United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri | |
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(E.D. Mo.) | |
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Location | Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse More locations |
Appeals to | Eighth Circuit |
Established | March 3, 1857 |
Judges | 9 |
Chief Judge | Stephen R. Clark |
Officers of the court | |
U.S. Attorney | Sayler A. Fleming (acting) |
U.S. Marshal | John D. Jordan |
moed.uscourts.gov |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (in
The court was formed when the
As of December 31, 2020[update], the acting United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri is Sayler A. Fleming.[2]
Mandate and jurisdiction
As a United States district court, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri conducts civil trials and issues orders. The cases it hears concern either federal question jurisdiction, where a federal law or treaty is applicable, or diversity jurisdiction, where parties are domiciled in different states. The court also holds criminal trials of persons charged with violations of federal law. Appeals from cases brought in the Eastern District of Missouri are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). These cases can then be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.[3]
The Court is based in
The court for the Eastern division is held in downtown St. Louis, in the
The Northern division is based in Hannibal, Missouri, but its office is unstaffed unless court is being held there. It covers the counties of Adair, Audrain, Chariton, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Shelby, and Scotland.
The Southeastern division is based at
counties.History
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Origins
Missouri was admitted as a state on August 10, 1821, and the
When the District of Missouri was subdivided,
Civil War and aftermath
Within a few years of the court's establishment, the American Civil War erupted, and Missouri was placed under martial law.[13] Missouri was a border state with sharply divided loyalties among its citizenry, resulting in the imposition of stern controls from the Union government, including the imprisonment of large number of Missouri militiamen.[13] When the District, by the hand of Judge Treat, issued a writ of habeas corpus for the release of one of them, Captain Emmett MacDonald, Union commanding general William S. Harney refused, asserting that he had to answer to a "higher law".[13] A substantial portion of the court's docket in this period came from tax cases:[9]
when the Civil War came it brought in its train a new class of cases, arising from the violation of treasury regulations, and proceedings to enforce the internal revenue law in all its complex and multiplied divisions and subdivisions. When whisky and tobacco, and net income, and gross receipts, and manufactories, and occupations, and legacies, and bonds, and notes, and conveyances, and drugs and medicines, and other innumerable things, were taxed by the Federal government, and each one had a separate code of laws of its own ...[9]
The court, in this time, also tried numerous criminal cases arising from efforts to evade the tax laws through smuggling and fraud.[9] Following the Civil War, and in response to the economic disruption it had caused, Congress enacted the Bankruptcy Act of 1867.[14] Between its enactment and its subsequent repeal in 1878, the Act caused "countless controversies" arising in bankruptcy to be brought before the District Court.[9] Despite the turmoil inflicted by the Civil War, Missouri experienced a population boom, becoming the fifth largest state in the U.S. by 1890, and having a busy court docket which reflected this population growth.[15]
Further division and expansion
In 1887 a Congressional Act divided the Eastern District into the Northern and Eastern Divisions of the Eastern District. The courts of the Eastern Division continued to be held at the U.S. Custom House and Post Office in St. Louis,[16] while the courts of the Northern Division were moved to the U.S. Post Office at Hannibal, Missouri, where they met until 1960.[12][17] These two courts, along with the four courts of the Western District, made six courts for the state, and at the time no other state had so many separate federal courts.[18] The district has since been further divided into the Eastern, Northern, and Southeast divisions.
In 1888, Audrain County, Missouri, was moved from the Eastern to the Western District. In 1897, it was moved back to the Eastern district.[18] In 1891, the United States circuit courts were eliminated in favor of the new United States courts of appeals. When the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard its first case, on October 12, 1891, the presiding judge Henry Clay Caldwell was joined by two district court judges from within the jurisdiction of the Circuit. One of those was Amos Madden Thayer of the Eastern District of Missouri.[15] Thayer would later be appointed to the Eight Circuit in his own right.
