United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
# United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

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.

As of December 26, 2021 the United States attorney for the District is Jason R. Coody.

## 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. The court serves approximately 1.75 million people.

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

As of April 3, 2023:

| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 24 | Chief Judge | Mark E. Walker | Tallahassee | 1967 | 2012–present | 2018–present | — | Obama |
| 22 | District Judge | M. Casey Rodgers | Pensacola | 1964 | 2003–present | 2011–2018 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 25 | District Judge | Allen Winsor | Tallahassee | 1976 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 26 | District Judge | T. Kent Wetherell II | Pensacola | 1970 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 15 | Senior Judge | William Henry Stafford Jr. | Tallahassee | 1931 | 1975–1996 | 1981–1993 | 1996–present | Ford |
| 19 | Senior Judge | Lacey A. Collier | Pensacola | 1935 | 1991–2003 | — | 2003–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 20 | Senior Judge | Robert Hinkle | Tallahassee | 1951 | 1996–2016 | 2004–2009 | 2016–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/Operation of law | 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 | 1889–1907 | — | — | B. Harrison | death |
| 6 | William Bostwick Sheppard | FL | 1860–1934 | 1907–1934 | — | — | 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 | elevation 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 | elevation to 5th Cir. |
| 12 | George C. Young | FL | 1916–2015 | 1961–1966 | — | — | Kennedy | seat abolished |
| 13 | Winston Arnow | FL | 1911–1994 | 1967–1981 | 1969–1981 | 1981–1994 | L. Johnson | death |
| 14 | David Lycurgus Middlebrooks Jr. | FL | 1926–1997 | 1969–1974 | — | — | Nixon | resignation |
| 16 | Lynn Carlton Higby | FL | 1938–1992 | 1979–1983 | — | — | Carter | resignation |
| 17 | Maurice M. Paul | FL | 1932–2016 | 1982–1997 | 1993–1997 | 1997–2016 | Reagan | death |
| 18 | Roger Vinson | FL | 1940–2023 | 1983–2005 | 1997–2004 | 2005–2023 | Reagan | death |
| 21 | Stephan P. Mickle | FL | 1944–2021 | 1998–2011 | 2009–2011 | 2011–2021 | Clinton | death |
| 23 | John Richard Smoak Jr. | FL | 1943–2022 | 2005–2015 | – | 2015–2022 | G.W. Bush | death |

* ↑ Reassigned from the District of Florida.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 5, 1889, confirmed by the United States Senate on April 1, 1890, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 3, 1907, confirmed by the Senate on May 20, 1908, and received commission the same day.
* 1 2 Jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida.
* ↑ From 1943-1947, Judge DeVane was jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida.
* ↑ From 1961-1962, Judge Young was jointly appointed to the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida. From 1962-1966, Judge Young was jointly appointed to the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida.

## Chief judges

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

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 | 1996–2016 |
| Winsor | 2019–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. | 2005–2015 |
| Wetherell II | 2019–present |

Seat 6 :

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