U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
U.S. District Court for the Western 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 |
|---|---|---|
| James Dale Todd | Reagan (R) | 1985 |
| Jon Phipps McCalla | Bush (R) | 1992 |
| Samuel H. Mays Jr. | Bush (R) | 2002 |
| J. Daniel Breen | Bush (R) | 2003 |
| Stanley Thomas Anderson | Bush (R) | 2008 |
| John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. | Obama (D) | 2012 |
| Sheryl Halle Lipman | Obama (D) | 2014 |
| Mark Saalfield Norris Sr. | Trump (R) | 2018 |
| Thomas Lee Robinson Parker | Trump (R) | 2018 |
| Brian Charles Lea | Trump (R) | 2026 |
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Bernice Bouie Donald | Clinton (D) | 1995–2011 |
| Jerome Turner | Reagan (R) | 1987–2000 |
| Julia Smith Gibbons | Reagan (R) | 1983–2002 |
| Odell Horton | Carter (D) | 1980–2006 |
| Harry Walker Wellford | Nixon (R) | 1970–1982 |
| Robert Malcolm McRae Jr. | Johnson (D) | 1966–2004 |
| Bailey Brown | Kennedy (D) | 1961–1979 |
| Marion Speed Boyd | Roosevelt (D) | 1940–1988 |
| John Donelson Martin Sr. | Roosevelt (D) | 1935–1940 |
| Harry Bennett Anderson | Coolidge (R) | 1926–1935 |
| John William Ross | Harding (R) | 1921–1925 |
| John Ethridge McCall | Roosevelt (R) | 1905–1920 |
| Eli Shelby Hammond | Hayes (R) | 1878–1904 |
| Connally Findlay Trigg | Lincoln (R) | 1862–1878 |
| 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.