The court was authorized to meet in Cape Girardeau beginning in 1905,[12] and from 1910 to 1920 was additionally authorized to meet in Rolla, Missouri.[12] On September 14, 1922,[19] an additional temporary judgeship was authorized for each district of Missouri, and on August 19, 1935,[20] these temporary judgeships were made permanent. Additional judgeships were added to the Eastern District in 1936, 1942, 1970, 1978, and 1984, and two were added in 1990, bringing the Eastern District to its current total of nine judges.
The court continued to meet at the U.S. Custom House and Post Office until 1935,
The
Notable cases
During the Great Depression, three important United States Supreme Court cases were decided which determined the constitutionality of New Deal measures, one of which originated in the Eastern District of Missouri. The case, originally filed as Norman v. B & O Railroad,[24] reached the Supreme Court along with two cases filed in the United States Court of Claims, under the single heading of the Gold Clause Cases.[15] The Supreme Court upheld the determination of the trial court judge, Charles Breckenridge Faris, who found that Congress had the power to prohibit parties from contracting for payment in gold.
In 1976, the court heard the original proceedings in
Due to a school
In
In the 2000s, two more notable cases originated in this District and were heard by the United States Supreme Court.
Current judges
As of June 9, 2023[update]:
# | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
41 | Chief Judge | Stephen R. Clark | St. Louis
|
1966 | 2019–present | 2022–present | — | Trump |
35 | District Judge | Henry Autrey | St. Louis
|
1952 | 2002–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
39 | District Judge | Brian C. Wimes[Note 1] | none[Note 2] | 1966 | 2012–present | — | — | Obama |
40 | District Judge | Ronnie L. White | St. Louis
|
1953 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
42 | District Judge | Sarah Pitlyk | St. Louis
|
1977 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
43 | District Judge | Matthew T. Schelp | St. Louis
|
1970 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
44 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
45 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
46 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
21 | Senior Judge | Edward Louis Filippine | inactive | 1930 | 1977–1995 | 1990–1995 | 1995–present | Carter |
27 | Senior Judge | Jean Constance Hamilton | inactive | 1945 | 1990–2013 | 1995–2002 | 2013–present | G.H.W. Bush |
31 | Senior Judge | Catherine D. Perry | St. Louis
|
1952 | 1994–2018 | 2009–2016 | 2018–present | Clinton |
32 | Senior Judge | E. Richard Webber | inactive | 1942 | 1995–2009 | — | 2009–present | Clinton |
33 | Senior Judge | Nanette Kay Laughrey[Note 1] | none[Note 3] | 1946 | 1996–2011 | — | 2011–present | Clinton |
34 | Senior Judge | Rodney W. Sippel[Note 1] | St. Louis
|
1956 | 1997–2023 | 2016–2022 | 2023–present | Clinton |
36 | Senior Judge | Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. | Cape Girardeau | 1952 | 2008–2020 | — | 2020–present | G.W. Bush |
37 | Senior Judge | Audrey G. Fleissig | St. Louis
|
1955 | 2010–2023 | — | 2023–present | Obama |
38 | Senior Judge | John Andrew Ross | St. Louis
|
1954 | 2011–2023 | — | 2023–present | Obama |
Vacancies and pending nominations
Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | St. Louis
|
Rodney W. Sippel | Senior status | January 28, 2023 | – | – |
2 | Audrey G. Fleissig | April 14, 2023 | – | – | ||
9 | John Andrew Ross | June 9, 2023 | – | – | ||
5 | Ronnie L. White | Retirement | July 31, 2024[34] | – | – |
