United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky

Western District of Kentucky
Sixth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 5
Judges: 5
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Greg N. Stivers
Active judges: Benjamin Joel Beaton, Claria Horn Boom, David J. Hale, Rebecca Grady Jennings, Greg N. Stivers Senior judges: Joseph McKinley, Thomas Russell, Charles Simpson

The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit based in downtown Cincinnati at the Potter A. Stewart Federal Courthouse and Building.

The Western District of Kentucky has five authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court is Greg N. Stivers, who was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). Three of the judges on the court were appointed by Donald Trump (R).

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, out of the court's five judicial positions. One of those five positions is a shared seat with the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Greg N. Stivers	Barack Obama (D)	December 5, 2014 -	Eastern Kentucky University, 1982	University of Kentucky Law, 1985
David J. Hale	Barack Obama (D)	December 10, 2014 -	Vanderbilt University, 1989	University of Kentucky Law, 1992
Claria Horn Boom	Donald Trump (R)	April 11, 2018 -	Transylvania University, 1991	Vanderbilt University Law School, 1994
Rebecca Grady Jennings	Donald Trump (R)	April 19, 2018 -	Emory University, 1999	American University, Washington College of Law, 2002
Benjamin Joel Beaton	Donald Trump (R)	December 1, 2020 -	Centre College, 2003	Columbia Law School, 2009

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: 2
• Republican appointed: 3

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Thomas Russell	Bill Clinton (D)	November 15, 2011 -	Western Kentucky University, 1967	University of Kentucky College of Law, 1970
Charles Simpson	Ronald Reagan (R)	February 1, 2013 -	University of Louisville, 1967	University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law, 1970
Joseph McKinley	Bill Clinton (D)	June 19, 2019 -	University of Kentucky, 1976	University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law, 1979

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: 2
• Republican appointed: 1

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
Lanny King		2011 -
H. Brent Brennenstuhl		May 11, 2012 -
Colin Lindsay		January 1, 2015 -	West Virginia University	Emory University School of Law
Regina Edwards		July 28, 2018 -

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.

Joseph McKinley - (2011 - 2018) Thomas Russell - (2008 - 2011) John Heyburn - (2001 - 2008) Charles Simpson - (1994 - 2001) Ronald Meredith - (1991 - 1994) Thomas Ballantine - (1990 - 1991) Edward Johnstone - (1985 - 1990) Charles Allen - (1977 - 1985) Clifton Bratcher - (1976 - 1977) James Gordon - (1969 - 1976) Henry Brooks - (1960 - 1969) Roy Shelbourne - (1948 - 1960)

Former judges

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

Jurisdiction

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

The Western District of Kentucky 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 Bowling Green Division, covering Adair, Allen, Barren, Butler, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Edmonson, Green, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Russell, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, and Warren counties.

The Louisville Division, covering Breckinridge, Bullitt, Hardin, Jefferson, Larue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Spencer, and Washington counties.

The Owensboro Division, covering Daviess, Grayson, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, and Webster counties.

The Paducah Division, covering Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, McCracken, Marshall, and Trigg 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 Western District of Kentucky 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	1,799	1,968	1,996	5	0	400	12	12	9	75	5
2011	1,641	1,814	1,581	5	2	365	17	15	11	78	6
2012	1,781	1,816	1,758	5	12	396	16	11	9	79	6
2013	2,281	1,776	2,283	5	23	507	13	14	8	71	4
2014	1,921	1,664	2,540	5	28	427	12	11	9	68	3
2015	1,856	1,532	2,838	5	12	412	13	15	8	174	7
2016	1,816	1,693	2,964	5	12	404	16	13	9	709	28
2017	1,783	2,848	1,899	5	12	396	14	12	23	137	10
2018	1,857	1,701	2,040	5	3	413	17	13	9	115	8
2019	1,927	1,793	2,168	5	4	428	19	12	9	134	9
2020	1,800	1,893	2,078	5	0	400	9	14	9	135	8
2021	1,719	1,766	2,045	5	0	382	11	16	11	150	10
2022	1,680	1,745	1,975	5	0	373	12	14	12	154	11
2023	1,676	1,761	1,871	5	0	372	10	15	10	145	11
Average	1,824	1,841	2,145	5	8	405	14	13	10	159	9

History

On September 24, 1789, the Judiciary Act of 1789 organized Kentucky, which was then part of Virginia, as a judicial district and then authorized one post to cover that judicial district. This district court was not yet assigned to a judicial circuit, and therefore was granted the same jurisdiction as the United States Circuit Courts, excluding in appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.

