United States District Court for the Western District of Washington

Last updated
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
(W.D. Wash.)
Washington-western.png
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Map.svg
Map of the court's jurisdiction by county
Location United States Courthouse
More locations
EstablishedMarch 2, 1905
Judges7
Chief Judge David Estudillo
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman (acting)
www.wawd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (in case citations, W.D. Wash.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of the state of Washington: Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom. Its courthouse, built in 2004, is located at 7th and Stewart in Seattle.

Contents

As of the 2020 census, 6 million people resided in the Western District, representing 78% of the state's population. The district includes the cities of Bellingham, Bremerton, Seattle, Bellevue, Olympia, Vancouver, Everett, and Tacoma, amongst others.

The court is divided into two divisions by counties as follows: [1]

Seattle Division - Island, King, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom

Tacoma Division - Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston, Wahkiakum

Cases from the Western District of Washington are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of June 21,2023, the acting United States attorney is Tessa M. Gorman. [2] The position of United States marshal for the district is vacant. [3]

Current judges

As of July 18,2023:

#TitleJudgeDuty stationBornTerm of serviceAppointed by
Active Chief Senior
31Chief Judge David Estudillo Tacoma 19732021–present2022–present Biden
32District Judge Tana Lin Seattle 19662021–present Biden
33District Judge Lauren J. King Seattle 19822021–present Biden
34District Judge John H. Chun Seattle 19702022–present Biden
35District Judge Jamal Whitehead Seattle 19792023–present Biden
36District Judge Kymberly Evanson Seattle 19772023–present Biden
37District Judge Tiffany Cartwright Tacoma 19852023–present Biden
17Senior Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein Washington, D.C. [Note 1] 19391980–20111987–19942011–present Carter
18Senior Judge John C. Coughenour Seattle 19411981–20061997–20042006–present Reagan
19Senior Judge Carolyn R. Dimmick Seattle 19291985–19971994–19971997–present Reagan
20Senior Judge Robert Jensen Bryan Tacoma 19341986–20002000–present Reagan
22Senior Judge Thomas Samuel Zilly Seattle 19351988–20042004–present Reagan
24Senior Judge Robert S. Lasnik Seattle 19511998–20162004–20112016–present Clinton
25Senior Judge Marsha J. Pechman Seattle 19511999–20162011–20162016–present Clinton
27Senior Judge Ricardo S. Martinez Seattle 19512004–20222016–20222022–present G.W. Bush
28Senior Judge James Robart Seattle 19472004–20162016–present G.W. Bush
29Senior Judge Benjamin Settle Tacoma 19472007–20202020–present G.W. Bush
30Senior Judge Richard A. Jones Seattle 19502007–20222022–present G.W. Bush
  1. Since taking senior status, Judge Rothstein has sat with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Former judges

#JudgeStateBorn–diedActive service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed byReason for
termination
1 Cornelius H. Hanford WA 1849–19261905–1912 [Note 1] B. Harrison /Operation of law resignation
2 George Donworth WA 1861–19471909–1912 Taft resignation
3 Edward E. Cushman WA 1865–19441912–19391939–1944 Taft death
4 Clinton Woodbury Howard WA 1864–19371912–1913 Taft not confirmed
5 Jeremiah Neterer WA 1862–19431913–19331933–1943 Wilson death
6 John Clyde Bowen WA 1888–19781934–19611948–19591961–1978 F. Roosevelt death
7 Lloyd Llewellyn Black WA 1889–19501939–1950 [Note 2] F. Roosevelt death
8 Charles H. Leavy WA 1884–19521942–19521952 F. Roosevelt death
9 William James Lindberg WA 1904–19811951–1971 [Note 3] 1959–19711971–1981 Truman death
10 George Hugo Boldt WA 1903–19841953–197119711971–1984 Eisenhower death
11 William Trulock Beeks WA 1906–19881961–19731971–19731973–1988 Kennedy death
12 William Nelson Goodwin WA 1909–19751966–1975 [Note 2] 1973–1975 L. Johnson death
13 Walter Thomas McGovern WA 1922–20211971–19871975–19871987–2021 Nixon death
14 Morell Edward Sharp WA 1920–19801971–1980 Nixon death
15 Donald S. Voorhees WA 1916–19891974–19861986–1989 Nixon death
16 Jack Edward Tanner WA 1919–20061978–1991 [Note 4] 1991–2006 Carter death
21 William Lee Dwyer WA 1929–20021987–19981998–2002 Reagan death
23 Frank Burgess WA 1935–20101994–20052005–2010 Clinton death
26 Ronald B. Leighton WA 1951–present2002–20192019–2020 G.W. Bush retirement
  1. Reassigned from the District of Washington.
  2. 1 2 Jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington.
  3. From 1951 to 1961, Judge Lindberg was jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington.
  4. In 1978, Judge Tanner was jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

See also

Notes

    References

    1. "About the Court | Western District of Washington | United States District Court". www.wawd.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
    2. "Western District of Washington | U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announces departure from U.S. Attorney's Office | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
    3. "Presidential Nominations – THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Thomas.loc.gov. Retrieved 2012-05-19.[ permanent dead link ]