Former judges
# | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Samuel Treat | MO | 1815–1902 | 1857–1887 | — | — | Pierce | retirement |
2 | Amos Madden Thayer | MO | 1841–1905 | 1887–1894 | — | — | Cleveland | elevation to 8th Cir. |
3 | Henry Samuel Priest | MO | 1853–1930 | 1894–1895 | — | — | Cleveland | resignation |
4 | Elmer Bragg Adams
|
MO | 1842–1916 | 1895–1905[Note 1] | — | — | Cleveland | elevation to 8th Cir. |
5 | Gustavus A. Finkelnburg
|
MO | 1837–1908 | 1905–1907[Note 2] | — | — | T. Roosevelt | resignation |
6 | David Patterson Dyer
|
MO | 1838–1924 | 1907–1919 | — | 1919–1924 | T. Roosevelt | death |
7 | Charles Breckenridge Faris | MO | 1864–1938 | 1919–1935 | — | — | Wilson | elevation to 8th Cir. |
8 | Charles B. Davis | MO | 1877–1943 | 1924–1943 | — | — | Coolidge | death |
9 | George Moore | MO | 1878–1962 | 1935–1962 | 1948–1959 | 1962 | F. Roosevelt | death |
10 | John Caskie Collet | MO | 1898–1955 | 1937–1947[Note 3] | — | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to 8th Cir. |
11 | Richard M. Duncan | MO | 1889–1974 | 1943–1965[Note 3] | — | 1965–1974 | F. Roosevelt | death |
12 | Rubey Mosley Hulen | MO | 1894–1956 | 1943–1956 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
13 | Roy Winfield Harper | MO | 1905–1994 | 1947[Note 4][Note 3] 1947–1948[Note 5][Note 3] 1948–1971[Note 6][Note 3] |
1959–1971 | 1971–1994 | Truman Truman Truman |
death |
14 | Randolph Henry Weber | MO | 1909–1961 | 1957–1961 | — | — | Eisenhower | death |
15 | James Hargrove Meredith | MO | 1914–1988 | 1962–1979 | 1971–1979 | 1979–1988 | Kennedy | death |
16 | John Keating Regan | MO | 1911–1987 | 1962–1977 | — | 1977–1987 | Kennedy | death |
17 | William Robert Collinson | MO | 1912–1995 | 1965–1980[Note 3] | — | 1980–1995 | L. Johnson | death |
18 | William H. Webster | MO | 1924–present | 1970–1973 | — | — | Nixon | elevation to 8th Cir. |
19 | Harris Kenneth Wangelin | MO | 1913–1987 | 1970–1983[Note 3] | 1979–1983 | 1983–1987 | Nixon | death |
20 | John Francis Nangle | MO | 1922–2008 | 1973–1990 | 1983–1990 | 1990–2008 | Nixon | death |
22 | William L. Hungate | MO | 1922–2007 | 1979–1991 | — | 1991–1992 | Carter | retirement |
23 | Clyde S. Cahill Jr. | MO | 1923–2004 | 1980–1992 | — | 1992–2004 | Carter | death |
24 | Joseph Edward Stevens Jr. | MO | 1928–1998 | 1981–1995[Note 3] | — | 1995–1998 | Reagan | death |
25 | Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr. | MO | 1927–present | 1983–1996[Note 3] | — | 1996–2008 | Reagan | retirement |
26 | George F. Gunn Jr. | MO | 1927–1998 | 1985–1996 | — | 1996–1998 | Reagan | death |
28 | Donald J. Stohr | MO | 1934–2015 | 1992–2006 | — | 2006–2015 | G.H.W. Bush | death |
29 | Carol E. Jackson | MO | 1952–present | 1992–2017 | 2002–2009 | — | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
30 | Charles Alexander Shaw | MO | 1944–2020 | 1993–2009 | — | 2009–2020 | Clinton | death |
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 4, 1895, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 1895, and received commission the same day.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 5, 1905, confirmed by the Senate on December 12, 1905, and received commission the same day.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Jointly appointed to the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri.
- ^ Recess appointment; not confirmed by the Senate.
- ^ Received a second recess appointment and was again rejected by the Senate.
- ^ Received a third recess appointment; formally nominated on January 13, 1949, confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 1949, and received commission on February 2, 1949.
