United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Northern District of Georgia
Eleventh Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Timothy Batten
Active judges: Timothy Batten, Jean-Paul Boulee, Michael L. Brown, Victoria Calvert, Mark Howard Cohen, Sarah Geraghty, Steven Grimberg, Steve C. Jones, Leigh Martin May, William Ray, Eleanor L. Ross Senior judges: Clarence Cooper, Orinda Evans, Willis Hunt, Charles Pannell, Richard Story, Thomas Thrash, Amy Totenberg

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan, and Rome. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit based in downtown Atlanta at the Elbert P. Tuttle Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, out of the court's 11 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Tiffany Johnson	Joe Biden (D)		Princeton University, 2009	Wake Forest University School of Law, 2012

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Timothy Batten	George W. Bush (R)	March 28, 2006 -	Georgia Institute of Technology, 1981	University of Georgia Law, 1984
Steve C. Jones	Barack Obama (D)	March 3, 2011 -	University of Georgia, 1978	University of Georgia Law, 1987
Leigh Martin May	Barack Obama (D)	November 14, 2014 -	Georgia Inst. of Tech, 1993	University of Georgia Law, 1998
Eleanor L. Ross	Barack Obama (D)	November 20, 2014 -	American University, 1989	University of Houston, 1994
Mark Howard Cohen	Barack Obama (D)	November 20, 2014 -	Emory, 1976	Emory Law, 1979
Michael L. Brown	Donald Trump (R)	January 17, 2018 -	Georgetown University, 1991	University of Georgia School of Law, 1994
William Ray	Donald Trump (R)	October 25, 2018 -	University of Georgia, 1985	University of Georgia School of Law, 1990
Jean-Paul Boulee	Donald Trump (R)	June 14, 2019 -	Washington and Lee University, 1993	University of Georgia School of Law, 1996
Steven Grimberg	Donald Trump (R)	September 13, 2019 -	University of Florida, 1995	Emory University School of Law, 1998
Victoria Calvert	Joe Biden (D)	April 5, 2022 -	Duke University, 2003	New York University Law School, 2006
Sarah Geraghty	Joe Biden (D)	April 8, 2022 -	Northwestern University, 1996	University of Michigan Law School, 1999

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays 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.

• Democrat appointed: 6
• Republican appointed: 5

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Willis Hunt	Bill Clinton (D)	June 30, 2005 -	Emory University, 1954	University of Virginia School of Law, 1990
Orinda Evans	Jimmy Carter (D)	December 31, 2008 -	Duke University, 1965	Emory University School of Law, 1968
Clarence Cooper	Bill Clinton (D)	February 9, 2009 -	Clark College, 1964	Emory University School of Law, 1967
Charles Pannell	Bill Clinton (D)	January 31, 2013 -	University of Georgia, 1967	University of Georgia Law, 1970
Richard Story	Bill Clinton (D)	December 1, 2018 -	LaGrange College, 1975	University of Georgia Law, 1978
Amy Totenberg	Barack Obama (D)	April 3, 2021 -	Harvard-Radcliffe, 1974	Harvard Law, 1977
Thomas Thrash		May 8, 2021 -	University of Virginia, 1973	Harvard Law, 1976

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays 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.

• Democrat appointed: 7
• Republican appointed: 0

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Linda T. Walker		January 2, 2000 -	Southern University, 1983	University of Georgia Law, 1989
Alan Baverman		February 1, 2001 -	University of Maryland, 1978	Emory University School of Law, 1981
Walter E. Johnson		March 18, 2002 -	University of Georgia, 1982	University of Georgia Law, 1985
Russell G. Vineyard		October 23, 2006 -	University of Georgia, 1986	University of Georgia Law, 1989
Justin S. Anand		June 4, 2012 -	Swarthmore College, 1993	Harvard Law School, 1998
J. Clay Fuller		September 4, 2012 -	University of Georgia, 1988	University of Georgia Law, 1999
Catherine M. Salinas		July 1, 2015 -	Emory University, 1990	University of Texas, 1994
John Larkins		January 19, 2016 -	Wake Forest University, 2000	University of Georgia Law, 2003
Christopher Bly		November 26, 2018 -	Emory University, 1999	Emory University School of Law, 2002
Regina Cannon	United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia	February 3, 2020 -	University of Oklahoma	University of Oklahoma College of Law

