United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (N.D. Fla.)
Appeals to	Eleventh Circuit
Established	February 23, 1847
Judges assigned	4
Chief judge	Margaret Catharine Rodgers
Official site

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla. or N.D.Fl.) is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the northern part of the state of Florida.

Appeals from cases brought in the Northern District of Florida are to the United States Court of Appeals for 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).

History

On the same day that Florida was admitted as a state, March 3, 1845, Congress enacted legislation creating the United States District Court for the District of Florida, 5 Stat. 788.^[1][2] On February 23, 1847, this District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts, by 9 Stat. 131.^[1][2] The statute effecting this division set forth the boundaries of the Districts:

[T]hat part of the State of Florida lying south of a line drawn due east and west from the northern point of Charlotte Harbor, including the islands, keys, reefs, shoals, harbors, bays and inlets, south of said line, shall be erected into a new judicial district, to be called the Southern District of Florida; a District Court shall be held in said Southern District, to consist of one judge, who shall reside at Key West, in said district...

The same statute directed the Northern District to hold court at Apalachicola, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida. On July 30, 1962 the Middle District was created from portions of the other districts by 76 Stat. 247.^[2]

Jurisdiction

The court's jurisdiction comprises 23 counties: Alachua, Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.

The four courthouses in which it hears cases are located in Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee.

Current judges

As of June 22, 2011, a vacancy exists in the district due to Judge Stephan P. Mickle's decision to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.

#	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	1945	2005–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
—	District Judge	(vacant)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)
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–present	2009–2011	2011-present	Clinton

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Active service	Term as Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Bronson, Isaac H.Isaac H. Bronson	FL	1802–1855	1847-1855	(none)	(none)	Polk, Polk	death
2	McIntosh, McQueenMcQueen McIntosh	FL	1822-1868	1856-1861	(none)	(none)	Pierce, Pierce	resignation
3	Fraser, PhilipPhilip Fraser	FL	1814-1876	1862–1876	(none)	(none)	Lincoln, Lincoln	death
4	Settle, ThomasThomas Settle	FL	1831-1888	1877–1888	(none)	(none)	Grant, Grant	death
5	Swayne, CharlesCharles Swayne	FL	1842-1907	1890–1907	(none)	(none)	B. Harrison, B. Harrison	death
6	Sheppard, William BostwickWilliam Bostwick Sheppard	FL	1860-1934	1908–1934	(none)	(none)	T. Roosevelt, T. Roosevelt	death
7	Long, Augustus V.Augustus V. Long	FL	1877-1955	1934–1947	(none)	1947-1955	F. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt	death
8	Waller, Curtis L.Curtis L. Waller	FL	1887-1950	1940–1943	(none)	(none)	F. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt	appointment to 5th Cir.
9	DeVane, Dozier A.Dozier A. DeVane	FL	1883-1963	1943–1958	(none)	1958-1963	F. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt	death
10	Whitehurst, George WilliamGeorge William Whitehurst	FL	1891–1974	1950-1961	(none)	1961-1974	Truman, Truman	death
11	Carswell, G. HarroldG. Harrold Carswell	FL	1919–1992	1958-1969	1958-1969	(none)	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	appointment to 5th Cir.
12	Young, George C.George C. Young	FL	1916–	1961-1962	(none)	(none)	Kennedy, Kennedy	reassignment to M.D.Fla
13	Arnow, Winston E.Winston E. Arnow	FL	1911–1994	1967-1981	1969-1981	1981-1994	L. Johnson, L. Johnson	death
14	Middlebrooks, Jr., David LycurgusDavid Lycurgus Middlebrooks, Jr.	FL	1926-	1969-1974	(none)	(none)	Nixon, Nixon	resignation
16	Higby, Lynn CarltonLynn Carlton Higby	FL	1938-1992	1979-1983	(none)	(none)	Carter, Carter	resignation

See also

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

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 393.
2. ^ ^{a b c} U.S. District Courts of Florida, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.

External links

• Official website