On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act abolished the district court in Kentucky and authorized the United States circuit court for the Sixth Circuit to hold court in Kentucky, thus exercising the full jurisdiction of the circuit and district courts.

Eventually, this act was repealed on March 8, 1802, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Kentucky was reestablished with the same trial jurisdiction of a circuit court as before.

On February 24, 1807, the circuit court jurisdiction of the Kentucky district court was repealed, and the U.S. circuit court for the district was established and assigned over to the newly organized Seventh Circuit. The district of Kentucky was assigned on March 3, 1837, over to the Eighth Circuit, and then the Sixth Circuit on July 15, 1862.

By February 12, 1901, the state of Kentucky was divided in two separate judicial districts known as the Eastern District of Kentucky and the Western District of Kentucky, with one judgeship assigned to each. The sitting judge was assigned to the Western District of Kentucky and a new judge was authorized for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Over time, five additional judicial posts were added for a total of six posts.

As of 2017, the courts had been expanded to a total of ten district court seats. Of those, five are permanently assigned to the Eastern District, four are permanently assigned to the Western District, and one is shared between the two districts.

Judicial posts

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

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73, 77	1
February 12, 1901	31 Stat. 781	1
June 22, 1936	49 Stat. 1806	2
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	3
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	4
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	5

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Justia.com-Dockets and Filings-Western District of Kentucky.

• Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states (2014)      Judge(s):John Heyburn (Bourke, et al v. Beshear, et al, 3:13-cv-00750-JGH)	Click for summary→
In February 2014, Judge Heyburn issued a preliminary ruling, determining that the State of Kentucky must recognize the marriages of four couples who were married in different states and in Canada. In the ruling, Heyburn wrote: “ It is clear that Kentucky's laws treat gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them. ” This ruling voids in part Kentucky's Marriage Amendment, which identified marriage as between one man and one woman. That ballot measure passed in 2004. Judge Heyburn also pointed out that every federal judge who has heard challenges to state recognition of same-sex marriage bans since the passage of Windsor v. United States has found them to be unconstitutional. After the ruling was announced, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who argued the case on behalf of the state, plainly said that he "did his duty" in defending the law. At that time, both Attorney General Conway and Governor Steve Beshear said it was too soon to comment on the next steps in the case. Two weeks later, Judge Heyburn issued a final order, requiring state officials to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages. Attorney General Conway and Governor Beshear immediately filed a motion with Judge Heyburn seeking a 90-day stay of the ruling to determine whether an appeal would be filed. On March 4, 2014, Attorney General Conway announced that he would not continue to defend Kentucky's ban on the recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages: “ Judge Heyburn got it right. The United States Constitution is designed to protect everyone’s rights, both the majority and the minority groups. ” Shortly thereafter, Governor Beshear publicly stated that Kentucky would appeal Judge Heyburn's ruling, but without Conway's assistance.

• Rick Pitino extortion (2011)      Judge(s):Charles Simpson (USA v. Sypher, 3:2009-cr-00085)	Click for summary→
From 2010 to 2011, Judge Charles Simpson presided in the trial of Karen Sypher, who made national headlines for extorting money from Louisville men's basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino. In February 2011, Sypher was convicted of lying to the FBI, retaliating against a witness, and extorting Pitino after he allegedly raped her twice. The alleged rapes were not reported until after she had been charged with extortion, and her allegations were found to be without merit. Judge Simpson sentenced Sypher to seven years and three months in prison, in addition to two years of supervised release. Next, Sypher filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which found that the case lacked merit. Sypher argued that she had ineffective counsel during the original trial. For the opinion of the Sixth Circuit, see: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, USA v. Karen Cunagin Sypher, July 5, 2012.

• Federal tobacco case (2009)      Judge(s):Joseph McKinley	Click for summary→
Judge Joseph McKinley presided in the case involving new federal tobacco marketing laws. Major tobacco companies, including Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, sued the Food and Drug Administration on new regulations of tobacco products in terms of their marketing. The judge found no evidence that the FDA violated the companies' First Amendment rights through increased marketing regulation.

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Western District of Kentucky and are located in Bowling Green, Louisville, Owensboro, and Paducah.

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.