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thomas Thrash - (2014 - 2021) Julie Carnes - (2009 - 2014) Jack Camp - (2006 - 2008) Orinda Evans - (1999 - 2006) Ernest Tidwell - (1996 - 1999) Robert Vining - (1995 - 1996) William O'Kelley - (1988 - 1994) Charles Moye - (1979-1987) Albert Henderson - (1976-1979)

Newell Edenfield - (1974-1976) Sidney Smith - (1968-1974) Lewis Morgan - (1965-1968) Frank Hooper - (1950-1965) Maurice Andrews - (1949-1950) Robert Lee Russell - (1949)

Former judges

For more information about the judges of the Northern District of Georgia, see former federal judges of the Northern District of Georgia.

Jurisdiction

Northern District of Georgia counties (click for larger map)

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

There are four court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Atlanta Division, covering Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, and Rockdale counties.

The Gainesville Division, covering Banks, Barrow, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.

The Newnan Division, covering Carroll, Coweta, Fayette, Haralson, Heard, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, and Troup counties.

The Rome Division, covering Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties.

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.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 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	6,026	5,792	4,894	11	47	548	20	10	7	114	3
2011	6,262	6,033	4,588	11	28	569	21	9	6	93	2
2012	6,191	6,287	4,958	11	24	563	20	10	6	86	2
2013	6,129	6,071	5,011	11	35	557	21	10	7	92	2
2014	6,005	6,004	4,984	11	32	546	21	10	7	97	3
2015	6,179	5,964	5,189	11	12	562	22	9	6	188	5
2016	6,746	6,234	5,692	11	12	613	21	10	6	344	8
2017	7,254	6,781	6,158	11	21	659	20	11	6	402	8
2018	7,773	6,911	7,000	11	31	707	19	10	7	96	2
2019	7,693	6,579	8,060	11	14	699	16	9	6	134	2
2020	7,109	6,116	9,046	11	0	646	11	11	6	506	7
2021	7,115	6,740	9,398	11	17	647	17	11	6	1,739	22
2022	6,797	9,488	6,663	11	6	618	22	15	11	1,091	21
2023	7,711	8,559	5,795	11	0	701	20	16	7	272	6
Average	6,785	6,683	6,245	11	20	617	19	11	7	375	7

History

The District of Georgia was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 and established the entire state as one district with one post. On August 11, 1848, Congress reorganized the District of Georgia into the Northern District of Georgia and the Southern District of Georgia, with one post split between the two districts. On April 25, 1882, Congress assigned a new post to the Northern District of Georgia and permanently assigned the previous post to the Southern District of Georgia. Since then, nine additional posts have been added to the court for a total of 11 posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Northern District of Georgia:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
April 25, 1882	22 Stat. 47	1
May 24, 1940	54 Stat. 219	2
1948	Temporary post expired	1
August 3, 1949	63 Stat. 493	2
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	3
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	6
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	11

Noteworthy cases

You can find links to Searchable lists of decisions at the courts official page.

