U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
District of Columbia · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the D.C. Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the D.C. Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has 15 active judges (4 appointed by Republican presidents and 11 by Democratic), 12 on senior status. Chief Judge: James Emanuel Boasberg (since 2023).
D.D.C. judges by appointing president
| Appointed by | Judges | Party | Judges in active service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obama | 6 | Democratic | James Emanuel Boasberg · Chief Judge, Rudolph Contreras, Tanya Sue Chutkan, Christopher Reid Cooper, Amit Priyavadan Mehta, Randolph Daniel Moss |
| Biden | 5 | Democratic | Jia Michelle Cobb, Loren Linn AliKhan, Ana Cecilia Reyes, Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali, Sparkle Leah Sooknanan |
| Trump | 4 | Republican | Dabney Langhorne Friedrich, Timothy James Kelly, Trevor Neil McFadden, Carl John Nichols |
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
- Chief JudgeJames E. Boasberg
- Rudolph Contreras
- Tanya S. Chutkan
- Christopher R. Cooper
- Amit P. Mehta
- Randolph D. Moss
- Dabney L. Friedrich
- Timothy J. Kelly
- Trevor N. McFadden
- Carl J. Nichols
- Jia M. Cobb
- Loren L. AliKhan
- Ana C. Reyes
- Amir H. M. Ali
- Sparkle L. Sooknanan
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
- Thomas F. Hogan
- Royce C. Lamberth
- Paul L. Friedman
- Emmet G. Sullivan
- Henry H. Kennedy Jr.
- Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
- Richard W. Roberts
- John D. Bates
- Reggie B. Walton
- Richard J. Leon
- Beryl A. Howell
- Amy B. Jackson
In the news this week
Judges named in national news coverage in the last seven days. The list is the names only; JudicialFinder links to its own record of each judge, never to the coverage.
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Amy Berman Jackson (current) · Loren Linn AliKhan (current) · John D. Bates (current) · Paul L. Friedman (current) · Beryl Alaine Howell (current) · Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali (current) · Thomas Francis Hogan (current) · James Emanuel Boasberg (current) · Rudolph Contreras (current) · Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (current) · Ana Cecilia Reyes (current) · Amit Priyavadan Mehta (current) · Richard W. Roberts (current) · Carl John Nichols (current) · Randolph Daniel Moss (current) · Timothy James Kelly (current) · Henry Harold Kennedy Jr. (current) · Sparkle Leah Sooknanan (current) · Richard J. Leon (current) · Trevor Neil McFadden (current) · Reggie B. Walton (current) · Dabney Langhorne Friedrich (current) · Royce C. Lamberth (current) · Christopher Reid Cooper (current) · Emmet G. Sullivan (current) · Jia Michelle Cobb (current) · Tanya Sue Chutkan (current) · Matthew Francis McGuire · Edward Matthew Curran · Richmond Bowling Keech · Burnita Shelton Matthews
Former judges
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Zia M. Faruqui | 2020–present |
| Robin M. Meriweather | 2017–present |
| G. Michael Harvey | 2015–present |
| Susan S Cole | 2002–2012 |
| C Christopher Hagy | 1998–2012 |
| John M Facciola | 1997–2014 |
| Deborah Ann Robinson | 1988–2020 |
Bankruptcy court
Practicing before this court
The rules that govern a case here (the D.D.C.’s local rules, standing orders, and each judge’s own procedures) live on the court’s official site. Direct links:
Links to the court’s own site, verified 2026-07-05. Rules change. Confirm against the court’s current posting before filing.
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1938. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-09-28 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.