# United States District Court for the District of Wyoming

The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (in case citations, D. Wyo.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Idaho; it is the only federal court district that includes portions of more than one state, creating a possible "Zone of Death" where it would be difficult to prosecute crimes. The court has locations in Cheyenne and Casper.
Appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for 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 United States Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of January 13, 2025, the acting United States attorney is Eric Heimann.

## Current judges

As of March 12, 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 |
| 8 | Chief Judge | Scott W. Skavdahl | Casper | 1966 | 2011–present | 2018–present | — | Obama |
| 5 | District Judge | Alan Bond Johnson | Cheyenne | 1939 | 1985–present | 1992–1999 | — | Reagan |
| 9 | District Judge | Kelly H. Rankin | Cheyenne | 1967 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 7 | Senior Judge | Nancy D. Freudenthal | Cheyenne | 1954 | 2010–2022 | 2011–2018 | 2022–present | Obama |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | John Alden Riner | WY | 1850–1923 | 1890–1921 | — | 1921–1923 | B. Harrison | death |
| 2 | Thomas Blake Kennedy | WY | 1874–1957 | 1921–1955 | — | 1955–1957 | Harding | death |
| 3 | Ewing Thomas Kerr | WY | 1900–1992 | 1955–1975 | — | 1975–1992 | Eisenhower | death |
| 4 | Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr. | WY | 1922–2014 | 1975–2006 | 1986–1992 | 2006–2014 | Ford | death |
| 6 | William F. Downes | WY | 1946–present | 1994–2011 | 1999–2011 | — | Clinton | retirement |
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 12, 1956, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 1, 1956, and received commission on March 2, 1956

## 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.

## Zone of death

Law professor Brian C. Kalt has argued that it may be impossible to impanel a jury in compliance with the Vicinage Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution for a crime committed solely in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National Park (and that it would be difficult to do so for a crime committed solely in the Montana portion). This has been referred to as the Zone of Death.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1890 by 26 Stat. 222 ||||
| Riner | 1890–1921 |
| Kennedy | 1921–1955 |
| Kerr | 1955–1975 |
| Brimmer, Jr. | 1975–2006 |
| Freudenthal | 2010–2022 |
| Rankin | 2024–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Johnson | 1985–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Downes | 1994–2011 |
| Skavdahl | 2011–present |

## United States attorneys for the District of Wyoming

U.S. attorneys for Wyoming including the Wyoming Territory:
| Name | Term started | Term ended | Presidents served under |
| Joseph M. Carey | 1869 | 1871 | Ulysses S. Grant |
| John James Jenkins | 1876 | 1880 | Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Anthony C. Campbell | 1885 | 1890 | Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison |
| Benjamin F. Fowler | 1890 | 1894 | Benjamin Harrison |
| Gibson Clark | 1894 | 1898 | Grover Cleveland and William McKinley |
| Benjamin M. Ausherman | 1898 | 1907 | William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt |
| Timothy F. Burke | 1907 | 1911 | Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft |
| Hillard S. Ridgely | 1911 | 1914 | William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson |
| Charles L. Rigdon | 1914 | 1921 | Woodrow Wilson |
| Albert D. Walton | 1921 | 1933 | Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover |
| Carl L. Sackett | 1933 | 1949 | Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman |
| John Coleman Pickett | 1949 | 1949 | Harry Truman |
| John J. Hickey | 1949 | 1953 | Harry Truman |
| John F. Raper | 1953 | 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Robert N. Chaffin | 1961 | 1969 | John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Richard V. Thomas | 1969 | 1974 | Richard Nixon |
| Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr. | 1974 | 1975 | Gerald Ford |
| James P. Castberg | 1975 | 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| Toshiro Suyematsu | 1977 | 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| Charles E. Graves | 1977 | 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| Toshiro Suyematsu | 1981 | 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| Richard A. Stacy | 1981 | 1994 | Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton |
| Dave Freudenthal | 1994 | 2001 | Bill Clinton and George W. Bush |
| Matt Mead | 2001 | 2007 | George W. Bush |
| John R. Green | 2007 | 2008 | George W. Bush |
| Kelly H. Rankin | 2008 | 2009 | George W. Bush and Barack Obama |
| Christopher A. Crofts | 2010 | 2017 | Barack Obama |
| Mark Klaassen | 2017 | 2021 | Donald Trump and Joe Biden |
| L. Robert Murray | 2021 | 2022 | Joe Biden |
| Nicholas Vassallo | 2022 | 2024 | Joe Biden |
| Eric Heimann | 2024 | present | Joe Biden |