| Court Type: | district |
| Court Name: | United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama |
| Abbreviation: | N.D. Ala. |
| Seal: | NDAla seal.gif |
| Seal Size: | 150 |
| Map Image Name: | NDAla.png |
| Map Image Width: | 150 |
| Location: | Birmingham |
| Courthouse1: | United States Courthouse |
| Location1: | Huntsville |
| Location2: | Tuscaloosa |
| Location3: | Florence |
| Location4: | Decatur |
| Location5: | Anniston |
| Location6: | Gadsden |
| Location7: | Jasper |
| Appeals To: | Eleventh Circuit |
| Established: | March 10, 1824 |
| Judges Assigned: | 8 |
| Chief: | R. David Proctor |
| Us Attorney: | Prim F. Escalona (interim) |
| Us Marshal: | Chester Martin Keely |
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
The District was established on March 10, 1824, with the division of the state into a Northern and Southern district. The circuit court itself was established on June 22, 1874.[1]
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The interim United States attorney is Prim F. Escalona, who was appointed by United States Attorney General William Barr following the resignation of Jay Town on July 15, 2020.[2]
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama is one of three federal judicial districts in Alabama. Court for the District is held at Anniston, Birmingham, Decatur, Florence, Gadsden, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa.
Eastern Division comprises the following counties: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, and Talladega.
Jasper Division comprises the following counties: Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker, and Winston.
Middle Division comprises the following counties: Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Marshall, and St. Clair.
Northeastern Division comprises the following counties: Cullman, Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, and Morgan.
Northwestern Division comprises the following counties: Colbert, Franklin, and Lauderdale.
Southern Division comprises the following counties: Blount, Jefferson, and Shelby.
Western Division comprises the following counties: Bibb, Greene, Pickens, Sumter, and Tuscaloosa.
Lucy v. Adams (1955) – A court ruling which affirmed the right of all citizens to be accepted at the University of Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
Armstrong v. Birmingham Board of Education (1963) – The court dismissed the plaintiff's complaint. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed and ordered the desegregation of Birmingham public schools.[3]
United States v. Wallace (1963) – The court exercised its ruling in Lucy v. Adams and ordered that colored students be permitted to enroll at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The court order led to the infamous Stand in the Schoolhouse Door incident with Governor George C. Wallace.[4]
Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education (2002) – A reversal of the decision rendered by the district and Eleventh Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court held that retaliation against a person on the basis of a sexual complaint is a form of sexual discrimination under Title IX.
Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2003) – The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court, stating that employers cannot be sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act over race or gender discrimination if the claims are based on decisions over 180 days. The decision of the court led Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.
United States v. Alabama (2011) – The court upheld most parts of Alabama HB 56, an anti-illegal immigration bill signed by Governor Robert J. Bentley. The Eleventh Circuit reversed, invalidating much of Alabama HB 56.[5]
| Name | Term Started | Term Ended | Presidents served under |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Crawford | 1820 | 1820 | James Monroe |
| Frank Jones | 1824 | 1826 | James Monroe John Q. Adams |
| Harry J. Thornton | 1826 | 1829 | John Q. Adams Andrew Jackson |
| Joseph Scott | 1829 | 1830 | Andrew Jackson |
| Byrd Brandon | 1830 | 1836 | Andrew Jackson |
| John D. Phelan | 1836 | 1836 | Andrew Jackson |
| Edwin R. Wallace | 1836 | 1839 | Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren |
| Jermiah Clemens | 1839 | 1840 | Martin Van Buren |
| Joseph A. S. Acklin | 1840 | 1850 | Martin Van Buren William H. Harrison John Tyler James K. Polk Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore |
| Jefferson F. Jackson | 1850 | 1853 | Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce |
| George S. Walden | 1853 | 1859 | Franklin Pierce James Buchanan |
| M. J. Turnley | 1859 | 1860 | James Buchanan |
| Charles E. Mayer | 1876 | 1880 | Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes |
| William H. Smith[6] | 1880 | 1885 | Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland |
| George H. Craig | 1885 | 1885 | Grover Cleveland |
| William H. Denson | 1885 | 1889 | Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison |
| Lewis E. Parsons Jr. | 1889 | 1893 | Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland |
| Emmet O'Neal | 1893 | 1897 | Grover Cleveland William McKinley |
| William Vaughn | 1897 | 1902 | William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt |
| Thomas R. Roulhac | 1902 | 1907 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Oliver D. Street | 1907 | 1913 | Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft Woodrow Wilson |
| Robert N. Bell | 1913 | 1919 | Woodrow Wilson |
| Erle Pettris or Pettus | 1919 | 1922 | Woodrow Wilson Warren G. Harding |
| Charles B. Kennamer | 1922 | 1931 | Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover |
| Jim C. Smith | 1931 | 1931 | Herbert Hoover |
| John B. Isabell | 1931 | 1933 | Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Jim C. Smith | 1933 | 1946 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman |
| John D. Hill | 1946 | 1953 | Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Frank Minis Johnson | 1953 | 1955 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Atley A. Kitchings Jr. | 1955 | 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| William L. Longshore[7] | 1956 | 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy |
| Macon L. Weaver | 1961 | 1969 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Wayman G. Sherrer | 1969 | 1977 | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter |
| Jesse R. Brooks | 1977 | 1981 | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan |
| Frank W. Donaldson | 1981 | 1992 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush |
| Jack W. Selden | 1992 | 1993 | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
| Claude Harris Jr. | 1993 | 1994 | Bill Clinton |
| Walter Braswell | 1994 | 1995 | Bill Clinton |
| Caryl P. Privett | 1995 | 1997[8] | Bill Clinton |
| Gordon D. Jones | 1997[9] | 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| Alice H. Martin[10] | 2001[11] | 2009 | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Joyce Vance[12] | 2009[13] | 2017 | Barack Obama |
| Robert O. Posey[14] | 2017 | 2017 | Donald Trump |
| John E. Town[15] [16] | 2017 | 2020[17] | Donald Trump |
| Prim F. Escalona | 2020 | Present | Donald Trump Joe Biden |