United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Established	March 10, 1824

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) 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).

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 for the District is Joyce White Vance.

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, Decatur, Florence, Gadsden, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa.

Eastern Division comprises the following counties: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, and Talladega.

Jasper Division comprises the following counties: Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker, and Winston.

Middle Division comprises the following counties: Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Marshall, and St. Clair.

Northeastern Division comprises the following counties: Cullman, Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, and Morgan.

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

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

Western Division comprises the following counties: Bibb, Greene, Pickens, Sumter, and Tuscaloosa.

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
32	Chief Judge	Karon O. Bowdre	Birmingham	1955	2001–present	2013-present	—	G.W. Bush
28	District Judge	Sharon Lovelace Blackburn	Birmingham	1950	1991–present	2006–2013	—	G.H.W. Bush
33	District Judge	L. Scott Coogler	Tuscaloosa	1959	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
34	District Judge	R. David Proctor	Birmingham	1960	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
35	District Judge	Virginia Emerson Hopkins	Birmingham	1952	2004–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
36	District Judge	Abdul Kallon	Birmingham	1969	2010–present	—	—	Obama
37	District Judge	Madeline Hughes Haikala	Birmingham	1964	2013–present	—	—	Obama
38	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Senior Judge	James Hughes Hancock	Birmingham	1931	1973–1996	—	1996–present	Nixon
22	Senior Judge	Junius Foy Guin, Jr.	Birmingham	1924	1973–1989	—	1989–present	Nixon
24	Senior Judge	Robert Bruce Propst	Anniston	1931	1980–1996	—	1996–present	Carter
26	Senior Judge	William Marsh Acker, Jr.	Birmingham	1927	1982–1996	—	1996–present	Reagan
29	Senior Judge	Charles Lynwood Smith, Jr.	Huntsville	1943	1995–2013	—	2013–present	Clinton
31	Senior Judge	Inge Prytz Johnson	Birmingham	1945	1998–2012	—	2012–present	Clinton

Vacancies and pending nominations

#	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Nominated
1	Charles Lynwood Smith, Jr.	Senior status	August 31, 2013

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Charles Tait	AL	1768–1835	1824–1826	—	—	Monroe	resignation
2	William Crawford	AL	1784–1849	1826–1849	—	—	J.Q. Adams	death
3	John Gayle	AL	1792–1859	1849–1859	—	—	Taylor	death
4	William Giles Jones	AL	1808–1883	1859–1861	—	—	Buchanan	resignation
5	George Washington Lane	AL	1806–1863	1861–1863	—	—	Lincoln	death
6	Richard Busteed	AL	1822–1898	1863–1874	—	—	Lincoln	resignation
7	John Bruce	AL	1832–1901	1875–1901	—	—	Grant	death
8	Thomas G. Jones	AL	1844–1914	1901–1914	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
9	Oscar Richard Hundley	AL	1855–1921	1907–1908 1908–1909 1909	—	—	T. Roosevelt T. Roosevelt Taft	not confirmed
10	William Irwin Grubb	AL	1862–1935	1909–1935	—	—	Taft	death
11	Henry De Lamar Clayton, Jr.	AL	1857–1929	1914–1929	—	—	Wilson	death
12	Charles Brents Kennamer	AL	1874–1955	1931–1936	—	—	Hoover	reassignment
13	David Jackson Davis	AL	1878–1938	1935–1938	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
14	Thomas Alexander Murphree	AL	1883–1945	1938–1945	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
15	Clarence H. Mullins	AL	1895–1957	1943–1953	1948–1953	1953–1957	F. Roosevelt	death
16	Seybourn Harris Lynne	AL	1907–2000	1946–1973	1953–1973	1973–2000	Truman	death
17	Harlan Hobart Grooms	AL	1900–1991	1953–1969	—	1969–1991	Eisenhower	death
18	Clarence W. Allgood	AL	1902–1991	1961–1973	—	1973–1991	Kennedy	death
19	Frank Hampton McFadden	AL	1925–present	1969–1982	1973–1982	—	Nixon	resignation
20	Sam Clyde Pointer, Jr.	AL	1934–2008	1970–1999	1982–1999	1999–2000	Nixon	retirement
23	Elbert Bertram Haltom, Jr.	AL	1922–2003	1980–1991	—	1991–2003	Carter	death
25	U. W. Clemon	AL	1943–present	1980–2009	1999–2006	—	Carter	retirement
27	Edwin L. Nelson	AL	1940–2003	1990–2003	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	death
30	H. Dean Buttram, Jr.	AL	1950–present	1998–2002	—	—	Clinton	resignation

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 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 Birmingham 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 University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The court order led to the infamous Stand in the Schoolhouse Door incident with Governor George C. Wallace.

Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education (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.

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.

Succession of seats

Seat 1
Seat reassigned from the District of Alabama on March 10, 1824 by 4 Stat. 9 (concurrent with Southern District)
Tait	1824–1826
Crawford	1826–1849
Seat made concurrent with Middle District on February 6, 1839 by 5 Stat. 315
Gayle	1849–1859
W. Jones	1859–1861
Lane	1861–1863
Busteed	1863–1874
Seat reassigned solely to Northern and Middle Districts on August 2, 1886 by 24 Stat. 213
Bruce	1875–1901
T. Jones	1901–1914
Clayton	1914–1929
Kennamer	1931–1936
Seat reassigned solely to Middle District on June 5, 1936 by 49 Stat. 1476

Seat 2
Seat established on February 25, 1907 by 34 Stat. 931
Hundley	1907–1908
Hundley	1908–1909
Hundley	1909–1909
Grubb	1909–1935
Davis	1935–1938
Seat abolished on December 7, 1938 (Temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 3
Seat established on March 26, 1938 by 52 Stat. 120 (temporary)
Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 2 on December 7, 1938
Murphree	1938–1945
Lynne	1946–1973
Hancock	1973–1996
Johnson	1998–2012
Haikala	2013–present

Seat 4
Seat established on December 24, 1942 by 56 Stat. 1092
Mullins	1943–1953
Grooms	1953–1969
McFadden	1969–1982
Acker, Jr.	1982–1996
Seat abolished on May 31, 1996 (Temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 5
Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Allgood	1961–1973
Guin, Jr.	1973–1989
Nelson	1990–2003
Hopkins	2004–present

Seat 6
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Pointer, Jr.	1970–1999
Bowdre	2001–present

Seat 7
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Haltom, Jr.	1980–1991
Smith, Jr.	1995-2013
vacant	2013–present

Seat 8
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Propst	1980–1996
Buttram, Jr.	1998–2002
Coogler	2003–present

Seat 9
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Clemon	1980–2009
Kallon	2010–present

Seat 10
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary)
Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 4 on May 31, 1996
Blackburn	1991–present

Seat 11
Seat established on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 (temporary)
Proctor	2003–present

See also

• Courts of Alabama
• List of United States federal courthouses in Alabama

External links

• United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
• United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama