United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
(D. Mass.)
Map
Massachusetts Locator Map.PNG
Appeals to First Circuit
Established September 24, 1789
Judges assigned 13
Chief judge Patti B. Saris
Official site

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA.[1] The first court session was held in Boston in 1789. The second term was held in Salem in 1790 and court session locations alternated between the two cities until 1813. That year, Boston became the court's permanent home. A western division was opened in Springfield in 1979 and a central division was opened in Worcester in 1987. The court's main building is the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse on Fan Pier in South Boston.

Appeals from the District of Massachusetts are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, also located in the Moakley courthouse (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

US Attorney's Office

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current U.S. Attorney is Carmen Ortiz.

Federal Public Defender's Office

The Federal Public Defender's Office represents individuals who cannot afford to hire a lawyer in federal criminal cases and related matters. The office is assigned to cases by the district courts in three districts (New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts), and by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.[2]

Judges

Current composition of the court

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
37 Chief Judge Patti B. Saris Boston, MA 1951 1993–present 2013–present — Clinton
32 District Judge William G. Young Boston, MA 1940 1985–present 1999–2005 — Reagan
35 District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton Boston, MA 1938 1992–present — — G.H.W. Bush
38 District Judge Richard G. Stearns Boston, MA 1944 1993–present — — Clinton
41 District Judge George A. O'Toole, Jr. Boston, MA 1947 1995–present — — Clinton
42 District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV Boston, MA 1955 2004–present — — G.W. Bush
43 District Judge Denise J. Casper Boston, MA 1968 2010–present — — Obama
44 District Judge Timothy S. Hillman Worcester, MA 1948 2012–present — — Obama
45 District Judge Indira Talwani Boston, MA 1960 2014–present — — Obama
46 District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni Springfield, MA 1964 2014–present — — Obama
47 District Judge Leo T. Sorokin Boston, MA 1961 2014–present — — Obama
48 District Judge Allison Dale Burroughs Boston, MA 1961 2014–present — — Obama
49 District Judge vacant — — — — — —
24 Senior District Judge Joseph L. Tauro Boston, MA 1931 1972–2013 1992–1999 2013–present Nixon
30 Senior District Judge Rya W. Zobel Boston, MA 1931 1979–2014 — 2014–present Carter
31 Senior District Judge Mark L. Wolf Boston, MA 1946 1985–2013 2006–2012 2013–present Reagan
33 Senior District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock Boston, MA 1947 1986–2015 — 2015–present Reagan
34 Senior District Judge Edward F. Harrington Boston, MA 1933 1988–2001 — 2001–present Reagan
40 Senior District Judge Michael Ponsor Springfield, MA 1946 1994–2011 — 2011–present Clinton

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat Seat last held by Vacancy reason Date of vacancy Nominee Date of nomination
6 Douglas P. Woodlock Senior Status June 1, 2015 Inga S. Bernstein July 30, 2015

Former judges

# Judge State Born/Died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
termination
1 John Lowell MA 1743–1802 1789–1801 — — Washington appointment to circuit court
2 John Davis MA 1761–1847 1801–1841 — — Adams resignation
3 Peleg Sprague MA 1793–1880 1841–1865 — — Tyler resignation
4 John Lowell MA 1824–1897 1865–1879 — — Lincoln appointment to circuit court
5 Thomas Leverett Nelson MA 1827–1897 1879–1897 — — Hayes death
6 Francis Cabot Lowell MA 1855–1911 1898–1905 — — McKinley appointment to 1st Cir.
7 Frederic Dodge MA 1847–1927 1905–1912 — — T. Roosevelt appointment to 1st Cir.
8 James Madison Morton Jr. MA 1869–1940 1912–1932 — — Taft appointment to 1st Cir.
9 Elisha Hume Brewster MA 1871–1946 1922–1941 — 1941–1946 Harding death
10 James Arnold Lowell MA 1869–1933 1922–1933 — — Harding death
11 Hugh Dean McLellan MA 1876–1953 1932–1941 — — Hoover resignation
12 George Clinton Sweeney MA 1895–1966 1935–1966 1948–1965 1966 F. Roosevelt death
13 Francis Ford MA 1882–1975 1938–1972 — 1972–1975 F. Roosevelt death
14 Arthur D. Healey MA 1889–1948 1941–1948 — — F. Roosevelt death
15 Charles Edward Wyzanski, Jr. MA 1906–1986 1941–1971 1965–1971 1971–1986 F. Roosevelt death
16 William T. McCarthy MA 1885–1964 1949–1960 — 1960–1964 Truman death
17 Bailey Aldrich MA 1907–2002 1954–1959 — — Eisenhower appointment to 1st Cir.
18 Anthony Julian MA 1902–1984 1959–1972 1971–1972 1972–1984 Eisenhower death
19 Andrew Augustine Caffrey MA 1920–1993 1960[3]–1986 1972–1986 1986–1993 Eisenhower death
20 Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr. MA 1920–1999 1966–1985 — 1985–1999 L. Johnson death
21 Frank Jerome Murray MA 1904–1995 1967–1977 — 1977–1995 L. Johnson death
22 Levin H. Campbell MA 1927–present 1971–1972 — — Nixon appointment to 1st Cir.
23 Frank Harlan Freedman MA 1924–2003 1972–1992 1986–1992 1992–2003 Nixon death
25 Walter Jay Skinner MA 1927–2005 1973–1992 — 1992–2005 Nixon death
26 A. David Mazzone MA 1928–2004 1978–1993 — 1993–2004 Carter death
27 Robert Keeton MA 1919–2007 1979–2003 — 2003–2006 Carter retirement
28 John Joseph McNaught MA 1921–1994 1979–1991 — — Carter retirement
29 David Sutherland Nelson MA 1933–1998 1979–1991 — 1991–1998 Carter death
36 Reginald C. Lindsay MA 1945–2009 1993–2009 — — Clinton death
39 Nancy Gertner MA 1946–present 1994–2011 — 2011 Clinton retirement

Succession of seats

U.S. Attorneys

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Notable cases

  • Ghen v. Rich (1881) (a whale is the property of the whaler who killed it, and not the person who found it dead on the beach).

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 28 U.S.C. § 101.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 10, 1961, confirmed by the United States Senate on August 9, 1961, and received commission on August 16, 1961.

External links

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