United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

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United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
(S.D. Ga.)
LocationTomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
(Savannah)
More locations
Appeals toEleventh Circuit
EstablishedAugust 11, 1848
Judges3
Chief JudgeJames Randal Hall
Officers of the court
U.S. AttorneyJill E. Steinberg
U.S. MarshalDavid L. Lyons
www.gasd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (in case citations, S.D. Ga.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

As of February 22, 2023 the United States attorney for the District is Jill E. Steinberg.

History[edit]

The United States District Court for the District of Georgia was one of the original thirteen courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789. The District was further subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on August 11, 1848, by 9 Stat. 280. The Middle District was formed from portions of both the Northern and Southern Districts on May 28, 1926, by 44 Stat. 670.[1]

Jurisdiction[edit]

The Augusta Division comprises the following counties: Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren and Wilkes.

The Brunswick Division comprises the following counties: Appling, Camden, Glynn, Long, McIntosh, Jeff Davis, and Wayne.[2]

The Dublin Division comprises the following counties: Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Telfair, Treutlen, and Wheeler.

The Savannah Division comprises the following counties: Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty.

The Statesboro Division comprises the following counties: Bulloch, Candler, Emanuel, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, Tattnall, and Toombs.

The Waycross Division comprises the following counties: Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce, and Ware.

Current judges[edit]

As of March 31, 2024:

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
15 Chief Judge James Randal Hall Augusta 1958 2008–present 2017–present — G.W. Bush
14 District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood Brunswick 1963 2007–present 2010–2017 — G.W. Bush
16 District Judge R. Stan Baker Savannah 1977 2018–present — — Trump
12 Senior Judge Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. Augusta 1941 1979–2006 1997–2004 2006–present Carter

Former judges[edit]

# Judge State Born–died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
termination
1 John Cochran Nicoll GA 1793–1863 1848–1861[Note 1] — — Van Buren/Operation of law resignation
2 John Erskine GA 1813–1895 1865–1883[Note 2] — — A. Johnson retirement
3 Emory Speer GA 1848–1918 1885–1918 — — Arthur death
4 William Wallace Lambdin GA 1861–1916 1915–1916 — — Wilson death
5 Beverly Daniel Evans Jr. GA 1865–1922 1917–1922 — — Wilson death
6 William Hale Barrett GA 1866–1941 1922–1941 — — Harding death
7 Archibald Battle Lovett GA 1884–1945 1941–1945 — — F. Roosevelt death
8 Francis Muir Scarlett GA 1891–1971 1946–1968 — 1968–1971 Truman death
9 Alexander Atkinson Lawrence Jr. GA 1906–1979 1968–1978 1970–1976 1978–1979 L. Johnson death
10 Anthony Alaimo GA 1920–2009 1971–1991 1976–1990 1991–2009 Nixon death
11 Berry Avant Edenfield GA 1934–2015 1978–2006 1990–1997 2006–2015 Carter death
13 William Theodore Moore Jr. GA 1940–present 1994–2017 2004–2010 2017–2024 Clinton retirement
  1. ^ Reassigned from the District of Georgia; jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia.
  2. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1865, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 1866, and received commission the same day; from 1865–1882, Judge Erskine was jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia.

Chief judges[edit]

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats[edit]

U.S. Attorneys[edit]

  • Sion A. Darnell 1882–86 [3][4]
  • Dupont Guerry 1886–1901
  • Marion Erwin 1901-12
  • Alexander Akerman 1912–14
  • Erle M. Donalson 1914–19
  • John W. Bennett 1919–22
  • F. G. Boatright 1922–27
  • Charles L. Redding 1927–32
  • Walter W. Sheppard 1932–33
  • Charles L. Redding 1933
  • J. Saxton Daniel 1933–53
  • William C. Calhoun 1953–61
  • Donald H. Fraser 1961–69 R.
  • R. Jackson B. Smith, Jr. 1969–77
  • William T. Moore, Jr. 1977–81
  • Hinton R. Pierce 1981–92
  • Jay D. Gardner 1992–94
  • Harry Donival Dixon, Jr. 1994–2001
  • Richard S. Thompson[5] 2001–2004
  • Paul B. Murphy[6] 2004
  • Lisa Godbey Wood 2004–2007
  • Edmund A. Booth, Jr. 2007–2009[7]
  • Edward J. Tarver 2009–2017
  • Bobby Christine 2017–2021
  • David H. Estes 2021–2023
  • Jill E. Steinberg 2023–present

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ U.S. District Courts of Georgia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center
  2. ^ "28 U.S. Code § 90 - Georgia". LII / Legal Information Institute.
  3. ^ "The Political Graveyard: U.S. District Attorneys in Georgia". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  4. ^ "Southern District of Georgia | Former United States Attorneys For The Southern District Of Georgia". www.justice.gov. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  5. ^ "PN1164 — Richard S. Thompson — Department of Justice". Congress.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "U.S. Attorneys' Offices". web.archive.org. 2004-02-07. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  7. ^ "Edmund A. Booth, Jr., Of Counsel – Crowder Stewart LLP". web.archive.org. 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2024-04-12.

External links[edit]

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