United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky

Eastern District of Kentucky
Sixth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 6
Judges: 5
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: David Bunning
Active judges: Claria Horn Boom, David Bunning, Karen Caldwell, Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, Robert Wier Senior judges: William Bertelsman, Joseph Hood, Danny Reeves

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Lexington, Ashland, Covington, Frankfort, London and Pikeville, Kentucky. 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.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, out of the court's six judicial positions. One of those six positions is a shared seat with the Western 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
Karen Caldwell	George W. Bush (R)	October 24, 2001 -	Transylvania University, 1977	University of Kentucky College of Law, 1980
David Bunning	George W. Bush (R)	February 19, 2002 -	University of Kentucky, 1988	University of Kentucky College of Law, 1991
Gregory F. Van Tatenhove	George W. Bush (R)	January 5, 2006 -	Asbury College, 1982	University of Kentucky College of Law, 1989
Claria Horn Boom	Donald Trump (R)	April 11, 2018 -	Transylvania University, 1991	Vanderbilt University Law School, 1994
Robert Wier	Donald Trump (R)	June 12, 2018 -	University of Kentucky, 1989	University of Kentucky College of Law, 1992

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: 0
• Republican appointed: 5

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
William Bertelsman	Jimmy Carter (D)	February 1, 2001 -	Xavier University, Ohio, 1958	University of Cincinnati College of Law, 1961
Joseph Hood	George H.W. Bush (R)	October 14, 2007 -	University of Kentucky, 1965	University of Kentucky College of Law, 1972
Danny Reeves	George W. Bush (R)	February 1, 2025 -	Eastern Kentucky University, 1978	Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, 1981

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: 1
• Republican appointed: 2

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
Candace Smith
Hanly Ingram
Edward Atkins		August 24, 2006 -		University of Kentucky Law, 1990
Matthew Stinnett		October 26, 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.

Danny Reeves - (2019 - 2025) Karen Caldwell - (2012 - 2019) Jennifer Coffman - (2007 - 2012) Joseph Hood - (2005 - 2007) Karl Forester - (2001 - 2005) Henry Wilhoit - (1998 - 2000) William Bertelsman - (1991 - 1998)

Eugene Siler - (1984 - 1991) Bernard Moynahan - (1969 - 1984) Mac Swinford - (1963 - 1969) Hiram Church Ford - (1948 - 1963)

Former judges

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

Jurisdiction

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

The Eastern 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 six court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Ashland Division, covering Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, Lawrence, Lewis, Morgan, and Rowan counties.

The Covington Division, covering Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Mason, Pendleton, and Robertson counties.

The Frankfort Division, covering Anderson, Carroll, Franklin, Henry, Owen, Shelby, and Trimble counties.

The Lexington Division, covering Bath, Bourbon, Boyle, Breathitt, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, Menifee, Mercer, Montgomery, Nicholas, Powell, Scott, Wolfe, and Woodford counties.

The London Division, covering Bell, Clay, Harlan, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, McCreary, Owsley, Perry, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Wayne, and Whitley counties.

The Pikeville Division, covering Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, and Pike counties.

The court is based in Lexington and also holds sessions in federal courthouses in Ashland, Covington, Frankfort, London, and Pikeville. The court also meets in Richmond and Jackson. In addition, at one time the court also met in Catlettsburg, however the court left Catlettsburg when the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Ashland was completed.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2023. 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 Eastern 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	2,282	2,236	2,140	6	0	415	15	8	9	66	4
2011	2,144	2,113	1,932	6	0	390	10	7	9	95	6
2012	2,044	2,313	1,949	6	0	372	13	9	8	86	7
2013	2,381	2,054	2,278	6	12	433	17	8	9	143	10
2014	2,098	2,306	2,064	6	12	381	17	9	9	133	10
2015	1,922	2,075	1,907	6	12	349	15	10	10	135	11
2016	2,166	2,016	2,077	6	12	394	20	9	10	126	9
2017	2,220	2,153	2,136	6	19	404	18	10	8	128	9
2018	2,254	2,115	2,277	6	24	410	18	10	9	125	8
2019	2,306	2,373	2,222	6	0	419	19	8	12	126	9
2020	2,038	1,956	2,316	6	0	371	14	11	9	140	9
2021	1,667	1,813	2,178	6	0	303	12	12	12	303	22
2022	1,719	2,086	1,802	6	0	313	16	10	16	163	16
2023	1,664	1,710	1,757	6	0	303	11	11	9	151	15
Average	2,065	2,094	2,074	6	7	376	15	9	10	137	10

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 current 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 Eastern 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
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	3
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	5 (1 temporary)
December 21, 2000	114 Stat. 2762	6

Noteworthy cases

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

• Teenager sentenced for threatening to kill federal judge and prosecutor (2014)      Judge(s):Gregory Van Tatenhove (U.S. v. Collins)	Click for summary→
On February 27, 2014, Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove sentenced 19-year-old Michael A. Collins for threats made against District Judge David Bunning, Magistrate Judge Edward Atkins, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Denney. In the underlying case, Collins' father, John Collins, was sentenced to eleven years in prison following his conviction for possession of child pornography. Collins was enrolled in a National Guard program for at-risk teens at the time of his father's sentencing, and in December 2012, he disclosed to a program counselor that he intended to spend Christmas with his family before killing the judges, prosecutors, and police involved in his father's case. After he was indicted on three counts of threatening to kill federal officers, mental health professionals assessed Collins as a significant threat. Collins asserted an insanity defense in January 2013, but later changed his plea in February 2014 when he reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors to drop one of the charges he faced. Judge Van Tatenhove sentenced Collins to two years in prison.

Federal courthouse

Six separate courthouses serve the Eastern District of Kentucky and are located in Lexington, Ashland, Covington, Frankfort, London, and Pikeville.

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.