United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

Western District of Oklahoma
Tenth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 7
Judges: 7
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Timothy DeGiusti
Active judges: Timothy DeGiusti, Jodi Dishman, Charles B. Goodwin, John Heil III, Bernard Jones, Scott Palk, Patrick Wyrick Senior judges: Wayne Alley, Robin Cauthron, Stephen Friot, Joe Heaton, Timothy D. Leonard, Vicki Miles-LaGrange, James Payne, David Russell

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma is one of 94 United States district courts. It operates out of a courthouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit based in Denver, Colorado at the Byron White Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, out of the court's seven judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Timothy DeGiusti	George W. Bush (R)	August 9, 2007 -	University of Oklahoma, 1985	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1988
Scott Palk	Donald Trump (R)	October 31, 2017 -	Oklahoma State University, 1989	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1992
Charles B. Goodwin	Donald Trump (R)	August 30, 2018 -	University of Oklahoma, 1994	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1997
Patrick Wyrick	Donald Trump (R)	April 10, 2019 -	University of Oklahoma, 2004	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 2007
Jodi Dishman	Donald Trump (R)	December 20, 2019 -	Southern Methodist University, 2002	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 2005
Bernard Jones	Donald Trump (R)	December 31, 2019 -	Southern Methodist University, 2001	University of Notre Dame, 2004
John Heil III	Donald Trump (R)	May 27, 2020 -	Oklahoma State University, 1990	University of Tulsa College of Law, 1994

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

Below is a display of 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: 0
• Republican appointed: 7

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Wayne Alley	Ronald Reagan (R)	May 16, 1999 -	Stanford University, 1952	Stanford Law School, 1957
Timothy D. Leonard	George H.W. Bush (R)	August 21, 2006 -	University of Oklahoma, 1962	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1965
David Russell	Ronald Reagan (R)	July 7, 2013 -	Oklahoma Baptist University, 1963	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1965
Stephen Friot	George W. Bush (R)	December 1, 2014 -	University of Oklahoma, 1969	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1972
Robin Cauthron	George H.W. Bush (R)	July 14, 2015 -	University of Oklahoma, 1970	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1977
James Payne	George W. Bush (R)	August 1, 2017 -	University of Oklahoma, 1963	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1966
Vicki Miles-LaGrange	Bill Clinton (D)	November 5, 2018 -	Vassar College, 1974	Howard University School of Law, 1977
Joe Heaton	George W. Bush (R)	July 1, 2019 -	Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 1973	University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1976

Senior judges by appointing political party

Below is a display of 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: 1
• Republican appointed: 7

Magistrate judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Gary Purcell		December 28, 1992 -	University of Oklahoma, 1973	Oklahoma City University School of Law, 1975
Shon Erwin		June 1, 1995 -	Oral Roberts University, 1983	University of Oklahoma, 1986
Suzanne Mitchell		February 1, 2013 -	Georgetown University, 1990	The George Washington University Law School, 1996
Amanda Maxfield Green	United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma	October 9, 2020 -	University of Oklahoma	University of Oklahoma

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.

Joe Heaton - (2015 - 2019) Vicki Miles-LaGrange - (2008 - 2015) Robin Cauthron - (2001 - 2008) David L. Russell - (1994 - 2001) Lee West - (1993 - 1994) Ralph Thompson - (1986-1993)

Luther Eubanks - (1982-1986) Frederick Daugherty - (1972-1982) Luther Bohanon - (1969-1972) Stephen Chandler - (1956-1969) Edgar Vaught - (1949-1956)

Former judges

For more information about the judges of the Western District of Oklahoma, see former federal judges of the Western District of Oklahoma.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Western District of Oklahoma (click for larger map)

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

The jurisdiction of the Western District of Oklahoma consists of all the counties in the western part of the state of Oklahoma.

• Alfalfa County
• Beaver County
• Beckham County
• Blaine County
• Caddo County
• Canadian County
• Cimarron County
• Cleveland County
• Comanche County
• Cotton County
• Custer County
• Dewey County
• Ellis County
• Garfield County
• Garvin County
• Grady County
• Grant County
• Greer County
• Harmon County
• Harper County
• Jackson County
• Jefferson County
• Kay County
• Kingfisher County
• Kiowa County
• Lincoln County
• Logan County
• McClain County
• Major County
• Noble County
• Oklahoma County
• Payne County
• Pottawatomie County
• Roger Mills County
• Stephens County
• Texas County
• Tillman County
• Washita County
• Woods County
• Woodward County

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 Western District of Oklahoma 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	1,979	1,838	1,575	6	0	330	16	7	9	57	5
2011	2,044	2,012	1,530	6	0	341	28	8	9	48	4
2012	1,996	2,162	1,462	6	0	333	30	8	8	46	4
2013	1,952	1,912	1,495	6	6	325	26	7	9	31	3
2014	2,026	1,873	1,642	6	10	338	23	6	8	49	4
2015	1,868	1,940	1,552	6	27	311	24	9	8	43	4
2016	1,974	1,998	1,519	6	24	329	21	9	9	39	3
2017	1,916	1,871	1,566	6	34	319	17	8	8	37	3
2018	1,861	1,898	1,522	6	26	310	25	9	9	50	5
2019	1,913	1,845	1,592	6	30	319	22	9	9	51	5
2020	1,858	1,701	1,752	6	0	310	16	10	8	58	5
2021	1,837	1,883	1,708	6	0	306	21	13	10	55	5
2022	1,903	1,802	1,813	6	0	317	20	13	10	57	6
2023	1,969	1,996	1,790	6	0	328	27	12	9	71	6
Average	1,935	1,909	1,608	6	11	323	23	9	9	49	4

History

Court history

The Western District of Oklahoma was established by Congress on June 16, 1906, with one post each for the Western and the Eastern districts. Over time, six additional judicial posts were added for a total of seven current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Western District of Oklahoma:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
June 16, 1906	34 Stat. 267, 275	1
June 22, 1936	49 Stat. 1804	2(1 Shared for 3 Districts)
May 24, 1940	54 Stat. 219	3(1 Shared, 1 Temporary)
August 3, 1949	63 Stat. 493	3(1 Shared)
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	4(2 Shared for 3 Districts)
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	5(2 Shared)
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	6(2 Shared)
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	7(1 Shared)

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 March 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.