• Woman sues school for using her Facebook photo without permission (2014)

Click for summary→

A photo of teenager Chelsea Chaney in a bikini was used by an instructor in Fayette County, Georgia, as an example of online privacy (or lack thereof) for an Internet safety class. After discovering this, Chaney sued her school district for $2 million, claiming that her privacy was violated and that she did not authorize that use of her photo. The court, in a majority opinion written by Judge Timothy Batten, sided with the school district and granted a motion to dismiss most of the lawsuit. The court noted that the privacy setting chosen by Chaney for the photo allowed "friends and friends of friends" on Facebook to see the photo, so she had authorized strangers to view it. The opinion stated, "The Supreme Court consistently has held that a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties." Articles: CyberCrime Review, "Court dismisses most of teen's suit for use of bikini-clad photo from Facebook in high school "Internet Safety" class," October 7, 2013 United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, "Chelsea Chaney v. Fayette County Public School District," September 30, 2013 (Case 3:13-cv-00089-TCB)

• Injunction granted regarding Georgia's phone subsidy fee (2013)      Judge(s):Richard Story (CTIA - The Wireless Association, et al v. Echols, et al, 1:13-cv-00399-RWS)	Click for summary→
On December 17, 2013, Judge Richard Story granted a preliminary injunction in CTIA - The Wireless Association's favor, enjoining the Georgia Public Service Commission from imposing a $5 per month fee or 500 minute limit on subsidized telephone services provided to low-income residents through the federal Lifeline program. In the underlying case, the state of Georgia attempted to institute the rate regulation to curb fraudulent use of the subsidized phone lines. CTIA filed suit and requested an injunction, arguing that the state's new rule was prohibited under the Federal Communications Act of 1934. Story found that CTIA would be likely to succeed in its suit, and granted an injunction pending its ultimate resolution, noting that "while the status quo may permit some level of fraud to continue, the public interest tilts in favor of providing telephone services to low-income households that otherwise would be unable to afford mobile phones."

• Georgia immigration law enjoined (2011)      Judge(s):Thomas Thrash (GEORGIA LATINO ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, et al. v. Nathan Deal, et al., No. 1:11-CV-1804-TWT)	Click for summary→
On June 27, 2011, Judge Thomas Thrash issued an injunction preventing portions of a Georgia immigration law from going into effect as scheduled, in response to a suit brought against the law by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. Thrash struck the provisions prohibiting the knowing transport or shelter of persons in the U.S. illegally and allowing law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of criminal suspects without identification. Thrash allowed a number of the law's other provisions to enter into effect, including criminal penalties for using a fake ID to obtain employment. On March 20, 2013, Thrash permanently enjoined the provision regarding the transport or shelter of persons in the U.S. illegally after the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled it was preempted by federal law.

• Courthouse mold case (2009)      Judge(s):Richard Story	Click for summary→
Judge Richard Story dismissed a case filed against the General Services Administration by the children of the late Robert Klein, a former federal magistrate judge. The family sued the Government Services Administration over mold in the federal courthouse in Miami where the judge worked, claiming that GSA contractors did a poor job of remodeling the courthouse. Story dismissed the case after ruling he had no jurisdiction since the Federal Employees' Compensation Act prohibited lawsuits seeking damages against the federal government.

• Federal lawsuit against the state for ADA violations (2009)      Judge(s):Charles Pannell	Click for summary→
In 2007, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into Georgia's behavioral health facilities following a series of articles published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution detailing instances of substandard medical care, neglect, and abuse of patients. As a result of this investigation, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In an initial agreement, the state said it would develop a plan to address the identified deficiencies. On September 30, 2009, Judge Charles Pannell rejected the plan developed by the state, saying the Department of Justice did not believe the issues had been addressed. On October 10, 2010, the State of Georgia and the Justice Department entered an agreement where the state would increase its funding and support of multiple social health programs over the course of the following five years.

Noteworthy events

Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)

In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that one judgeship be added to the district. Based on FJC data, the district handled 633 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.

The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the chief judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.

Federal courthouse

Four courthouses serve the Northern District of Georgia:

• Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta
• Sidney O. Smith Federal Building & United States Courthouse in Gainesville
• Lewis R. Morgan Federal Building & United States Courthouse in Newnan
• United States Courthouse in Rome

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.

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.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Bill Clinton had the most district court appointments with 169.

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.

Step	A Candidacy Proceeds	A 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.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Official website of the Northern District of Georgia
• Opinions of the Northern District of Georgia
• U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia