District Judges

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created 13 district courts, one for each of the 11 states then in the Union and two for parts of Massachusetts and Virginia, each with a single judge. As the country grew, Congress added districts and judgeships, and today there are 94 judicial districts, with at least one in every state, and about 670 authorized district judgeships. Congress has not passed a broad bill creating new permanent district judgeships since 1990, and a bill to add 66 judgeships over a decade was vetoed in December 2024.

District judges are nominated by the President, usually on the recommendation of home-state senators, confirmed by the Senate, and serve during good behavior. They preside over civil and criminal trials, rule on motions, accept guilty pleas and impose sentences, and decide challenges to federal laws and agency actions, often issuing preliminary injunctions while cases proceed. They are assisted by magistrate judges, law clerks, and court staff, and they share administration of their districts under a chief judge chosen by seniority.

District judges became central to fights over executive power because a single judge can block a federal policy. In Trump v. CASA, decided June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court limited universal injunctions that bar enforcement of a policy against everyone, though class actions and other routes remain. In 2025 some members of Congress introduced impeachment resolutions against judges who ruled against the administration, prompting the Chief Justice to state that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement with a ruling. Supporters of the judges' role say it checks unlawful government action, while critics say individual judges have too much power over national policy.