United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
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The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh 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 March 10, 1824, with the division of the state into a Northern and Southern district. The circuit court itself was established on June 22, 1874.<ref>U.S. District Courts of Alabama, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center</ref>
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The United States attorney is Prim F. Escalona, who was appointed by United States Attorney General William Barr following the resignation of Jay Town on July 15, 2020.<ref name="InterimUSA">Template:Cite press release</ref>
Organization of the court
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama is one of three federal judicial districts in Alabama.<ref>Template:USCode</ref> Court for the District is held at Anniston, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa.
Northwestern Division comprises the following counties: Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, and Lawrence.
Northeastern Division comprises the following counties: Cullman, Jackson, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, and Morgan.
Southern Division comprises the following counties: Blount, Jefferson, and Shelby.
Eastern Division comprises the following counties: Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, St. Clair, and Talladega.
Western Division comprises the following counties: Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Walker, and Winston.
Current judges
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Vacancies and pending nominations
| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Birmingham | R. David Proctor | Senior status | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
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Former judges
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Chief judges
Succession of seats
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Court decisions
Lucy v. Adams (1955) – A court ruling which affirmed the right of all citizens to be accepted at the University of Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
Armstrong v. Birmingham Board of Education (1963) – The court dismissed the plaintiff's complaint. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed and ordered the desegregation of Birmingham public schools.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
United States v. Wallace (1963) – The court exercised its ruling in Lucy v. Adams and ordered that colored students be permitted to enroll at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The court order led to the infamous Stand in the Schoolhouse Door incident with Governor George C. Wallace.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education (2002) – A reversal of the decision rendered by the district and Eleventh Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court held that retaliation against a person on the basis of a sexual complaint is a form of sexual discrimination under Title IX.
Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2003) – The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court, stating that employers cannot be sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act over race or gender discrimination if the claims are based on decisions over 180 days. The decision of the court led Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.
United States v. Alabama (2011) – The court upheld most parts of Alabama HB 56, an anti-illegal immigration bill signed by Governor Robert J. Bentley. The Eleventh Circuit reversed, invalidating much of Alabama HB 56.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
U.S. attorneys
| Name | Term started | Term ended | Presidents served under | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Crawford | 1820 | 1820 | James Monroe | ||
| Frank Jones | 1824 | 1826 | James Monroe John Q. Adams | ||
| Harry J. Thornton | 1826 | 1829 | John Q. Adams Andrew Jackson | ||
| Joseph Scott | 1829 | 1830 | Andrew Jackson | ||
| Byrd Brandon | 1830 | 1836 | Andrew Jackson | ||
| John Dennis Phelan | 1836 | 1836 | Andrew Jackson | ||
| Edwin R. Wallace | 1836 | 1839 | Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren | ||
| Jeremiah Clemens | 1839 | 1840 | Martin Van Buren | ||
| Joseph A. S. Acklen | 1840 | 1850 | Martin Van Buren William H. Harrison John Tyler James K. Polk Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore | ||
| Jefferson F. Jackson | 1850 | 1853 | Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce | ||
| George S. Walden | 1853 | 1859 | Franklin Pierce James Buchanan | ||
| M. J. Turnley | 1859 | 1860 | James Buchanan | ||
| Charles E. Mayer | 1876 | 1880 | Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes | ||
| William H. Smith<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
1880 | 1885 | Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland | |
| George H. Craig | 1885 | 1885 | Grover Cleveland | ||
| William H. Denson | 1885 | 1889 | Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison | ||
| Lewis E. Parsons Jr. | 1889 | 1893 | Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland | ||
| Emmet O'Neal | 1893 | 1897 | Grover Cleveland William McKinley | ||
| William Vaughn | 1897 | 1902 | William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt | ||
| Thomas R. Roulhac | 1902 | 1907 | Theodore Roosevelt | ||
| Oliver D. Street | 1907 | 1913 | Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft Woodrow Wilson | ||
| Robert N. Bell | 1913 | 1919 | Woodrow Wilson | ||
| Erle Pettris or Pettus | 1919 | 1922 | Woodrow Wilson Warren G. Harding | ||
| Charles B. Kennamer | 1922 | 1931 | Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover | ||
| Jim C. Smith | 1931 | 1931 | Herbert Hoover | ||
| John B. Isabell | 1931 | 1933 | Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||
| Jim C. Smith | 1933 | 1946 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman | ||
| John D. Hill | 1946 | 1953 | Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| Frank Minis Johnson | 1953 | 1955 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| Atley A. Kitchings Jr. | 1955 | 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| William L. Longshore<ref>Official Register of the United States (1958)</ref> | 1956 | 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy | ||
| Macon L. Weaver | 1961 | 1969 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon | ||
| Wayman G. Sherrer | 1969 | 1977 | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter | ||
| Jesse R. Brooks | 1977 | 1981 | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan | ||
| Frank W. Donaldson | 1981 | 1992 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush | ||
| Jack W. Selden | 1992 | 1993 | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton | ||
| Claude Harris Jr. | 1993 | 1994 | Bill Clinton | ||
| Walter Braswell | 1994 | 1995 | Bill Clinton | ||
| Caryl P. Privett | 1995 | 1997<ref>Bold Lions Survival Sense Hardcover – March 21, 2018</ref> | Bill Clinton | ||
| Gordon D. Jones<ref name="USSBio" /> | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
2001<ref name="USSBio" /> | Bill Clinton | |
| Alice H. Martin<ref>Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Resource Directory (digitized 2013)</ref> | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>Template:Failed verification |
2009<ref name="LP4" /> | George W. Bush Barack Obama | |
| Joyce Vance<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
citation | CitationClass=web
}} Template:Registration required</ref> |
2017<ref name="LP3" /> | Barack Obama |
| citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
2017<ref name="DOJ7" /> | 2017<ref name="DOJ7" /> | Donald Trump | |
| John E. Town<ref name="DOJ6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
2017<ref name="DOJ6" /> | 2020<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Donald Trump |
| Prim F. Escalona<ref name="InterimUSA" /> | 2020<ref name="InterimUSA" /> | Present | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
See also
- Courts of Alabama
- List of current United States district judges
- List of United States federal courthouses in Alabama
Notes
External links
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
- United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama
- Restoring checks and balances in the confirmation process of United States attorneys: hearing before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, on H.R. 580, March 6, 2007 (includes list of past U.S. attorneys up to about 1996) Template:PD notice
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