United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Southern District of West Virginia
Fourth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 5
Judges: 5
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Frank W. Volk
Active judges: Irene Berger, Robert Chambers, Joseph Goodwin, Thomas Johnston, Frank W. Volk Senior judges: John Copenhaver, David Faber

The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia 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 Fourth Circuit, based in downtown Richmond, Virginia, at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, out of the court's five judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Joseph Goodwin	Bill Clinton (D)	May 10, 1995 -	West Virginia University, 1965	West Virginia University College of Law, 1970
Robert Chambers	Bill Clinton (D)	September 18, 1997 -	Marshall University, 1974	West Virginia University College of Law, 1977
Thomas Johnston	George W. Bush (R)	April 17, 2006 -	West Virginia University, 1989	West Virginia University College of Law, 1992
Irene Berger	Barack Obama (D)	November 9, 2009 -	West Virginia University, 1976	West Virginia University College of Law, 1979
Frank W. Volk	Donald Trump (R)	October 17, 2019 -	West Virginia University, 1989	West Virginia University 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: 3
• Republican appointed: 2

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
David Faber	George H.W. Bush (R)	December 31, 2008 -	West Virginia University, 1964	Yale Law, 1967
John Copenhaver	Gerald Ford (R)	November 1, 2018 -	West Virginia University, 1947	West Virginia University College of Law, 1950

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: 0
• 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.^[1]

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Cheryl Eifert
Dwane Tinsley		April 8, 2013 -	Davis & Elkins College, 1975	West Virginia University College of Law, 1981
Omar J. Aboulhosn		January 1, 2016 -	Concord College, 1989	West Virginia University, 1992

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.^[2]

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.^[3][4][5]

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.^[3][4][5]

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.^[2][3][4][5]

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.^[6]

Thomas Johnston - (2017-2024) Robert Chambers - (2012-2017) Joseph Goodwin - (2007-2012) David Faber - (2002-2007) Charles Haden II - (1982-2002) Dennis R. Knapp - (1973-1982)

Sidney Christie - (1971-1973) John Field - (1959-1971) Ben Moore - (1948-1958)

Former judges

For more information on the judges of the Southern District of West Virginia, see former federal judges of the Southern District of West Virginia.

Jurisdiction

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

The geographic jurisdiction of the Southern District of West Virginia consists of all the following counties in the southern part of the state of West Virginia.

The jurisdiction of the Southern District of West Virginia includes facilities in Charleston, Bluefield, Huntington, and Beckley.

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 Southern District of West Virginia caseload stats, 2010-2022
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	1,845	1,528	2,275	5	0	369	19	9	9	46	2
2011	1,421	2,245	4,974	5	0	284	13	7	16	3,699	77
2012	10,386	1,358	10,372	5	0	2,077	13	7	9	33	0
2013	34,625	1,784	44,118	5	0	6,925	15	7	6	985	2
2014	32,021	3,604	72,534	5	0	6,404	15	6	1	1,235	2
2015	17,018	13,909	75,776	5	0	3,404	10	7	18	8,802	12
2016	13,392	24,995	64,167	5	0	2,678	10	6	32	24,147	38
2017	5,242	41,977	27,277	5	0	1,048	10	7	39	15,603	58
2018	2,157	37,196	36,168	5	2	431	9	8	53	25,182	70
2019	1,516	33,236	4,436	5	9	303	16	8	54	3,005	73
2020	1,358	3,281	2,501	5	0	272	13	9	63	1,104	50
2021	1,157	1,271	2,374	5	0	231	10	10	10	1,099	54
2022	1,013	1,141	2,238	5	0	203	11	9	12	1,103	58
2023	1,200	1,105	2,320	5	0	240	9	10	10	1,104	55
Average	8,882	12,045	25,109	5	1	1,776	12	8	24	6,225	39

History

The District of West Virginia was established by Congress on June 11, 1864, out of the Western District of Virginia with one post to cover the entire state. On January 22, 1901, Congress divided the district into the Northern District of West Virginia and Southern District of West Virginia with one post each. Over time, four additional judicial posts were added to the Southern District of West Virginia for a total of five current posts.^[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Southern District of West Virginia:^[7]

Year	Statute	Total Seats
June 11, 1864	13 Stat. 124	1 (Whole state)
January 22, 1901	31 Stat. 736	1
June 25, 1921	42 Stat. 67	2 (1 temporary)
August, 1921	Temporary post expired	1
June 22, 1936	49 Stat. 1805	2 (1 temporary shared)
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	2 (1 shared)
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	3 (1 shared)
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	5 (1 shared, 1 temporary)
January 14, 1983	96 Stat. 2601 (temporary reassigned)	4
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	5

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see opinions of the Southern District of West Virginia.

