The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (in

case citation Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case c ...

s, E.D. Ky.) is the Federal district court whose

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

comprises approximately the Eastern half of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

maintains appellate jurisdiction for the district (except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the

Tucker Act The Tucker Act (March 3, 1887, ch. 359, , ) is a federal statute of the United States by which the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits. The Tucker Act may be divided into the "Big" Tucker A ...

, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

Jurisdiction

The Eastern District of Kentucky encompasses the following counties: Anderson,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

, Boone, Bourbon, Boyd,

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation * Adam Boyle (disambiguation) ...

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produ ...

, Breathitt, Campbell, Carroll, Carter,

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin language, Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

, Elliott, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Floyd, Franklin, Gallatin, Garrard,

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

, Greenup, Harlan,

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, Henry,

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, Jessamine,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, Kenton, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence,

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, Leslie, Letcher,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, Lincoln,

McCreary McCreary is a surname. It is derived from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic surnames '' Mac Ruidhrí'' and '' Mac Ruaidhrí''. Hanks; Coates; McClure (2016) p. 1755. People with the surname * Aaron McCreary, American college baseball coach *Bear McCr ...

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, Magoffin,

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, Mason,

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, Mercer, Montgomery,

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, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski,

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Place ...

, Rockcastle,

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, Shelby, Trimble, Wayne, Whitley, Wolfe, and Woodford.

History

The

United States District Court for the District of Kentucky The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

was one of the original 13 courts established by the

Judiciary Act of 1789 The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Sec ...

, , on September 24, 1789.Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 391.U.S. District Courts of Kentucky, Legislative history
''

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of respo ...

''. At the time, Kentucky was not yet a state, but was within the territory of the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. The District was unchanged when Kentucky became a state on June 1, 1792. On February 13, 1801, the

Judiciary Act of 1801 The Midnight Judges Act (also known as the Judiciary Act of 1801; , and officially An act to provide for the more convenient organization of the Courts of the United States) represented an effort to solve an issue in the U.S. Supreme Court during ...

, , abolished the U.S. district court in Kentucky, but the repeal of this Act restored the District on March 8, 1802, . The District was subdivided into Eastern and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Districts on February 12, 1901, by .

Meeting places

The court is based in

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

and also holds sessions in Federal Courthouses in Ashland, Covington, Frankfort,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Pikeville. The court also meets in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

and

. From 1911 to 1985, the court held sessions in downtown Catlettsburg at the Federal Courthouse and Post Office building which still stands on the corner of 25th and Broadway. By 1980, the Eastern District had long outgrown the historic Catlettsburg facility and it was decided that a new facility should be constructed. City officials in neighboring Ashland requested that the new facility be located there instead of in Catlettsburg. They argued that Ashland, by being a larger city, was a superior choice to the much smaller Catlettsburg with more services and amenities such as lodging for overnight guests and better restaurant options. As a result, the

Carl D. Perkins Carl Dewey Perkins (October 15, 1912 – August 3, 1984), a Democrat, was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Lexi ...

Federal Building and United States Courthouse was built in Ashland on U.S. Routes 23 and 60 (Greenup Avenue).

U.S. Attorney

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The Interim United States Attorney is Carlton S. Shier, IV, since November 23, 2021.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

References

External links

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Official Website

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Kentucky, Eastern District Kentucky law Lexington, Kentucky Ashland, Kentucky Kenton County, Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky Laurel County, Kentucky Pike County, Kentucky Madison County, Kentucky Breathitt County, Kentucky Boyd County, Kentucky Courthouses in Kentucky Eastern Kentucky Coalfield 1901 establishments in Kentucky