United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
File:USDC-seal.gif
Established	February 23, 1847

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla.) 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 February 23, 1847 with the division of the state into a Northern and Southern district.

The United States Attorney for the District is Pamela Cothran Marsh.

Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida is one of three federal judicial districts in Florida. Court for the District is held at Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee.

Gainesville Division comprises the following counties: Alachua, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, and Levy.

Panama City Division comprises the following counties: Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington.

Pensacola Division comprises the following counties: Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton.

Tallahassee Division comprises the following counties: Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla.

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
22	Chief Judge	Margaret Catharine Rodgers	Pensacola	1964	2003–present	2011–present	—	G.W. Bush
20	District Judge	Robert Lewis Hinkle	Tallahassee	1951	1996–present	2004–2009	—	Clinton
23	District Judge	John Richard Smoak, Jr.	Panama City	1943	2005–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
24	District Judge	Mark E. Walker	Tallahassee	1967	2012–present	—	—	Obama
15	Senior District Judge	William Henry Stafford, Jr.	Tallahassee	1931	1975–1996	1981–1993	1996–present	Ford
17	Senior District Judge	Maurice M. Paul	Gainesville	1932	1982–1997	1993–1997	1997–present	Reagan
18	Senior District Judge	Roger Vinson	Pensacola	1940	1983–2005	1997–2004	2005–present	Reagan
19	Senior District Judge	Lacey A. Collier	Pensacola	1935	1991–2003	—	2003–present	G.H.W. Bush
21	Senior District Judge	Stephan P. Mickle	Gainesville	1944	1998–2011	2009–2011	2011–present	Clinton

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Isaac H. Bronson	FL	1802–1855	1847–1855	—	—	Polk	death
2	McQueen McIntosh	FL	1822–1868	1856–1861	—	—	Pierce	resignation
3	Philip Fraser	FL	1814–1876	1862–1876	—	—	Lincoln	death
4	Thomas Settle	FL	1831–1888	1877–1888	—	—	Grant	death
5	Charles Swayne	FL	1842–1907	1890–1907	—	—	B. Harrison	death
6	William Bostwick Sheppard	FL	1860–1934	1908–1934	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
7	Augustus V. Long	FL	1877–1955	1934–1947	—	1947–1955	F. Roosevelt	death
8	Curtis L. Waller	FL	1887–1950	1940–1943	—	—	F. Roosevelt	appointment to 5th Cir.
9	Dozier A. DeVane	FL	1883–1963	1943–1958	—	1958–1963	F. Roosevelt	death
10	George William Whitehurst	FL	1891–1974	1950–1961	—	1961–1974	Truman	death
11	G. Harrold Carswell	FL	1919–1992	1958–1969	1958–1969	—	Eisenhower	appointment to 5th Cir.
12	George C. Young	FL	1916–present	1961–1962	—	—	Kennedy	reassignment to M.D.Fla
13	Winston E. Arnow	FL	1911–1994	1967–1981	1969–1981	1981–1994	L. Johnson	death
14	David Lycurgus Middlebrooks, Jr.	FL	1926–present	1969–1974	—	—	Nixon	resignation
16	Lynn Carlton Higby	FL	1938–1992	1979–1983	—	—	Carter	resignation

Court Decisions

Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services (2011) - Court rules that individual mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional since it regulated economic inactivity. Decision was upheld by Eleventh Circuit. Decision reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, which held that the individual mandate was a tax, within the authority of Congress.

Succession of seats

Seat 1
Seat reassigned from the District of Florida on February 23, 1847 by 9 Stat. 131
Bronson	1847–1855
McIntosh	1856–1861
Fraser	1862–1876
Settle	1877–1888
Swayne	1889–1907
Sheppard	1907–1934
Long	1934–1947
Seat abolished on October 1, 1947 pursuant to 54 Stat. 219

Seat 2
Seat established on May 24, 1940 by 54 Stat. 219 (temporary, concurrent with Southern District)
Waller	1940–1943
Seat reassigned solely to Northern District and made permanent on October 1, 1947 pursuant to 54 Stat. 219
DeVane	1943–1958
Carswell	1958–1969
Middlebrooks, Jr.	1969–1974
Stafford, Jr.	1975–1996
Hinkle	1996–present

Seat 3
Seat established on August 3, 1949 by 63 Stat. 493 (concurrent with Southern District)
Whitehurst	1950–1961
Seat assigned concurrently to the Middle District on July 30, 1962 pursuant to 76 Stat. 247
Young	1961–1966
Seat reassigned solely to the Middle District on September 17, 1966 pursuant to 80 Stat. 75

Seat 4
Seat established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Arnow	1967–1981
Paul	1982–1997
Mickle	1998–2011
Walker	2012–present

Seat 5
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Higby	1979–1983
Vinson	1983–2005
Smoak, Jr.	2005–present

Seat 6
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Collier	1991–2003
Rodgers	2003–present

See also

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

External links

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