# United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Richmond metro areas and surrounding locations with courthouses located in Alexandria, Norfolk, Richmond and Newport News (whose judges are shared with Norfolk).
Appeals from the Eastern District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for 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.

## History

The United States District Court for the District of Virginia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.
On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, divided Virginia into three judicial districts: the District of Virginia, which included the counties west of the Tidewater and south of the Rappahannock River; the District of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and the District of Potomac, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well as Maryland counties along the Potomac. Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single district again, 2 Stat. 132, effective July 1, 1802.
The District of Virginia was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by 3 Stat. 478. At that time, West Virginia was still part of Virginia, and was encompassed in Virginia's Western District, while the Eastern District essentially covered what is now the entire state of Virginia. With the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the American Civil War, the Western District of Virginia became the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with the Eastern District to again form a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by 13 Stat. 124. Congress again divided Virginia into the Eastern and Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by 16 Stat. 403.
During the 1960s, Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. ran the Alexandria court, often ruled cases on the spot after motions were argued. The court earned the nickname of "rocket docket" for the speed and efficiency for which it processes its cases. Since 1997, the court has processed civil cases the fastest of the 94 federal districts, and eighth fastest in dealing with criminal cases. Courts at Richmond are located in the Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. Federal Courthouse, having previously been held in the historic Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse.

## Jurisdiction

The Eastern District of Virginia court's jurisdiction covers slightly over six million people, comprising approximately 85% of the state's population. Its jurisdiction is grouped into four geographic divisions:

### Alexandria Division

The Alexandria Division covers the counties of suburban Washington, D.C.: Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford, and includes the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Falls Church.

### Richmond Division

The Richmond Division comprises the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Surry, Sussex, and Westmoreland, as well as independent cities such as Colonial Heights and Fredericksburg.

### Norfolk Division

Norfolk Division includes the counties of Accomack, Northampton, Isle of Wight, Southampton, and independent cities such as Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.

### Newport News Division

The Newport News Division includes the counties of Gloucester, Mathews, York County, James City and cities such as Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg.

## United States Attorney

The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is Erik S. Siebert, serving as prosecution for criminal cases brought by the federal government, and representing the United States in civil cases in the court. The U.S. Attorney's office also manages the Project Safe Neighborhoods program within the district to reduce gun violence, and is involved with federal initiatives on drug trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, and the prevention of elder care abuse.

