United States District Court for the District of Wyoming

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (D. Wyo.)
Map
Appeals to	Tenth Circuit
Established	July 10, 1890
Judges assigned	3
Chief judge	Nancy D. Freudenthal
Official site

The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (in case citations, D. Wyo.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Idaho.^[1] The court has locations in Cheyenne and Casper.

Appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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 Wyoming represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court.

The district of Wyoming is the only federal court district that includes portions of more than one state. Law professor Brian C. Kalt has argued that it may be impossible to impanel a jury in compliance with the Vicinage Clause of the Sixth Amendment for a crime committed solely in the Idaho portion of the park (and that it would be difficult to do so for a crime committed solely in the Montana portion).^[2]

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
7	Chief Judge	Nancy D. Freudenthal	Cheyenne	1954	2010–present	2011–present	—	Obama
5	District Judge	Alan Bond Johnson	Cheyenne	1939	1985–present	1992–1999	—	Reagan
8	District Judge	Scott W. Skavdahl	Casper	1966	2011–present	—	—	Obama

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Age at appointment	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Riner, John AldenJohn Alden Riner	WY	1850–1923	1890–1921	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1921–1923	Harrison, B.B. Harrison	death
2	Kennedy, Thomas BlakeThomas Blake Kennedy	WY	1874–1957	1921–1955	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1955–1957	Harding, Harding	death
3	Kerr, Ewing ThomasEwing Thomas Kerr	WY	1900–1992	1955[3]–1975	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1975–1992	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
4	Brimmer, Jr., Clarence AddisonClarence Addison Brimmer, Jr.	WY	1922–2014	1975–2006	1986–1992	{{{age at appointment}}}	2006–2013	Ford	retirement
6	Downes, William F.William F. Downes	WY	1946–present	1994–2011	1999–2011	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Clinton	retirement

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on July 10, 1890 by 26 Stat. 222 Riner 1890–1921 Kennedy 1921–1955 Kerr 1955–1975 Brimmer, Jr. 1975–2006 Freudenthal 2010–present

Seat 2 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Johnson 1985–present

Seat 3 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Downes 1994–2011 Skavdahl 2011–present

Present and former United States Attorneys for the District of Wyoming

• Dave Freudenthal (1994–2001)
• Matt Mead (2001–2007)
• Kelly Rankin (2008–2009)
• Christopher Crofts (2009–present)

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Courts of Wyoming
• List of United States federal courthouses in Wyoming

Notes

1. 28 U.S.C. § 131.
2. Brian C. Kalt, The Perfect Crime, 93 Geo. L.J. 675 (2005).
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 12, 1956, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 1, 1956, and received commission on March 2, 1956.

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Wyoming Official Website