| United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama | |
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| (S.D. Ala.) | |
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| Location | John Archibald Campbell U.S. Courthouse (Mobile) More locations |
| Appeals to | Eleventh Circuit |
| Established | March 10, 1824 |
| Judges | 3 |
| Chief Judge | Jeff Beaverstock |
| Officers of the court | |
| U.S. Attorney | Sean P. Costello |
| U.S. Marshal | Mark F. Sloke |
| www | |
TheUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (incase citations,S.D. Ala.) is a federal court in theEleventh Circuit (except forpatent claims and claims against the U.S. government under theTucker Act, which are appealed to theFederal Circuit).
The District was established on March 10, 1824, with the division of the state into aNorthern and Southern district.[1]
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of February 2, 2021[update] theUnited States attorney is Sean P. Costello.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama is one of three federal judicial districts in Alabama.[2] Court for the District is held atMobile andSelma.
Mobile Division comprises the following counties:Baldwin,Choctaw,Clarke,Conecuh,Escambia,Mobile,Monroe, andWashington.
Selma Division comprises the following counties:Dallas,Hale,Marengo,Perry, andWilcox.
As of October 1, 2021[update]:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 21 | Chief Judge | Jeff Beaverstock | Mobile | 1968 | 2018–present | 2021–present | — | Trump |
| 20 | District Judge | Kristi DuBose | Mobile | 1964 | 2005–present | 2017–2021 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 22 | District Judge | Terry F. Moorer | Mobile | 1961 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 16 | Senior Judge | Charles R. Butler Jr. | Mobile | 1940 | 1988–2005 | 1994–2003 | 2005–present | Reagan |
| 18 | Senior Judge | Callie V. Granade | Mobile | 1950 | 2002–2016 | 2003–2010 | 2016–present | G.W. Bush |
| 19 | Senior Judge | William H. Steele | Mobile | 1951 | 2003–2017 | 2010–2017 | 2017–present | G.W. Bush |
| # | Judge | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Tait | 1768–1835 | 1824–1826[Note 1] | — | — | Monroe/Operation of law | resignation |
| 2 | William Crawford | 1784–1849 | 1826–1849[Note 2] | — | — | J.Q. Adams | death |
| 3 | John Gayle | 1792–1859 | 1849–1859[Note 3] | — | — | Taylor | death |
| 4 | William Giles Jones | 1808–1883 | 1859–1861[Note 4] | — | — | Buchanan | resignation |
| 5 | George Washington Lane | 1806–1863 | 1861–1863[Note 3] | — | — | Lincoln | death |
| 6 | Richard Busteed | 1822–1898 | 1863–1874[Note 5] | — | — | Lincoln | resignation |
| 7 | John Bruce | 1832–1901 | 1875–1886[Note 3] | — | — | Grant | reassignment |
| 8 | Harry Theophilus Toulmin | 1838–1916 | 1887–1916 | — | — | Cleveland | death |
| 9 | Robert Tait Ervin | 1863–1949 | 1917–1935 | — | 1935–1949 | Wilson | death |
| 10 | John McDuffie | 1883–1950 | 1935–1950 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 11 | Daniel Holcombe Thomas | 1906–2000 | 1951–1971 | 1966–1971 | 1971–2000 | Truman | death |
| 12 | Thomas Virgil Pittman | 1916–2012 | 1966–1981[Note 6] | 1971–1981 | 1981–2012 | L. Johnson | death |
| 13 | William Brevard Hand | 1924–2008 | 1971–1989 | 1981–1989 | 1989–2008 | Nixon | death |
| 14 | Emmett Ripley Cox | 1935–2021 | 1981–1988 | — | — | Reagan | elevation |
| 15 | Alex T. Howard Jr. | 1924–2011 | 1986–1996 | 1989–1994 | 1996–2011 | Reagan | death |
| 17 | Richard W. Vollmer Jr. | 1926–2003 | 1990–2000 | — | 2000–2003 | G.H.W. Bush | death |
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 assenior 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.
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Wallace v. Jaffree (1983) – Court affirmed that silent prayer was permissible inMobile County public schools. Decision was reversed byEleventh Circuit andU.S. Supreme Court, both ruling that it violated theEstablishment Clause of theFirst Amendment.
Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County (1987) – Court rules that textbooks promotingsecular humanism were unconstitutional, running contrary to theEstablishment Clause of theFirst Amendment. Decision was reversed by Eleventh Circuit, which held that secular humanism was not a violation of the Establishment Clause as it is not a system of belief constituting a "religion".
Searcy v. Strange (2015) – District Judge Callie V. S. "Ginny" Granade ruled that Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, violating the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, on January 23. Days later, she issued an order clarifying her ruling, saying that all Alabama probate judges, who issue marriage licenses, must comply with the order. She stayed her order for two weeks to allow state defendants time to seek a stay from a higher court. On February 3, the Eleventh Circuit denied the stay, after denying a stay in a similar case out of Florida months before. On February 9, as the order was set to take effect, the U.S. Supreme Court also denied the stay.
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| Note | American Samoa does not have a district court or federal territorial court; federal matters there go to theDistrict of Columbia,Hawaii, orits own Supreme Court. |
