A U.S. district court / Established 1848

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

Georgia · 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 Georgia 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.

16
Judges in history
4
Currently serving
4
Seats over time
9 / 6
Appointed D / R
Current judges
Former judges
JudgeAppointed byYears
William Theodore Moore Jr.Clinton (D)1994–2024
Berry Avant EdenfieldCarter (D)1978–2015
Anthony A. AlaimoNixon (R)1971–2009
Alexander Atkinson Lawrence Jr.Johnson (D)1968–1979
Francis Muir ScarlettTruman (D)1946–1971
Archibald Battle LovettRoosevelt (D)1941–1945
William Hale BarrettHarding (R)1922–1941
Beverly Daniel Evans Jr.Wilson (D)1917–1922
William Wallace LambdinWilson (D)1915–1916
Emory SpeerArthur (R)1885–1918
John ErskineJohnson (D)1866–1883
John Cochran Nicoll(reassignment) (N)1848–1861

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 1848.

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