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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
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United States Attorneys
List of U.S. Attorneys since 1857[35][36]
- Calvin F. Burns (1857–1861)
- Asa S. Jones (1861–1862)
- William W. Edwards (1862–1863)
- William N. Grover (1863)
- John Willock Noble (1867–1870)
- Chester H. Krum (1870–1876)
- William H. Bliss (1876–1887)
- Thomas P. Bashaw (1887–1889)
- George D. Reynolds (1889–1894)
- William H. Clopton (1894–1898)
- Edward A. Rozier (1898–1902)
- David Patterson Dyer(1902–1907)
- Henry W. Blodgett (1907–1910)
- Charles A. Houts (1910–1914)
- Arthur L. Oliver (1914–1919)
- Walter Lewis Hensley (1919–1920)
- James E. Carroll (1920–1923)
- Allen Curry (1923–1926)
- Louis H. Breuer (1926–1934)
- Harry C. Blanton (1934–1947)
- Drake Watson (1947–1951)
- George L. Robertson (1951–1953)
- William W. Crowdis (1953)
- Harry Richards (1953–1959)
- William H. Webster (1959–1961)
- D. Jeff Lance (1961–1962)
- Richard D. Fitzgibbon, Jr. (1962–1967)
- Veryl Riddle (1967–1969)
- James E. Reeves (1969)
- Daniel Bartlett, Jr. (1969)
- James E. Reeves (1969–1973)
- Donald J. Stohr (1973–1976)
- Barry A. Short (1976–1977)
- Robert D. Kingsland (1977–1981)
- Thomas E. Dittmeier (1981–1990)
- Stephen B. Higgins (1990–1993)
- Edward L. Dowd, Jr. (1993–1999)
- Michael W. Reap (1999–2000)
- Audrey G. Fleissig (2000–2001)
- Raymond Gruender (2001–2004)
- James Martin (2004–2005)
- Catherine Hanaway (2005–2009)
- Michael W. Reap (2009–2010)
- Richard G. Callahan (2010–2017)
- Caroline A. Costantin (2017)
- Jeffrey Jensen (2017–2020)
- Sayler A. Fleming (2020–present)
See also
- Courts of Missouri
- List of current United States district judges
- List of United States federal courthouses in Missouri
References
- ^ a b c d "U.S. District Courts of Missouri, Legislative history". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "Meet the U.S. Attorney". December 31, 2020. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022.
- ^ "The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- United States General Services Administration. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ 3 Stat. 653
- ^ Dickens, Asbury (1852). A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America. Boston: Little, Brown and company. p. 393.
- ^ 5 Stat. 176
- ^ 11 Stat. 197
- ^ a b c d e f g Broadhead, James O. (March 5, 1887). "Address of Col. J. O. Broadhead". In Bar Association of St. Louis (ed.). Proceedings of the Saint Louis Bar on the Retirement of Hon. Samuel Treat. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones printing co. pp. 10–17.
- ^ "Robert William Wells". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on May 13, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "Samuel Treat". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "U.S. District Courts of Missouri, Authorized Meeting Places". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7607-8864-6.
- ^ 14 Stat. 517
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8166-4816-0.
- ^ a b "St. Louis, Missouri, 1884". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "Hannibal, Missouri, 1888". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ a b Gray, Melvin L. (1901). "United States Courts". In Howard L. Conard (ed.). Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri. Southern History Co. pp. 267–269.
- ^ 42 Stat. 838
- ^ 49 Stat. 659
- ^ "St. Louis, 1935". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- U.S. General Services Administration. April 6, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ Decker, Scott H.; et al. (February 2007). "Project Safe Neighborhoods: Strategic Interventions" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. p. 3. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ Norman v. B & O Railroad, 294 U.S. 240 (1935)
- ^ Planned Parenthood of Missouri v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52 (1976).
- Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988).
- ^ Beussink v. Woodland R-IV School district, 30 F. Supp. 2d 1175 (E.D. Mo. 1998).
- ^ Court transcript, accessed March 30, 2009. Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 U.S. 377 (2000).
- ^ Sell v. United States, 539 U.S. 166 (2003).
- ^ Brown Shoe Co., Inc. v. United States, 370 U.S. 294 (1962).
- ^ United Shoe Machinery Corp. v. United States, 258 U.S. 451 (1922).
- ^ Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co., 467 U.S. 986 (1984).
- ^ "Future Judicial Vacancies | United States Courts". www.uscourts.gov.
- ^ "Bicentennial Celebration" (PDF). www.justice.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ "The Political Graveyard: U.S. District Attorneys in Missouri".