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    United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 7 min
    Middle District of Alabama
    Eleventh Circuit
    Fedbadgesmall.png
    Judgeships
    Posts: 3
    Judges: 2
    Vacancies: 1
    Judges
    Chief: Emily Coody Marks
    Active judges:
    R. Austin Huffaker Jr., Emily Coody Marks

    Senior judges:
    William Albritton, Myron Thompson, William Watkins


    The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Montgomery, Dothan, and Opelika. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit based in downtown Atlanta at the Elbert P. Tuttle Federal Courthouse.

    Vacancies[edit]

    See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

    There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, out of the court's three judicial positions.

    Pending nominations[edit]

    There are no pending nominees for this court.


    Active judges[edit]

    Article III judges[edit]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Emily Coody Marks

    Donald Trump (R)

    		August 3, 2018 -

    Spring Hill College, 1995

    University of Alabama School of Law, 1998

    R. Austin Huffaker Jr.

    Donald Trump (R)

    		December 12, 2019 -

    Vanderbilt University, 1996

    University of Alabama, 1999


    Active Article III judges by appointing political party[edit]

    The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

    • Democrat appointed: 0
    • Republican appointed: 2

    Senior judges[edit]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    William Albritton

    George H.W. Bush (R)

    		May 17, 2004 -

    University of Alabama, 1959

    University of Alabama School of Law, 1960

    Myron Thompson

    Jimmy Carter (D)

    		August 22, 2013 -

    Yale University, 1969

    Yale Law School, 1972

    William Watkins

    George W. Bush (R)

    		January 31, 2019 -

    Auburn University, 1973

    University of Alabama School of Law, 1976


    Senior judges by appointing political party[edit]

    The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

    • Democrat appointed: 1
    • Republican appointed: 2

    Magistrate judges[edit]

    Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Charles Coody

    		May 1, 1987 -

    Spring Hill College, 1968

    University of Alabama School of Law, 1975

    Susan Walker

    		February 22, 1996 -

    Eckerd College, 1980

    Yale Law School, 1986

    Stephen Doyle

    		January 7, 2019 -

    Loyola College, 1985

    Duke University Law School, 1988

    Jerusha Adams

    		November 12, 2019 -

    Western Michigan University, 1997

    Emory University School of Law, 2000

    Kelly Pate

    United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

    		September 8, 2020 -

    The University of Alabama

    Cumberland School of Law


    Former chief judges[edit]

    In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

    In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

    The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

    Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

    On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the President of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


    Former judges[edit]

    For more information about the judges of the Middle District of Alabama, see former federal judges of the Middle District of Alabama.

    Jurisdiction[edit]

    Middle District of Alabama counties (click for larger map)

    The Middle District of Alabama has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

    There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

    The Eastern Division, covering Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties.

    The Northern Division, covering Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chilton, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery, and Pike counties.

    The Southern Division, covering Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties.

    Caseloads[edit]

    This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in April 2021. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

    United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama caseload stats, 2010-2019
    Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
    2010 1,423 1,336 1,357 3 0 474 28 9 10 44 4
    2011 1,362 1,318 1,320 3 0 454 24 9 10 40 4
    2012 1,483 1,369 1,535 3 0 494 20 9 10 50 4
    2013 1,304 1,365 1,477 3 4 435 26 8 10 70 6
    2014 1,593 1,627 1,444 3 9 531 20 9 10 83 8
    2015 1,249 1,297 1,395 3 17 416 17 10 8 92 9
    2016 1,264 1,150 1,499 3 12 421 15 10 10 96 8
    2017 1,234 1,214 1,544 3 24 411 21 9 10 108 10
    2018 1,434 1,430 1,554 3 19 478 25 10 10 139 12
    2019 1,389 1,309 1,621 3 14 463 24 10 10 174 14
    Average 1,374 1,342 1,475 3 10 458 22 9 10 90 8

    History[edit]

    The District of Alabama was established by Congress on April 21, 1820, with one post to cover the entire state. On February 6, 1839, Congress established the Middle District of Alabama with one judge covering the Middle District and the Northern and Southern Districts as well. On June 5, 1936, Congress assigned an individual judge to cover only the Middle District. Over time, two additional judicial posts were added for a total of three current posts.[7]

    Judicial posts[edit]

    The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Middle District of Alabama:[7]

    Year Statute Total Seats
    April 21, 1820 3 Stat. 564 1(District of Alabama)
    February 6, 1839 5 Stat. 315 1(Shared post, 3 Districts)
    August 2, 1886 24 Stat. 213 1(Shared post, 2 Districts)
    June 5, 1936 49 Stat. 1476 1
    March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 2(Shared)
    June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 2
    October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 3

    Federal courthouse[edit]

    Three separate courthouses serve the Middle District of Alabama:[8]

    • Frank M. Johnson Jr U.S. Courthouse Complex in Montgomery
    • Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Dothan
    • G.W. Andrews Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Opelika

    About United States District Courts[edit]

    The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

    There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

    There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

    There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

    The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

    In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

    Appointments by president[edit]

    The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through August 1 of the second year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Clinton had the most district court appointments with 60.


    Judges by district[edit]

    See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

    The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


    Judicial selection[edit]

    The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

    Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
    1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
    2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
    3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

    Magistrate judges[edit]

    The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


    External links[edit]

    See also[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ U.S. District Court - NH, "Magistrate Judges," archived April 14, 2014
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary," accessed April 26, 2021
    8. ↑ United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, "Court Locations," accessed May 6, 2021
    9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
    11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
    12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
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