• Former judge gets 50 months for conspiracy charges (2014)

Click for summary→

A former Mingo County judge entered a plea of guilty and received his sentence for conspiring to deprive at least one man of his constitutional rights. Federal Judge Thomas Johnston gave Michael Thornsbury 50 months behind bars. Judge Johnston said he wanted the sentence to serve as a warning and a reminder to others in Mingo County. In addition to Thornsbury, a former county prosecutor and county commissioner were implicated in the conspiracy ring. Federal prosecutors agreed to drop charges against Thornsbury for violating another man's constitutional rights. This man, Robert Woodruff, is the husband of Thornsbury's former secretary, Kim. Thornsbury asked to serve his sentence in a federal prison in Florida or Alabama, near where he has family. Articles: West Virginia Gazette, "Ex-Mingo judge gets 50 months in prison," June 9, 2014 WV, "UPDATE: Former Mingo County judge Michael Thornsbury given 50 months in prison," June 9, 2014

• Judge finds violations of Clean Water Act against mining companies (2014)

Click for summary→

Following several days of expert testimony from the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition's witnesses, Judge Robert Chambers found that the Elk Run Coal Company and Alex Energy, two mining companies, allowed ionic pollution to enter nearby waterways. The judge later held that "overwhelming scientific evidence" proved violations of the Clean Water Act had occurred. Articles: Crowell, "Federal district court finds Clean Water Act violations based on elevated levels of 'conductivity'," July 1, 2014

• Transvaginal mesh multidistrict litigation case (2014)      Judge(s):Joseph Goodwin (In Re Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327)	Click for summary→
In January 2014, Judge Joseph Goodwin ruled that the manner in which Johnson & Johnson's transvaginal mesh product came to market could not be introduced as evidence in the multidistrict litigation case being heard in his court as it could confuse the jury.[8] As background, transvaginal mesh was used to treat women with pelvic and urinary problems, but some implants were allegedly defective, and caused the women to experience serious health problems. In the Ethicon cases, Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Gynecare TVT product bypassed full pre-market Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review because it was made out of the same material, polypropylene, used in another J&J Ethicon division product that had already gone through full FDA review. The FDA's full pre-market review typically took about 1,200 hours, whereas the agency's review of Gynecare TVT took only 20 hours.[8] In his decision, Judge Goodwin noted that focusing on the FDA review process involved in the case "pose[d] a substantial risk of misleading the jury and confusing the issue." J&J's Ethicon division argued that because polypropylene was approved and deemed safe by the FDA in the past for another product, its use in the Gynecare TVT product was also safe, thus barring plaintiffs from claiming it was defective. As Judge Goodwin wrote, however, Gynecare TVT "is a different product, used in a different manner, for a different purpose," and a discussion of its route to market could unnecessarily confuse a jury hearing the case. [8]

• Unconstitutional redistricting map (2012)      Judge(s):Irene Berger, Robert King, John Bailey (Jefferson County Commission et al v. Tennant et al, 2:11-cv-00989)	Click for summary→
On January 3, 2012, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia ruled that West Virginia's congressional redistricting plan was unconstitutional due its unequal distribution of population among the state’s three districts. The court gave the West Virginia Legislature until January 17, 2012, to come up with a new map—otherwise, the panel would redraw the map. The state appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay on the decision. Supreme Court appeal On January 20, 2012, the Supreme Court stayed the lower court's ruling, requiring West Virginia lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional redistricting map. The order suggested that the court would be sympathetic to the state's defense in a full appeal. The order also allowed the state to move forward with the new maps for the 2012 elections. Prior to the ruling, several alternative plans had been considered in the state legislature.[9] The state had until March 27, 2012, to file a brief with the Supreme Court or seek an extension on the stay. On March 27, the state filed a brief asking the court to hear the case. If the case was not heard before the court, the lower court's ruling would have taken effect, and the maps would be redrawn.[10] On September 25, 2012, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the lower federal court, upholding the new congressional districts as constitutional. In its eight-page ruling, the Supreme Court stated that somewhat unequal districts were permissible as the legislature legitimately sought to avoid drawing incumbents into the same district while keeping counties intact.[11]

Federal courthouse

There are four federal courthouses that serve the Southern District of West Virginia and are located in Bluefield, Charleston, Huntington, and Beckley.^[12]

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.^[13][14]

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.^[15]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 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.

Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.

Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.^[14]

Step	Candidacy Proceeds	Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President	President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee	President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate	Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation	Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation	Candidate becomes federal judge	Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.^[16]

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
• District of Maryland
• Eastern District of North Carolina
• Middle District of North Carolina
• Western District of North Carolina
• District of South Carolina
• Eastern District of Virginia
• Western District of Virginia
• Northern District of West Virginia

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, "Official Website"
• U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of West Virginia, "Official Website"
• Southern District of West Virginia, "Judges' Information"
• Southern District of West Virginia, "Opinions"

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
Active judges	Chief Judge: Frank W. Volk   •  Joseph Goodwin  •  Thomas Johnston  •  Robert Chambers  •  Irene Berger
Senior judges	David Faber  •  John Copenhaver  •
Magistrate judges	Omar J. Aboulhosn  •  Dwane Tinsley  •
Former Article III judges	Benjamin Franklin Keller  •  George Warwick McClintic  •  Harry Watkins  •  Sidney Christie  •  Charles Haden II  •  William Kidd  •  John Field (West Virginia)  •  Kenneth Hall (West Virginia)  •  Elizabeth Hallanan  •  Dennis R. Knapp  •  Ben Moore  •  Robert Staker  •
Former Chief judges	David Faber  •  Thomas Johnston  •  Sidney Christie  •  Charles Haden II  •  John Field (West Virginia)  •  Dennis R. Knapp  •  Ben Moore  •

	v • e State of West Virginia Charleston (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy