U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Sixth 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.
| Judge | Appointed by | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Allan Edgar | Reagan (R) | 1985 |
| Curtis Lynn Collier | Clinton (D) | 1995 |
| Thomas W. Phillips | Bush (R) | 2002 |
| J. Ronnie Greer | Bush (R) | 2003 |
| Thomas A. Varlan | Bush (R) | 2003 |
| Travis Randall McDonough | Obama (D) | 2015 |
| Clifton Leland Corker | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Charles Edward Atchley Jr. | Trump (R) | 2020 |
| Katherine Amber Crytzer | Trump (R) | 2020 |
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Pamela Lynn Reeves | Obama (D) | 2014–2020 |
| Harry Sandlin Mattice Jr. | Bush (R) | 2005–2021 |
| Robert Leon Jordan | Reagan (R) | 1988–2024 |
| James Howard Jarvis II | Reagan (R) | 1984–2007 |
| Thomas Gray Hull | Reagan (R) | 1983–2008 |
| Herbert Theodore Milburn | Reagan (R) | 1983–1984 |
| Charles Gelbert Neese | Kennedy (D) | 1962–1989 |
| Frank Wiley Wilson | Kennedy (D) | 1961–1982 |
| Robert Love Taylor | Truman (D) | 1950–1987 |
| Leslie Rogers Darr | Roosevelt (D) | 1939–1967 |
| George Caldwell Taylor | Coolidge (R) | 1928–1952 |
| Xenophon Hicks | Harding (R) | 1923–1928 |
| Edward Terry Sanford | Roosevelt (R) | 1908–1923 |
| Charles Dickens Clark | Cleveland (D) | 1895–1908 |
| David McKendree Key | Hayes (R) | 1880–1895 |
| Connally Findlay Trigg | Lincoln (R) | 1862–1880 |
| West Hughes Humphreys | Pierce (D) | 1853–1862 |
| Morgan Welles Brown | Jackson (D) | 1834–1853 |
| John McNairy | (reassignment) (N) | 1802–1833 |
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 1802.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Verify against the primary source before relying.