## Current judges

As of August 18, 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 |
| 40 | Chief Judge | Mark Steven Davis | Norfolk Newport News | 1962 | 2008–present | 2018–present | — | G.W. Bush |
| 33 | District Judge | Leonie Brinkema | Alexandria | 1944 | 1993–present | — | — | Clinton |
| 43 | District Judge | Arenda Wright Allen | Norfolk Newport News | 1960 | 2011–present | — | — | Obama |
| 44 | District Judge | M. Hannah Lauck | Richmond | 1963 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 45 | District Judge | Rossie D. Alston Jr. | Alexandria | 1957 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 46 | District Judge | David J. Novak | Richmond | 1961 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 47 | District Judge | Roderick C. Young | Richmond | 1966 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 48 | District Judge | Patricia Tolliver Giles | Alexandria | 1973 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 49 | District Judge | Michael S. Nachmanoff | Alexandria | 1968 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 50 | District Judge | Elizabeth Hanes | Norfolk Newport News | 1978 | 2022–present | — | — | Biden |
| 51 | District Judge | Jamar K. Walker | Norfolk Newport News | 1986 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 27 | Senior Judge | Claude M. Hilton | Alexandria | 1940 | 1985–2005 | 1997–2004 | 2005–present | Reagan |
| 29 | Senior Judge | T. S. Ellis III | inactive | 1940 | 1987–2007 | — | 2007–present | Reagan |
| 30 | Senior Judge | Rebecca Beach Smith | Norfolk Newport News | 1949 | 1989–2019 | 2011–2018 | 2019–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 32 | Senior Judge | Robert E. Payne | Richmond | 1941 | 1992–2007 | — | 2007–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 34 | Senior Judge | Raymond Alvin Jackson | Norfolk Newport News | 1949 | 1993–2021 | — | 2021–present | Clinton |
| 37 | Senior Judge | Henry E. Hudson | Richmond | 1947 | 2002–2018 | — | 2018–present | G.W. Bush |
| 41 | Senior Judge | Anthony Trenga | Alexandria | 1949 | 2008–2021 | — | 2021–present | G.W. Bush |
| 42 | Senior Judge | John A. Gibney Jr. | Richmond | 1951 | 2010–2021 | — | 2021–present | Obama |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | St. George Tucker | VA | 1752–1827 | 1813–1825 | — | — | Madison | resignation |
| 2 | George Hay | VA | 1765–1830 | 1825–1830 | — | — | J.Q. Adams | death |
| 3 | Philip P. Barbour | VA | 1783–1841 | 1830–1836 | — | — | Jackson | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 4 | Peter Vivian Daniel | VA | 1784–1860 | 1836–1841 | — | — | Jackson | elevation to Supreme Court |
| 5 | John Y. Mason | VA | 1799–1859 | 1841–1844 | — | — | Van Buren | resignation |
| 6 | James Dandridge Halyburton | VA | 1803–1879 | 1844–1861 | — | — | Tyler | resignation |
| 7 | John Curtiss Underwood | VA | 1809–1873 | 1863–1864 1871–1873 | — | — | Lincoln Operation of law | reassignment to D. Va. death |
| 8 | Robert William Hughes | VA | 1821–1901 | 1874–1898 | — | — | Grant | retirement |
| 9 | Edmund Waddill Jr. | VA | 1855–1931 | 1898–1921 | — | — | McKinley | elevation to 4th Cir. |
| 10 | Duncan Lawrence Groner | VA | 1873–1957 | 1921–1931 | — | — | Harding | elevation to D.C. Cir. |
| 11 | Luther B. Way | VA | 1879–1943 | 1931–1943 | — | — | Hoover | death |
| 12 | Robert Nelson Pollard | VA | 1880–1954 | 1936–1947 | — | 1947–1954 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 13 | Charles Sterling Hutcheson | VA | 1894–1969 | 1944–1959 | 1948–1959 | 1959–1969 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 14 | Albert Vickers Bryan | VA | 1899–1984 | 1947–1961 | 1959–1961 | — | Truman | elevation to 4th Cir. |
| 15 | Walter Edward Hoffman | VA | 1907–1996 | 1954–1974 | 1961–1973 | 1974–1996 | Eisenhower | death |
| 16 | Oren Ritter Lewis | VA | 1902–1983 | 1960–1974 | — | 1974–1983 | Eisenhower | death |
| 17 | John D. Butzner Jr. | VA | 1917–2006 | 1962–1967 | — | — | Kennedy | elevation to 4th Cir. |
| 18 | Richard Boykin Kellam | VA | 1909–1996 | 1967–1981 | 1973–1979 | 1981–1996 | L. Johnson | death |
| 19 | John Ashton MacKenzie | VA | 1917–2010 | 1967–1985 | 1979–1985 | 1985–1998 | L. Johnson | retirement |
| 20 | Robert R. Merhige Jr. | VA | 1919–2005 | 1967–1986 | — | 1986–1998 | L. Johnson | retirement |
| 21 | Albert Vickers Bryan Jr. | VA | 1926–2019 | 1971–1991 | 1985–1991 | 1991–2019 | Nixon | death |
| 22 | David Dortch Warriner | VA | 1929–1986 | 1974–1986 | — | — | Nixon | death |
| 23 | Joseph Calvitt Clarke Jr. | VA | 1920–2004 | 1974–1991 | — | 1991–2004 | Ford | death |
| 24 | Richard Leroy Williams | VA | 1923–2011 | 1980–1992 | — | 1992–2011 | Carter | death |
| 25 | James C. Cacheris | VA | 1933–present | 1981–1998 | 1991–1997 | 1998–2018 | Reagan | retirement |
| 26 | Robert G. Doumar | VA | 1930–2023 | 1981–1996 | — | 1996–2023 | Reagan | death |
| 28 | James R. Spencer | VA | 1949–present | 1986–2014 | 2004–2011 | 2014–2017 | Reagan | retirement |
| 31 | Henry Coke Morgan Jr. | VA | 1935–2022 | 1992–2004 | — | 2004–2022 | G.H.W. Bush | death |
| 35 | Jerome B. Friedman | VA | 1943–present | 1997–2010 | — | 2010–2011 | Clinton | retirement |
| 36 | Gerald Bruce Lee | VA | 1952–present | 1998–2017 | — | — | Clinton | retirement |
| 38 | Walter D. Kelley Jr. | VA | 1955–present | 2004–2008 | — | — | G.W. Bush | resignation |
| 39 | Liam O'Grady | VA | 1950–present | 2007–2020 | — | 2020–2023 | G.W. Bush | retirement |
* ↑ Initially appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Virginia, reassigned by operation of law to the Eastern District of Virginia on February 4, 1819.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 13, 1825, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 31, 1826, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 14, 1830, confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 1830, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1864, confirmed by the Senate on January 25, 1864, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Reassigned from the United States District Court for the District of Virginia on June 11, 1864.

## 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 the District of Virginia on February 4, 1819 by 3 Stat. 478 ||||
| Tucker | 1819–1825 |
| Hay | 1825–1830 |
| Barbour | 1830–1836 |
| Daniel | 1836–1841 |
| Mason | 1841–1844 |
| Halyburton | 1844–1861 |
| Underwood | 1863–1864 |
| Seat reassigned to the District of Virginia on June 11, 1864 by 13 Stat. 124 ||||
| Seat reassigned from the District of Virginia on February 3, 1871 by 16 Stat. 403 ||||
| Underwood | 1871–1873 |
| Hughes | 1874–1898 |
| Waddill Jr. | 1898–1921 |
| Groner | 1921–1931 |
| Way | 1931–1943 |
| Hutcheson | 1944–1959 |
| Lewis | 1960–1974 |
| Warriner | 1974–1986 |
| Smith | 1989–2019 |
| Young | 2020–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on August 2, 1935 by 49 Stat. 508 ||||
| Pollard | 1936–1947 |
| Bryan | 1947–1961 |
| Butzner Jr. | 1962–1967 |
| Merhige Jr. | 1967–1986 |
| Ellis III | 1987–2007 |
| Davis | 2008–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 ||||
| Hoffman | 1954–1974 |
| Clarke Jr. | 1974–1991 |
| Payne | 1992–2007 |
| Gibney Jr. | 2010–2021 |
| Hanes | 2022–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 ||||
| Kellam | 1967–1981 |
| Doumar | 1981–1996 |
| Friedman | 1997–2010 |
| Allen | 2011–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 ||||
| MacKenzie | 1967–1985 |
| Spencer | 1986–2014 |
| Lauck | 2014–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 ||||
| Bryan Jr. | 1971–1991 |
| Brinkema | 1993–present |
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Williams | 1980–1992 |
| Jackson | 1993–2021 |
| Walker | 2023–present |
Seat 8 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Cacheris | 1981–1998 |
| Lee | 1998–2017 |
| Alston Jr. | 2019–present |
Seat 9 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Hilton | 1985–2005 |
| O'Grady | 2007–2020 |
| Giles | 2021–present |
Seat 10 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary) ||||
| Seat made permanent on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 ||||
| Morgan Jr. | 1992–2004 |
| Kelley Jr. | 2004–2008 |
| Trenga | 2008–2021 |
| Nachmanoff | 2021–present |
Seat 11 :
| Seat established on December 21, 2000 by 114 Stat. 2762 ||||
| Hudson | 2002–2018 |
| Novak | 2019–present |

