# United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (in case citations, S.D. W. Va.) is a federal court in the Fourth 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 22, 1901.
As of October 13, 2021, the United States attorney for the District is William S. Thompson.

## Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia is one of two federal judicial districts in West Virginia. Court for the Southern District is held at Beckley, Bluefield, Charleston, and Huntington.
Beckley Division comprises the following counties: Greenbrier, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming.
Bluefield Division comprises the following counties: Mercer, McDowell, and Monroe.
Charleston Division comprises the following counties: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Nicholas, Roane, Wirt, and Wood.
Huntington Division comprises the following counties: Cabell, Mason, Putnam, and Wayne.

## Current judges

As of September 5, 2024:
| # | 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 |
| 19 | Chief Judge | Frank W. Volk | Beckley | 1965 | 2019–present | 2024–present | — | Trump |
| 15 | District Judge | Joseph R. Goodwin | Charleston | 1942 | 1995–present | 2007–2012 | — | Clinton |
| 16 | District Judge | Robert Charles Chambers | Huntington | 1952 | 1997–present | 2012–2017 | — | Clinton |
| 17 | District Judge | Thomas E. Johnston | Charleston | 1967 | 2006–present | 2017–2024 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 18 | District Judge | Irene Berger | Charleston | 1954 | 2009–present | — | — | Obama |
| 10 | Senior Judge | John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. | Charleston | 1925 | 1976–2018 | — | 2018–present | Ford |
| 14 | Senior Judge | David A. Faber | Bluefield | 1942 | 1991–2008 | 2002–2007 | 2008–present | G.H.W. Bush |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Benjamin Franklin Keller | WV | 1857–1921 | 1901–1921 | — | — | McKinley | death |
| 2 | George Warwick McClintic | WV | 1866–1942 | 1921–1941 | — | 1941–1942 | Harding | death |
| 3 | Harry Evans Watkins | WV | 1898–1963 | 1937–1963 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 4 | Ben Moore | WV | 1891–1958 | 1941–1958 | 1948–1958 | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 5 | John A. Field Jr. | WV | 1910–1995 | 1959–1971 | 1959–1971 | — | Eisenhower | elevation to 4th Cir. |
| 6 | Sidney Lee Christie | WV | 1903–1974 | 1964–1974 | 1971–1973 | — | L. Johnson | death |
| 7 | Dennis Raymond Knapp | WV | 1912–1998 | 1970–1983 | 1973–1982 | 1983–1998 | Nixon | death |
| 8 | Kenneth Keller Hall | WV | 1918–1999 | 1971–1976 | — | — | Nixon | elevation to 4th Cir. |
| 9 | Charles Harold Haden II | WV | 1937–2004 | 1975–2004 | 1982–2002 | — | Ford | death |
| 11 | Robert Jackson Staker | WV | 1925–2008 | 1979–1994 | — | 1994–2005 | Carter | retirement |
| 12 | William Matthew Kidd | WV | 1918–1998 | 1979–1983 | — | — | Carter | reassignment to N.D. W. Va. |
| 13 | Elizabeth Virginia Hallanan | WV | 1925–2004 | 1983–1996 | — | 1996–2004 | Reagan | death |
* 1 2 Jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia
* ↑ From 1975 to 1983, Judge Haden was jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.

## 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 January 22, 1901 by 31 Stat. 736 ||
| Keller | 1901–1921 |
| Seat abolished on August 8, 1921 (temporary judgeship expired) ||
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on June 25, 1921 by 42 Stat. 67 (temporary) ||||
| Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on August 8, 1921 ||||
| McClintic | 1921–1941 |
| Moore | 1941–1958 |
| Field, Jr. | 1959–1971 |
| Hall | 1971–1976 |
| Copenhaver, Jr. | 1976–2018 |
| Volk | 2019–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on June 22, 1936 by 49 Stat. 1805 (temporary, concurrent with Northern District) ||||
| Seat made permanent on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 ||||
| Watkins | 1937–1963 |
| Christie | 1964–1974 |
| Seat assigned solely to Southern District on January 14, 1983 by 96 Stat. 2601 ||||
| Haden II | 1975–2004 |
| Johnston | 2006–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 ||||
| Knapp | 1970–1983 |
| Hallanan | 1983–1996 |
| Chambers | 1997–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Staker | 1979–1994 |
| Goodwin | 1995–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 (temporary) ||
| Kidd | 1979–1983 |
| Seat made permanent and reassigned to Northern District on January 14, 1983, by 96 Stat. 2601 ||
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Faber | 1991–2008 |
| Berger | 2009–present |