United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Northern District of Florida
Eleventh Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 4
Judges: 4
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Mark E. Walker
Active judges:
Margaret Rodgers, Mark E. Walker, T. Kent Wetherell, Allen Winsor

Senior judges:
Lacey Collier, Robert Hinkle, William Stafford, Clyde Roger Vinson


The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee. 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

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, out of the court's four judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Margaret Rodgers

George W. Bush (R)

November 21, 2003 -

University of West Florida, 1989

California Western School of Law, 1992

Mark E. Walker

Barack Obama (D)

December 7, 2012 -

University of Florida, 1989

University of Florida College of Law, 1992

Allen Winsor

Donald Trump (R)

June 21, 2019 -

Auburn University, 1997

University of Florida College of Law, 2002

T. Kent Wetherell

Donald Trump (R)

July 12, 2019 -

Florida State University, 1992

Florida State University College of Law, 1995


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

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: 1
  • Republican appointed: 3

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

William Stafford

Gerald Ford (R)

May 31, 1996 -

Temple University, 1953

Temple University School of Law, 1956

Lacey Collier

George H.W. Bush (R)

November 20, 2003 -

U.S. Naval Academy, 1975

Florida State University College of Law, 1977

Clyde Roger Vinson

Ronald Reagan (R)

March 31, 2005 -

United States Naval Academy, 1962

Vanderbilt University Law School, 1971

Robert Hinkle

Bill Clinton (D)

November 7, 2016 -

Florida State University, 1972

Harvard Law School, 1976


Senior judges by appointing political party

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: 3

Magistrate judges

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

Elizabeth Timothy

June 12, 2004 -

Louisiana State University, 1985

Catholic University of America, 1989

Charles Kahn

March 4, 2011 -

Vanderbilt University, 1973

University of Florida, 1977

Michael Frank

September 17, 2018 -

Florida State University College of Law

Hope Cannon

March 4, 2019 -

University of South Alabama, 1996

University of Alabama, 1999

Martin Fitzpatrick

April 3, 2020 -

Stetson University, 1991

Florida State University, 1994


Former chief judges

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

For more information about the judges of the Northern District of Florida, see former federal judges of the Northern District of Florida.

Jurisdiction

Northern District of Florida counties (click for larger map)

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

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

The Gainesville Division, covering Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, and Levy counties.

The Panama City Division, covering Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties.

The Pensacola Division, covering Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.

The Tallahassee Division, covering Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla counties.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida caseload stats, 2010-2023
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 2,205 2,149 1,975 4 0 551 38 6 8 64 4
2011 2,293 2,122 2,060 4 6 573 30 6 7 62 4
2012 2,335 2,516 1,989 4 11 584 33 6 7 58 4
2013 2,483 2,544 1,937 4 0 621 26 7 7 59 4
2014 2,405 2,313 2,017 4 0 601 32 7 7 49 3
2015 2,196 2,275 1,937 4 0 549 28 7 8 51 3
2016 2,624 2,381 2,199 4 14 656 42 7 8 62 3
2017 2,632 2,409 2,431 4 24 658 30 7 7 67 3
2018 3,906 2,355 3,968 4 20 977 32 7 7 67 2
2019 7,105 3,374 7,713 4 18 1,776 25 7 6 124 2
2020 228,039 14,836 220,931 4 0 57,010 21 9 5 55 0
2021 75,064 8,380 287,657 4 0 18,766 30 13 10 65 0
2022 29,076 68,616 248,151 4 0 7,269 35 12 22 2,415 1
2023 66,588 41,900 272,861 4 0 16,647 24 11 18 151,505 56
Average 30,639 11,298 75,559 4 7 7,660 30 8 9 11,050 6

History

The District of Florida was established by Congress on March 3, 1845, with one post to cover the entire state. On February 23, 1847, Congress divided the district into the Northern District of Florida and the Southern District of Florida with one judicial post for each district. Over time, three additional judicial posts were added for a total of four current posts.[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Northern District of Florida:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
March 3, 1845 5 Stat. 788 1
May 24, 1940 54 Stat. 219 2(Temporary)
1947 Temporary expired 1
August 3, 1949 63 Stat. 493 2
March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 2 (1 New post, 1 Reassigned
to Middle District of Florida)
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 3
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 4

Noteworthy events

Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)

In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that one judgeship be added to the district.[8] Based on FJC data, the district handled 770 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.[9]

The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922.[10] The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.[11]

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Northern District of Florida located in Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee.

About United States District Courts

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.[12][13]

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.[14]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through November 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Bill Clinton had the most district court appointments with 169.


Judges by district

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

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.[13]

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

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.[15]


See also

External links

Footnotes

  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. ↑ Federal Judicial Conference, "March 2019 Recommendations," accessed April 26, 2021
  9. ↑ US Courts, "Table X-1A—Other Judicial Business (September 30, 2018)," accessed April 23, 2021
  10. ↑ US Courts, "Governance & the Judicial Conference," accessed April 23, 2021
  11. ↑ US Courts, "About the Judicial Conference," accessed April 21, 2021
  12. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  14. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  15. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
Flag of Florida
v • e
State of Florida
Tallahassee (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=United_States_District_Court_for_the_Northern_District_of_Florida&oldid=9939357"