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United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky

United States federal district court in Kentucky

United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
(W.D. Ky.)
Location	Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse (Louisville) More locations William H. Natcher Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Bowling Green) Owensboro Paducah
Appeals to	Sixth Circuit
Established	February 12, 1901
Judges	5
Chief Judge	Gregory N. Stivers
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Michael A. Bennett
U.S. Marshal	Gary B. Burman
www.kywd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (incase citations, W.D. Ky.) is the federal district court for the western part of the state of Kentucky.

Appeals from the Western District of Kentucky are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

Jurisdiction[edit]

Jurisdiction includes the following Kentucky counties: Adair, Allen, Ballard, Barren, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey, Christian, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Jefferson, LaRue, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Meade, Metcalfe, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Oldham, Russell, Simpson, Spencer, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Union, Warren, Washington, and Webster.

The following counties are in the Louisville Division: Breckinridge, Bullitt, Hardin, Jefferson, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Spencer, and Washington.

The following counties are in the Bowling Green Division: Adair, Allen, Barren, Butler, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Edmonson, Green, Hart, Logan, Metcalf, Monroe, Russell, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, and Warren.

The following counties are in the Owensboro Division: Daviess, Grayson, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, and Webster.

The following counties are in the Paducah Division: Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, McCracken, Marshall, and Trigg.

History[edit]

The United States District Court for the District of Kentucky was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.^[1][2] At the time, Kentucky was not yet a state, but was within the territory of the state of Virginia. The District was unchanged when Kentucky became a state on June 1, 1792. On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89, abolished the U.S. district court in Kentucky,^[2] but the repeal of this Act restored the District on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132.^[2] The District was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 12, 1901, by 31 Stat. 781.^[2]

Meeting places[edit]

The court is based in Louisville and also holds sessions in federal courthouses in Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Paducah. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitinCincinnati, Ohio maintains appellate jurisdiction over the district. Its court in Louisville is located at the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse.

U.S. Attorneys[edit]

The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of November 17, 2021 the United States attorney is Michael A. Bennett.

• Ruben D. Hill 1898–1906
• George Du Relle 1906–14
• Perry B. Miller 1914–19
• W. Voris Gregory 1919–22
• W. Sherman Ball 1922–27
• Thomas Sparks Jr. 1927–35
• Bunk Gardner 1935–38
• Eli H. Brown III 1938–45
• David C. Walls 1945–53
• Charles F. Wood 1953–54
• J. Leonard Walker 1954–59
• William B. Jones 1959–61
• William E. Scent 1961–65
• Boyce F. Martin Jr. 1965
• Ernest W. Rivers 1965–70
• John T. Smith 1970
• George J. Long Jr. 1970–77
• J. Albert Jones 1977–80
• John L. Smith 1980–81
• Alexander T. Taft Jr. 1981
• Ronald E. Meredith 1981–85
• Alexander T. Taft Jr. 1985–86
• Joseph M. Whittle 1986–93
• W. Michael Troop 1993–99
• Steven S. Reed 1999-2001^[3]
• Steve Pence 2001–2003
• David L. Huber 2003–2009
• David J. Hale 2010–2014
• John E. Kuhn Jr. 2014-2017^[4]
• Russell Coleman 2017–2021
• Michael A. Bennett 2021–present

Current judges[edit]

As of September 1, 2023^[update]:

Former judges[edit]

Chief judges[edit]

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats[edit]

See also[edit]

• Courts of Kentucky
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Kentucky

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Official website

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