## Notable cases

The Eastern District of Virginia has handled many notable cases, including:
* United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui, No. 01-455-A (E.D. Va.)
* United States v. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
* United States v. John Walker Lindh, No. 02-37-A (E.D. Va.)
* Yaser Hamdi v. Donald Rumsfeld, No. 02-439 (E.D. Va.)
* United States v. Michael Vick, No. 3:07CR274 (E.D. Va) (the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting case)
* eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 271 F. Supp. 2d 789 (E.D. Va. 2002) (in which the court took the position, eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, that a prevailing plaintiff in a patent suit is not necessarily entitled to injunctive relief)
* Extradition of Kevin Dahlgren, charged with committing mass murder in Brno, Czech Republic in 2013
* Bostic v. Rainey
* Matter of Baby K, controversial ruling to provide life-sustaining care to an anencephalic newborn.
* United States v. Paul J. Manafort Jr.
* Chelsea Manning's contempt of court case
* United States v Daniel Hale
* United States v Javaid Perwaiz
* United States v. Randall Todd Royer, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi, Masoud Ahmad Khan, Yong Ki Kwon, Mohammed Aatique, Seifullah Chapman, Donald Thomas Surratt, Caliph Basha Ibn Abdur-Raheem, Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, and Sabri Benkhala (E.D. Va., 2004)
* Cable News Network L.P. v. CNNews.com, 162 F.Supp.2d 484 (E.D. Va., 2001)
* Petition of Nemetz

## United States Attorneys

List of U.S. Attorneys since 1831
* Thomas E. Burfoot (1831–1833)
* Robert C. Nicholas (1833–1850)
* William T. Joynes (1850–1853)
* John Munford Gregory (1853–1860)
* Patrick H. Aylett (1860–1861)
* A. Judson Crane (1861–1863)
* Lucius H. Chandler (1863–1870)
* Henry H. Wells (1870–1874)
* Lunsford L. Lewis (1874–1882)
* John Sergeant Wise (1882–1883)
* Edmund Waddill Jr. (1883–1885)
* John C. Gibson (1885–1889)
* Thomas R. Borland (1889–1893)
* Francis R. Lassiter (1893–1896)
* William H. White (1896–1898)
* Edgar Allen (1898–1902)
* Lunsford L. Lewis (1902–1905)
* Robert H. Talley (1905)
* Lunsford L. Lewis (1905–1912)
* Duncan Lawrence Groner (1912–1914)
* Richard H. Mann (1914–1919)
* Hiram M. Smith (1914–1920)
* Duncan Lawrence Groner (1920)
* Julien Gunn (1920–1921)
* Duncan Lawrence Groner (1921)
* Paul W. Kear (1921–1931)
* Robert H. Talley (1931–1932)
* Paul W. Kear (1932–1933)
* Charles Sterling Hutcheson (1933–1944)
* Henry Holt (1944–1947)
* George R. Humrickhouse (1947–1951)
* A. Carter Whitehead (1951–1953)
* Lester S. Parsons, Jr. (1953–1957)
* John M. Hollis (1957–1959)
* Joseph S. Bambacus (1959–1961)
* Claude V. Spratley, Jr. (1961–1969)
* Brian P. Gettings (1969–1974)
* David H. Hopkins (1974–1975)
* William B. Cummings (1975–1979)
* Justin W. Williams (1979–1981)
* Elsie L. Munsell (1981–1986)
* Justin W. Williams (1986)
* Henry E. Hudson (1986–1991)
* Kenneth E. Melson (1991)
* Richard Cullen (1991–1993)
* Kenneth E. Melson (1993)
* Helen F. Fahey (1993–2001)
* Kenneth E. Melson (2001)
* Paul McNulty (2001–2006)
* Chuck Rosenberg (2006–2008)
* Dana Boente (2008–2009)
* Neil MacBride (2009–2013)
* Dana Boente (2013–2018)
* Tracy Doherty-McCormick (2018)
* G. Zachary Terwilliger (2018–2021)
* Raj Parekh (2021)
* Jessica D. Aber (2021–present)