United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi | |
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(N.D. Miss.) | |
Location | Oxford More locations |
Appeals to | Fifth Circuit |
Established | June 18, 1838 |
Judges | 3 |
Chief Judge | Debra M. Brown |
Officers of the court | |
U.S. Attorney | Clay Joyner (acting) |
U.S. Marshal | Daniel McKittrick |
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TheUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi(incase citations,N.D. Miss.) is a federal court in theFifth Circuitwith facilities inAberdeen,Greenville,andOxford.
Appeals from cases brought in the Northern District of Mississippi are taken to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit(except forpatentclaims and claims against the U.S. government under theTucker Act,which are appealed to theFederal Circuit).
The United States attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of March 1, 2021[update]theacting United States attorneyis Clay Joyner.[1]
Jurisdiction[edit]
The northern district comprises three divisions.
- The Aberdeen Division comprises the counties ofAlcorn,Chickasaw,Choctaw,Clay,Itawamba,Lee,Lowndes,Monroe,Oktibbeha,Prentiss,Tishomingo,Webster,andWinston.
The court for the Aberdeen Division is held atAberdeen,Ackerman,andCorinth. - The Oxford Division comprises the counties ofBenton,Calhoun,DeSoto,Lafayette,Marshall,Panola,Pontotoc,Quitman,Tallahatchie,Tate,Tippah,Tunica,Union,andYalobusha.
The court for the Oxford Division is held atOxford,Pittsboro,andPontotoc. - The Greenville Division comprises the counties ofAttala,Bolivar,Carroll,Coahoma,Grenada,Humphreys,Leflore,Montgomery,Sunflower,andWashington.
The court for the Greenville Division is held atClarksdale,Cleveland,andGreenville.
Current judges[edit]
As of November 1, 2021[update]:
# | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
16 | Chief Judge | Debra M. Brown | Greenville | 1963 | 2013–present | 2021–present | — | Obama |
15 | District Judge | Sharion Aycock | Aberdeen | 1955 | 2007–present | 2014–2021 | — | G.W. Bush |
17 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
12 | Senior Judge | Glen H. Davidson | Aberdeen | 1941 | 1985–2007 | 2000–2007 | 2007–present | Reagan |
14 | Senior Judge | Michael P. Mills | Oxford | 1956 | 2001–2021 | 2007–2014 | 2021–present | G.W. Bush |
Vacancies and pending nominations[edit]
Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Oxford | Michael P. Mills | Senior status | November 1, 2021 | – | – |
Former judges[edit]
# | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Adams | MS | 1784–1844 | 1838[Note 1][Note 2] | — | — | Jackson/Operation of law | resignation |
2 | Samuel J. Gholson | MS | 1808–1883 | 1839–1861[Note 2] | — | — | Van Buren | resignation |
3 | Robert Andrews Hill | MS | 1811–1900 | 1866–1891[Note 2] | — | — | A. Johnson | retirement |
4 | Henry Clay Niles | MS | 1850–1918 | 1891–1918[Note 3][Note 2] | — | — | B. Harrison | death |
5 | Edwin R. Holmes | MS | 1878–1961 | 1918–1929[Note 2] | — | — | Wilson | seat abolished |
6 | Elijah Allen Cox | MS | 1887–1974 | 1929–1957 | — | 1957–1974 | Coolidge | death |
7 | Claude Feemster Clayton | MS | 1909–1969 | 1958–1967 | 1966–1967 | — | Eisenhower | elevation to5th Cir. |
8 | William Colbert Keady | MS | 1913–1989 | 1968–1983 | 1968–1982 | 1983–1989 | L. Johnson | death |
9 | Orma Rinehart Smith | MS | 1904–1982 | 1968–1978 | — | 1978–1982 | L. Johnson | death |
10 | Lyonel Thomas Senter Jr. | MS | 1933–2011 | 1979–1998 | 1982–1998 | 1998–2011 | Carter | death |
11 | Neal Brooks Biggers Jr. | MS | 1935–2023 | 1984–2000 | 1998–2000 | 2000–2023 | Reagan | death |
13 | W. Allen Pepper Jr. | MS | 1941–2012 | 1999–2012 | — | — | Clinton | death |
- ^Reassigned from theDistrict of Mississippi
- ^abcdeJointly appointed to the Northern andSouthernDistricts of Mississippi
- ^Recess appointment;formally nominated on December 10, 1891, confirmed by theUnited States Senateon January 11, 1892, and received commission the same day
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 assenior 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]
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List of U.S. Attorneys[edit]
The U.S. Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer for the Northern District of Mississippi.[2]
- Samuel F. Butterworth(1838–1841)
- Oscar F. Bledsoe(1841–1848)
- Andrew K. Blythe(1848–1850)
- Woodson T. Ligon(1850–1853)
- Nathaniel S. Price(1853–1854)
- John A. Orr(1854–1857)
- Flavius J. Lovejoy(1857)
- G. W. Wells(1870)
- Thomas Walton(1876–1878)
- Green C. Chandler(1878–1885)
- Charles B. Howry(1885–1889)
- Henry C. Niles(1889–1891)
- Mack A. Montgomery(1891–1893)
- Andrew F. Fox(1893–1896)
- Chapman L. Anderson(1896–1897)
- Mack A. Montgomery(1897–1905)
- William D. Frazee(1905–1912)
- Lester G. Fant(1912–1914)
- Wilson S. Hill(1914–1921)
- J. L. Roberson(1921)
- Samuel E. Oldham(1921–1925)
- John H. Cook(1925–1929)
- Lester G. Fant(1929–1937)
- George T. Mitchell(1937–1942)
- James O. Day(1942–1945)
- Chester I. Sumners(1945–1951)
- Noel H. Malone(1951–1954)
- Chester L. Sumners(1954)
- Thomas R. Ethridge(1954–1961)
- B. Euple Dozier(1961)
- Hosea M. Ray(1961–1981)
- Glen H. Davidson(1981–1985)
- Robert Q. Whitwell(1985–1991)
- Sam J. Beckett(1991-1998)
- Walter K. Locke(1998-2010)
- Peter A. O’Pry(2010-2014)
- Josiah M. Alden(2014-2021)
- W. Clay Joyner(2021-Present)
See also[edit]
- Courts of Mississippi
- List of current United States district judges
- List of United States federal courthouses in Mississippi
Footnotes[edit]
- ^"US Attorney Lamar Resigns After Decades of Service"(Press release). Oxford, Mississippi: United States Attorney's Office. March 1, 2021.
- ^Executive Office for United States Attorneys (1989).Bicentennial Celebration of United States Attorneys, 1789–1989(PDF)(Report). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice.
Further reading[edit]
- David M. Hargrove,Mississippi's Federal Courts: A History.Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2019.
External links[edit]
- United States district courts
- Mississippi law
- Monroe County, Mississippi
- Choctaw County, Mississippi
- Coahoma County, Mississippi
- Bolivar County, Mississippi
- Alcorn County, Mississippi
- Washington County, Mississippi
- Lafayette County, Mississippi
- 1838 establishments in Mississippi
- Courthouses in Mississippi
- Courts and tribunals established in 1838