| United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia | |
|---|---|
| (W.D. Va.) | |
 | |
| Location | Richard H. Poff Federal Building (Roanoke) |
| Appeals to | Fourth Circuit |
| Established | February 4, 1819 |
| Judges | 4 |
| Chief Judge | Elizabeth K. Dillon |
| Officers of the court | |
| U.S. Attorney | Robert Tracci(acting) |
| U.S. Marshal | Thomas L. Foster |
| www | |
TheUnited States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (incase citations,W.D. Va.) is aUnited States district court.
Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except forpatent claims and claims against the U.S. government under theTucker Act, which are appealed to theFederal Circuit).
The court is seated at multiple locations inVirginia:Abingdon,Charlottesville,Danville,Harrisonburg,Lynchburg andRoanoke.
TheUnited States District Court for the District of Virginia was one of the original 13 courts established by theJudiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.[1][2]
On February 13, 1801, theJudiciary 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 theRappahannock River; theDistrict of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and theDistrict of Potomac, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well asMaryland counties along the Potomac.[2] Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single District again, 2 Stat. 132, effective July 1, 1802.[2]
The District of Virginia was subdivided intoEastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by 3 Stat. 478.[1][2] 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 theAmerican 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 form again a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by 13 Stat. 124.[2] Congress again divided Virginia into Eastern and the Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by 16 Stat. 403.[2]
The Western District of Virginia covers the counties ofAlbemarle,Alleghany,Amherst,Appomattox,Augusta,Bath,Bedford,Bland,Botetourt,Buchanan,Buckingham,Campbell,Carroll,Charlotte,Clarke,Craig,Culpeper,Cumberland,Dickenson,Floyd,Fluvanna,Franklin,Frederick,Giles,Grayson,Greene,Halifax,Henry,Highland,Lee,Louisa,Madison,Montgomery,Nelson,Orange,Page,Patrick,Pittsylvania,Pulaski,Rappahannock,Roanoke,Rockbridge,Rockingham,Russell,Scott,Shenandoah,Smyth,Tazewell,Warren,Washington,Wise, andWythe; and the independent cities ofBedford,Bristol,Buena Vista,Charlottesville,Covington,Danville,Galax,Harrisonburg,Lexington,Lynchburg,Martinsville,Norton,Radford,Roanoke,Salem,Staunton,Waynesboro, andWinchester.
As of July 8, 2024[update]:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 27 | Chief Judge | Elizabeth K. Dillon | Roanoke | 1960 | 2014–present | 2024–present | — | Obama |
| 28 | District Judge | Thomas T. Cullen | Roanoke | 1977 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 29 | District Judge | Robert S. Ballou | Roanoke | 1962 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 30 | District Judge | Jasmine H. Yoon | Charlottesville | 1980 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 23 | Senior Judge | James Parker Jones | Abingdon | 1940 | 1996–2021 | 2004–2010 | 2021–present | Clinton |
| 24 | Senior Judge | Norman K. Moon | Lynchburg | 1936 | 1997–2010 | — | 2010–present | Clinton |
| 26 | Senior Judge | Michael F. Urbanski | Roanoke | 1956 | 2011–2024 | 2017–2024 | 2024–present | Obama |
| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John G. Jackson | VA | 1777–1825 | 1819–1825 | — | — | Monroe | death |
| 2 | Philip C. Pendleton | VA | 1779–1863 | 1825–1825[Note 1] | — | — | J.Q. Adams | resignation |
| 3 | Alexander Caldwell | VA | 1774–1839 | 1825–1839[Note 2] | — | — | J.Q. Adams | death |
| 4 | Isaac S. Pennybacker | VA | 1805–1847 | 1839–1845[Note 3] | — | — | Van Buren | resignation |
| 5 | John White Brockenbrough | VA | 1806–1877 | 1846–1861 | — | — | Polk | resignation |
| 6 | John Jay Jackson Jr. | VA | 1824–1907 | 1861–1864 | — | — | Lincoln | reassignment toD. W.Va. |
| 7 | Alexander Rives | VA | 1806–1885 | 1871–1882 | — | — | Grant | retirement |
| 8 | John Paul | VA | 1839–1901 | 1883–1901 | — | — | Arthur | death |
| 9 | Henry C. McDowell Jr. | VA | 1861–1933 | 1901–1931[Note 4] | — | 1931–1933 | T. Roosevelt | death |
| 10 | John Paul Jr. | VA | 1883–1964 | 1932–1958 | 1948–1958 | 1958–1964 | Hoover | death |
| 11 | Floyd H. Roberts | VA | 1879–1967 | 1938–1939[Note 5] | — | — | F. Roosevelt | not confirmed |
| 12 | Armistead Mason Dobie | VA | 1881–1962 | 1939–1940 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to4th Cir. |
| 13 | Alfred D. Barksdale | VA | 1892–1972 | 1939–1957[Note 6] | — | 1957–1972 | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 14 | Roby C. Thompson | VA | 1898–1960 | 1957–1960 | 1958–1960 | — | Eisenhower | death |
| 15 | Theodore Roosevelt Dalton | VA | 1901–1989 | 1959–1976 | 1960–1971 | 1976–1989 | Eisenhower | death |
| 16 | Thomas J. Michie | VA | 1896–1973 | 1961–1973 | — | — | Kennedy | death |
| 17 | Hiram Emory Widener Jr. | VA | 1923–2007 | 1969–1972 | 1971–1972 | — | Nixon | elevation to4th Cir. |
| 18 | James Clinton Turk | VA | 1923–2014 | 1972–2002 | 1973–1993 | 2002–2014 | Nixon | death |
| 19 | Glen Morgan Williams | VA | 1920–2012 | 1976–1988 | — | 1988–2012 | Ford | death |
| 20 | James Harry Michael Jr. | VA | 1918–2005 | 1980–1995 | — | 1995–2005 | Carter | death |
| 21 | Jackson L. Kiser | VA | 1929–2020 | 1981–1997 | 1993–1997 | 1997–2020 | Reagan | death |
| 22 | Samuel Grayson Wilson | VA | 1949–present | 1990–2014 | 1997–2004 | — | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
| 25 | Glen E. Conrad | VA | 1949–2021 | 2003–2017 | 2010–2017 | 2017–2021 | G.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.
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheU.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia represents the federal government in the court. As of August 20, 2025[update] theacting United States attorney is Robert Tracci.[3]
The current[update]U.S. marshal for the Western District of Virginia is Thomas L. Foster.
 | |
| Courts of appeals | |
| District courts |
|
| Specialty courts | |
| Territorial courts | |
| Extinct courts | |
| 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. |
37°16′7″N79°56′40″W / 37.26861°N 79.94444°W /37.26861; -79.94444
