The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...

. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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, 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 ...

). The court is seated at multiple locations in

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 ...

: Abingdon, Big Stone Gap,

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...

, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Roanoke.

History

The United States District Court for the District of Virginia 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. 388.U.S. District Courts of Virginia, 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 ...

''. On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, , divided Virginia into three judicial districts: the District of Virginia, which included the counties west of the Tidewater and south of the Rappahannock River; the District of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and the District of Potomac, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well as

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

counties along the Potomac. Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single District again, , effective July 1, 1802. The District of Virginia was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by . At that time,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

, was still part of Virginia, and was encompassed in Virginia's Western District, while the Eastern District essentially covered what is now the entire state of Virginia. With the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, the Western District of Virginia became the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with the Eastern District to form again a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by . Congress again divided Virginia into Eastern and the Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by .

Counties of jurisdiction

The Western District of Virginia covers the counties of Albemarle, Alleghany,

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

, Appomattox, Augusta,

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 ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

, Bland, Botetourt,

Buchanan Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Bucha ...

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, Campbell, Carroll,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

, Craig, Culpeper,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

, Dickenson, Floyd, Fluvanna, Franklin, Frederick, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Halifax, Henry,

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

, Louisa,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Montgomery, Nelson, Orange, Page, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Russell,

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

, Shenandoah,

Smyth Smyth is an early variant of the common surname Smith commonly found in Ireland.Citation: Bardsley, 1901 Shown below are notable people who share the surname "Smyth". Notable people sharing the Smyth surname Listed here are people who share the ...

, Tazewell, Warren,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Wise, and Wythe; and the independent cities of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan * Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

, Covington, Danville, Galax, Harrisonburg,

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 ...

, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Norton, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia represents the federal government in the court. the United States Attorney is Christopher R. Kavanaugh. The U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Virginia is Thomas L. Foster.

Former U.S. Attorneys

* Thomas B. Mason (1961–1969) * Leigh B. Hanes (1969-1976) * Paul R. Thomson Jr. (1976-1980) * John S. Edwards (1980–1981) * John P. Alderman (1981–1990) * E. Montgomery Tucker (1990–1993) * Robert P. Crouch Jr. (1993–2001) * John L. Brownlee (2001–2008) *

Timothy J. Heaphy Timothy J. Heaphy (born 1964) is a white-collar criminal defense attorney, law professor and a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. He served as the lead investigator for the House Select Committee on the January 6 ...

(2009–2015) * John P. Fishwick Jr. (2015–2017) * Thomas T. Cullen (2018–2020) * Daniel P. Bubar (2020–2021) acting

References

External links

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia Official Website

United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Official Website

Federal Judicial Center Website - Judges of the W.D. Va.

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia Virginia, Western District Virginia law Washington County, Virginia Wise County, Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Danville, Virginia Harrisonburg, Virginia Lynchburg, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia 1819 establishments in Virginia Courthouses in Virginia Western Virginia Courts and tribunals established in 1819