United States District Court for the District of Idaho

United States District Court for the District of Idaho
United States District Court for the District of Idaho
(D. Idaho)
Location	Boise More locations Pocatello; Coeur d'Alene; Moscow;
Appeals to	Ninth Circuit
Established	July 3, 1890
Judges	2
Chief Judge	David Nye
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Joshua Hurwit
U.S. Marshal	Brent R. Bunn
	www.idd.uscourts.gov/district/

The United States District Court for the District of Idaho (in case citations, D. Idaho) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Idaho (except for the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming).^[1]^[2] Court is held in Boise, Coeur d'Alene, and Pocatello. Cases from the District of Idaho 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 District of Idaho represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of June 17, 2022^[update], the U.S. attorney for the District of Idaho is Joshua Hurwit.

History

The District of Idaho was established shortly after Idaho's admission as a U.S. State. On July 3, 1890, by 26 Stat. 215, the United States Congress organized Idaho as one judicial district, authorizing one judgeship for the court and assigning it to the Ninth Circuit.^[3] The second judgeship was authorized by Congress on February 10, 1954, by 68 Stat. 8.^[3]

Current judges

As of May 17, 2023^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Active	Chief	Senior	Appointed by
12	Chief Judge	David Nye	Pocatello	1958	2017–present	2019–present	—	Donald Trump
13	District Judge	Amanda Brailsford	Boise	1967	2023–present	—	—	Joe Biden
10	Senior Judge	Edward Lodge	inactive	1933	1989–2015	1992–1999	2015–present	George H.W. Bush
11	Senior Judge	B. Lynn Winmill	Boise	1952	1995–2021	1999–2019	2021–present	Bill Clinton

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	James H. Beatty	ID	1836–1927	1891–1907^{[Note 1]}	—	—	B. Harrison	retirement
2	Frank Sigel Dietrich	ID	1863–1930	1907–1927^{[Note 2]}	—	—	T. Roosevelt	elevation to 9th Cir.
3	Charles Cheatham Cavanah	ID	1871–1953	1927–1942	—	1942–1953	Coolidge	death
4	Chase A. Clark	ID	1883–1966	1943–1964	1954–1964	1964–1966	F. Roosevelt	death
5	Fredrick Monroe Taylor	ID	1901–1988	1954–1971	1964–1971	1971–1988	Eisenhower	death
6	Raymond Clyne McNichols	ID	1914–1985	1964–1981	1971–1981	1981–1985	L. Johnson	death
7	J. Blaine Anderson	ID	1922–1988	1971–1976	—	—	Nixon	elevation to 9th Cir.
8	Marion Jones Callister	ID	1921–1997	1976–1989	1981–1988	1989–1997	Ford	death
9	Harold Lyman Ryan	ID	1923–1995	1981–1992	1988–1992	1992–1995	Reagan	death

^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 10, 1891, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 4, 1892, and received his commission the same day.
^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 3, 1907, confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 1907, and received his commission the same day.

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

Seat 1
Seat established on July 3, 1890 by 26 Stat. 215
Beatty	1892–1907
Dietrich	1907–1927
Cavanah	1927–1942
Clark	1943–1964
McNichols	1964–1981
Ryan	1981–1992
Winmill	1995–2021
Brailsford	2023–present