U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
New York · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Second Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Second 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.
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
- John G. Koeltl
- Laura T. Swain
- Kenneth M. Karas
- Andrew L. Carter Jr.
- Paul A. Engelmayer
- James P. Oetken
- Edgardo Ramos
- Ronnie Abrams
- Jesse M. Furman
- Vernon S. Broderick
- Katherine P. Failla
- Nelson S. Román
- Analisa N. Torres
- Gregory H. Woods III
- Lewis J. Liman
- Mary K. Vyskocil
- John P. Cronan
- Philip M. Halpern
- Jennifer H. Rearden
- Jennifer L. Rochon
- Jessica G. L. Clarke
- Dale E. Ho
- Arun S. Subramanian
- Margaret M. Garnett
- Jeannette A. Vargas
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
- Charles S. Haight Jr.
- Louis L. Stanton
- Kimba M. Wood
- Loretta A. Preska
- Denise Cote
- Lewis A. Kaplan
- Sidney H. Stein
- Jed S. Rakoff
- Richard M. Berman
- Alvin K. Hellerstein
- Colleen McMahon
- Naomi R. Buchwald
- Victor Marrero
- George B. Daniels
- P. K. Castel
- Paul A. Crotty
- Paul G. Gardephe
- Cathy Seibel
- Vincent L. Briccetti
- Lorna G. Schofield
- Valerie E. Caproni
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.
RWLP
FC
EDEMRODB
- CH
RLML
EWJMSR
- FWVLABCTJS
- HGAD
SRHWLSAH
DEJR
- JCCMLSBPRH
- SM
TMMGCHRCCS - ECWHLPSK
SK
RP
- JM
PG
- IK
MLDC
- GNMFAS
- SSCS
NB
LMJK
WCLM
- TC
KCBJ
PLSS
MPPLWP
- HT
ASKK - IW
HBPC
- IC
NR 
GGLK
- LGRD
SS
- TGLS
Loretta A. Preska (current) · Mary Kay Vyskocil (current) · Vernon Speede Broderick (current) · Victor Marrero (current) · Andrew Lamar Carter Jr. (current) · Edgardo Ramos (current) · Paul Adam Engelmayer (current) · Kimba Maureen Wood (current) · Vincent Louis Briccetti (current) · Margaret M. Garnett (current) · Louis Lee Stanton (current) · Alvin K. Hellerstein (current) · Jesse Matthew Furman (current) · Jed Saul Rakoff (current) · Dale Edwin Ho (current) · Valerie Elaine Caproni (current) · Charles Sherman Haight Jr. (current) · Cathy Seibel (current) · John George Koeltl (current) · George B. Daniels (current) · Jennifer Louise Rochon (current) · Paul G. Gardephe (current) · Jeannette Anne Vargas (current) · Denise Cote (current) · Katherine Polk Failla (current) · Jennifer Hutchison Rearden (current) · Naomi Reice Buchwald (current) · Analisa Nadine Torres (current) · Colleen McMahon (current) · Jessica Gloria Lynn Clarke (current) · P. Kevin Castel (current) · Philip Morgan Halpern (current) · Gregory Howard Woods III (current) · Sidney H. Stein (current) · Arun Srinivas Subramanian (current) · John Peter Cronan (current) · Kenneth M. Karas (current) · Paul Austin Crotty (current) · Lewis Jeffrey Liman (current) · Richard M. Berman (current) · Nelson Stephen Román (current) · Lewis A. Kaplan (current) · Ronnie Abrams (current) · Lorna Gail Schofield (current) · Laura Taylor Swain (current) · James Paul Oetken (current) · John Clark Knox · Thomas Poole Griesa · Thomas Francis Murphy · David Norton Edelstein
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 |
|---|---|
| Andrew E. Krause | 2020–present |
| Sarah L. Cave | 2019–present |
| Ona T. Wang | 2018–present |
| Stewart D. Aaron | 2017–present |
| Robert W. Lehrburger | 2017–present |
| Katharine H. Parker | 2016–present |
| Barbara Moses | 2015–present |
| Judith C. McCarthy | 2014–present |
| Sarah Netburn | 2012–present |
| Debra C. Freeman | 2011–present |
| James L. Cott | 2010–present |
| Paul E. Davison | 2009–present |
| Gabriel W. Gorenstein | 2001–present |
| Kevin Nathaniel Fox | 1997–present |
| Henry B. Pitman | 1996–present |
| Lisa Margaret Smith | 1995–present |
| Martin R. Goldberg | 1992–present |
| Frank S Maas | 1999–2016 |
| George A Yanthis | 1996–2013 |
| Andrew J Peck | 1995–2018 |
| Ronald L Ellis | 1993–2017 |
| Theodore H Katz | 1991–2012 |
| James C Francis | 1985–2017 |
| Michael H Dolinger | 1984–2014 |
Bankruptcy court
Practicing before this court
The rules that govern a case here (the S.D. New York’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 1814. 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 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.