A U.S. district court / Established 1824

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama

Alabama · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Eleventh Circuit.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Eleventh 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.

22
Judges in history
6
Currently serving
4
Seats over time
6 / 13
Appointed D / R
Current judges
Former judges
JudgeAppointed byYears
Richard W. Vollmer Jr.Bush (R)1990–2003
Alex T. Howard Jr.Reagan (R)1986–2011
Emmett Ripley CoxReagan (R)1981–1988
William Brevard HandNixon (R)1971–2008
Thomas Virgil PittmanJohnson (D)1966–2012
Daniel Holcombe ThomasTruman (D)1951–2000
John McDuffieRoosevelt (D)1935–1950
Robert Tait ErvinWilson (D)1917–1949
Harry Theophilus ToulminCleveland (D)1887–1916
John BruceGrant (R)1875–1886
Richard BusteedLincoln (R)1864–1874
George Washington LaneLincoln (R)1861–1863
William Giles JonesBuchanan (D)1860–1861
John GayleTaylor (N)1849–1859
William CrawfordAdams (N)1826–1849
Charles Tait(reassignment) (N)1824–1826

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 1824.

Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Verify against the primary source before relying.