennessee.
* 1 2 Jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee
* ↑ From 1839 to 1853, Judge Brown was jointly appointed to the Middle District of Tennessee.
* 1 2 Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1925, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 29, 1926, and received commission the same day.

## 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 reassigned from District of Tennessee on April 29, 1802 by 2 Stat. 165 (concurrent with Eastern District) ||
| McNairy | 1802–1833 |
| Seat made concurrent with Middle District on June 18, 1839 by 5 Stat. 313 ||
| Brown | 1833–1853 |
| Humphreys | 1853–1862 |
| Trigg | 1862–1878 |
| Seat reassigned solely to Eastern and Middle Districts on June 14, 1878 by 20 Stat. 132 ||
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on June 14, 1878 by 20 Stat. 132 ||||
| Hammond | 1878–1904 |
| McCall | 1905–1920 |
| Ross | 1921–1925 |
| H. Anderson | 1926–1935 |
| Martin, Sr. | 1935–1940 |
| Boyd | 1940–1966 |
| McRae, Jr. | 1966–1986 |
| Turner | 1987–2000 |
| Mays, Jr. | 2002–2015 |
| Parker | 2018–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 ||||
| Brown | 1961–1979 |
| Horton | 1980–1995 |
| Donald | 1995–2011 |
| Fowlkes, Jr. | 2012–2022 |
| vacant | 2022–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 ||||
| Wellford | 1970–1982 |
| Gibbons | 1983–2002 |
| Breen | 2003–2017 |
| Norris, Sr. | 2018–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Todd | 1985–2008 |
| S. Anderson | 2008–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| McCalla | 1992–2013 |
| Lipman | 2014–present |

## Courthouses

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee is based out of two courthouses, the Odell Horton Federal Building on 167 North Main Street in downtown Memphis and the Ed Jones Federal Building in Jackson, Tennessee.

## List of U.S. attorneys

* Thomas Stuart 1803–1810
* John E. Beck 1810–1818
* Henry Crabb 1818–1827
* Thomas H. Fletcher 1827–1829
* James Collinsworth 1829–1835
* William T. Brown 1835–1836
* James P. Grundy 1836–1838
* Joseph H. Talbot 1838-1838
* Henry W. McCorry 1838–1850
* Charles N. Gibbs 1850–1853
* Richard J. Hays 1853–1856
* Alexander W. McCampbell 1856–1861
* John M. McCarmack 1861–1877
* W.W. Murray 1877–1882
* William F. Poston 1882–1885
* Henry W. McCorry 1885–1889
* Samuel W. Hawkins 1889–1894
* Julius A. Taylor 1894–1895
* Charles B. Simonton 1895–1898
* George Randolph 1898–1910
* Casey Todd 1910–1914
* Hubert F. Fisher 1914–1917
* William D. Kyser 1917–1921
* S.E. Murray 1921–1926
* Tilmon A. Lancaster 1926–1926
* Nugent Dodds 1926–1926
* Lindsay B. Phillips 1926–1931
* Nelson H. Carver 1931–1932
* Dwayne D. Maddox 1932–1933
* William McClanahan 1933–1948
* John Brown 1948–1953
* Milsaps Fitzhugh 1953–1960
* Warner Hodges 1960–1961
* Thomas L. Robinson 1961–1969
* Thomas F. Turley, Jr. 1969–1977
* W.J. Michael Cody 1977–1981
* Hickman Ewing 1981–1991
* Ed Bryant 1991–1993
* Daniel A. Clancy 1993
* Veronica F. Coleman 1993–2001
* Lawrence J. Laurenzi 2001-2001
* Terrell L. Harris 2001–2005
* Lawrence J. Laurenzi 2005–2006
* David Kustoff 2006–2008
* Lawrence J. Laurenzi 2008–2010
* Edward L. Stanton III 2010–2017
* Lawrence J. Laurenzi 2017
* D. Michael Dunavant 2017–2021
* Joseph C. Murphy Jr. 2021–2022
* Kevin G. Ritz 2022–2024
* Reagan T. Fondren 2024–present