The United States District Court for the District of Virginia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789,, on September 24, 1789. On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801,, divided Virginia into three judicial districts: the District of Virginia, which included the counties west of the Tidewater and south of the Rappahannock River; the District of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and the District of Potomac, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well as Maryland counties along the Potomac. Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single District again,, effective July 1, 1802. The District of Virginia was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by. At that time, West Virginia was still part of Virginia, and was encompassed in Virginia's Western District, while the Eastern District essentially covered what is now the entire state of Virginia. With the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the American Civil War, the Western District of Virginia became the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with the Eastern District to again form a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by. Congress again divided Virginia into the Eastern and Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by. During the 1960s, Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. ran the Alexandria court, often ruled cases on the spot after motions were argued. The court earned the nickname of "rocket docket" for the speed and efficiency for which it processes its cases. Since 1997, the court has processed civil cases the fastest of the 94 federal districts, and eighth fastest in dealing with criminal cases. Courts at Richmond are located in the Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. Federal Courthouse, having previously been held in the historic Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse.
Jurisdiction
The Eastern District of Virginia court's jurisdiction covers slightly over six million people, comprising approximately 85% of the state's population. It jurisdiction is grouped into four geographic divisions:
The Norfolk and Newport News Divisions, though separately enumerated, both sit at the Walter E. Hoffman Courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia. Norfolk Division includes the counties of Accomack, Northampton, Southampton, and independent cities such as Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. The Newport News Division includes the counties of Gloucester, Mathews, York County, and cities such as Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg.
United States Attorney
The current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is G. Zachary Terwilliger, serving as prosecution for criminal cases brought by the federal government, and representing the United States in civil cases in the court. The U.S. Attorney's office also manages the Project Safe Neighborhoods program within the district to reduce gun violence, and is involved with federal initiatives on drug trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, and the prevention/combating of elder care abuse. Neil MacBride and Chuck Rosenberg previously served as U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Current judges
Vacancies and pending nominations
Former judges
Chief judges
Succession of seats
Notable cases
The Eastern District of Virginia has handled many notable cases, including:
