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United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

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Northern District of Mississippi
Fifth Circuit
MS-ND Seal.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 3
Judges: 1
Vacancies: 2
Judges
Chief: Debra M. Brown
Active judges: Debra M. Brown

Senior judges:
Sharion Aycock, Glen Davidson, Michael Mills


The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, out of the court's three judicial positions.

Pending nominations

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Jimmy Maxwell

Donald Trump (R)

University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

Robert P. Chamberlin

Donald Trump (R)

University of Mississippi, 1987

University of Mississippi Law Center, 1990


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Debra M. Brown

Barack Obama (D)

November 5, 2013 -

Mississippi State University, 1987

University of Mississippi Law Center, 1997


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

Below is a display of the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democratic appointed: 1
  • Republican appointed: 0

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Glen Davidson

Ronald Reagan (R)

June 1, 2007 -

University of Mississippi, 1962

University of Mississippi Law Center, 1965

Michael Mills

George W. Bush (R)

November 1, 2021 -

University of Mississippi, 1978

University of Mississippi Law Center, 1980

Sharion Aycock

George W. Bush (R)

April 15, 2025 -

Mississippi State University, 1977

Mississippi College Law, 1980


Senior judges by appointing political party

Below is a display of the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democratic appointed: 0
  • Democratic appointed: 0
  • Republican appointed: 3

Magistrate judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

David Sanders

United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

June 30, 2008 -

University of Mississippi, 1987

University of Mississippi School of Law, 1996

Jane Virden

United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

July 2, 2011 -

Randolph-Macon Women's College, 1984

University of Mississippi School of Law, 1987

Roy Percy

United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

October 3, 2016 -

University of Virginia, 1993

University of Mississippi School of Law, 1996


Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[1]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[2][3][4]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[2][3][4]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[1][2][3][4]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[5]


Former judges

For more information on the judges of the Northern District of Mississippi, see former federal judges of the Northern District of Mississippi.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Northern District of Mississippi (click for larger map)

The Northern District of Mississippi has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the court includes facilities in Aberdeen, Ackerman, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Corinth and Greenville.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Northern District of Mississippi consists of all the following counties in the northern part of the state of Mississippi.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 1,146 1,091 1,275 3 0 382 25 12 11 115 12
2011 1,025 1,140 1,040 3 0 342 26 13 12 28 3
2012 982 1,009 1,099 3 11 327 26 13 11 34 4
2013 1,065 1,130 1,039 3 10 355 23 12 10 20 3
2014 936 1,123 851 3 0 312 18 11 10 11 2
2015 861 910 815 3 0 287 15 10 10 8 1
2016 1,006 835 992 3 0 335 18 10 9 12 2
2017 921 970 907 3 0 307 23 9 9 7 1
2018 1,038 1,041 902 3 0 346 24 9 9 9 1
2019 1,000 1,042 867 3 0 333 22 9 10 19 3
2020 950 876 942 3 0 317 15 10 9 19 2
2021 807 909 848 3 0 269 16 11 11 31 5
2022 926 973 802 3 12 309 20 11 10 26 4
2023 1,130 1,156 778 3 9 377 17 10 5 26 5
Average 985 1,015 940 3 3 328 21 11 10 26 3

History

Federal courts in Mississippi were established by Congress on April 3, 1818, with one post to cover the entire state. On June 18, 1838, Congress divided the district into the Northern District of Mississippi and the Southern District of Mississippi. Over time, two additional judicial posts were added to the Northern District for the current total of three.[6]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Northern District of Mississippi:[6]

Year Statute Total Seats
April 3, 1818 3 Stat. 413 1(Whole State)
June 18, 1838 5 Stat. 247 1(Shared)
March 1, 1929 45 Stat. 1422 1
March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 2
July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 3

Federal courthouse

The Northern District of Mississippi has three federal courthouses.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[7][8]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[9]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the first year of presidents' second term in office. At this point in the term, President Obama had the most district court appointments with 19.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[8]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[10]


See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Federal Judicial Center, "U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Mississippi," accessed May 13, 2021
  7. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  9. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  10. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"


Mississippi courts

Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi

State courts:

Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi

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