The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (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, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (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 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. The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is Prim F. Escalona, who was appointed by

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

William Barr following the resignation of Jay Town on July 15, 2020.

Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama is one of three federal judicial districts in Alabama. Court for the District is held at Anniston,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Decatur,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, Gadsden, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa. Eastern Division comprises the following counties: Calhoun,

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 par ...

, Cleburne, and Talladega. Jasper Division comprises the following counties: Fayette, Lamar,

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

, and Winston. Middle Division comprises the following counties:

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

, Etowah,

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, and St. Clair. Northeastern Division comprises the following counties: Cullman,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, Madison, and Morgan. Northwestern Division comprises the following counties: Colbert, Franklin, and

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 trunk road, which runs from Darlington to ...

. Southern Division comprises the following counties: Blount, Jefferson, and Shelby. Western Division comprises the following counties:

Bibb Bibb may refer to: Places in the United States * Bibb County, Alabama * Fort Bibb, Alabama, constructed in 1818 * Bibb City, Georgia, in Muscogee County * Bibb County, Georgia People * Bibb (surname) * Bibb (given name) Ships * , a Revenue Mari ...

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

, Pickens,

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

, and Tuscaloosa.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

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 University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

. 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

public schools. ''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

in Tuscaloosa. The court order led to the infamous

Stand in the Schoolhouse Door The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of " segregation now, segregation tom ...

incident with Governor George C. Wallace. ''

Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education ''Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education'', 544 U.S. 167 (2005), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that retaliation against a person because that person has complained of sex discrimination is a form of intentional sex dis ...

'' (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 Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

. '' 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.

U.S. Attorneys

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) {{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Alabama, Northern District 1824 establishments in Alabama Alabama law Anniston, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Decatur, Alabama Florence, Alabama Gadsden, Alabama Huntsville, Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama Courthouses in Alabama Courts and tribunals established in 1824