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The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia.

During the 1960s, Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. ran the Alexandria court, often ruled cases on the spot after motions were argued. The court earned the nickname, the "rocket docket", for the speed and efficiency for which it processes its cases. Since 1997, the court has processed civil cases the fastest of the 94 federal districts, and eighth fastest in dealing with criminal cases. ^[1]

Map of the United States District Courts in Virginia, showing the boundaries of the Eastern and Western Districts, and their divisions.

The Eastern District of Virginia has within its jurisdiction the following counties and independent cities:

Counties: Accomack, Amelia, Arlington, Brunswick, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier, Gloucester, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Loudoun, Lunenburg, Mathews, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, New Kent, Northampton, Northumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Prince William, Richmond, Southampton, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Surry, Sussex, Westmoreland, York County, along with the cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Colonial Heights, Emporia, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Hopewell, Manassas, Manassas Park, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Richmond, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg.

Chuck Rosenberg is the current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, serving as prosecution for criminal cases brought by the Federal government, and representing the United States in civil cases in the court. The U.S. Attorney's office also manages the Project Safe Neighborhoods program within the district to reduce gun violence (part of a nationwide program), and is involved with federal initiatives on drug trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, and the prevention/combating of elder care abuse. ^[2] Paul McNulty previously served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, until he was nominated on October 21, 2005 to become Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. ^[3]

Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 3 ^[4], the district is grouped into four divisions, and is served by four courthouses:

The Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria currently has four judges: Judge T.S. Ellis, III, Leonie Brinkema, Gerald Bruce Lee, and Liam O'Grady; two Senior Judges: James C. Cacheris and Claude M. Hilton; and three magistrate judges: Barry R. Poretz, T. Rawles Jones, Jr.,Theresa C. Buchanan. On August 2, 2006, President George W. Bush nominated magistrate Judge Liam O'Grady to fill the District Court judgeship vacated by Claude M. Hilton, who assumed senior status in December, 2005, and he was confirmed on July 9, 2007. Senior status judges may take, if they so choose, a reduced docket. ^[5] It is likely that Judge T.S. Ellis, III will assume senior status in the Spring/Summer of 2008 opening another Judgeship.

Newport News

The Walter E. Hoffman United States Courthouse in Norfolk has four judges, Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, Raymond A. Jackson, Jerome B. Friedman, Walter D. Kelley, Jr., two Senior Judges, Robert G. Doumar, Henry Coke Morgan, Jr., four magistrate judges, and two bankruptcy judges. ^[6]

Chief Judge James R. Spencer, Judges Robert E. Payne and Henry E. Hudson, and Senior Judge Richard L. Williams, along with two magistrate judges; Judge Dennis Dohnal and Judge M. Hannah Lauck, serve the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond. ^[7]

The Eastern District of Virginia has handled many notable cases, including:

• United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui^[8], No. 01-455-A (E.D. Va.)
• United States v. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
• United States v. Masoud Khan, et al.^[8], No. 03-296-A (E.D. Va.)
• United States v. Jay Lentz^[8], No. 01-150-A (E.D. Va.)
• United States v. John Walker Lindh^[8], No. 02-37-A (E.D. Va.)
• Yaser Hamdi v. Donald Rumsfeld^[8], No. 02-439 (E.D. Va.)
• United States v. Fares Ali Mohammad Dayekh (involving forgery of immigration documents to facilitate illegal entry from the Middle East)
• United States v. Michael Vick,^[8] No. 3:07CR274 (E.D. Va) (the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting case)
• NTP Inc. v. Research In Motion, Ltd., No. 3:01CF767 (E.D. Va. Nov, 21, 2002) (the BlackBerry patent case)
• eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 271 F. Supp. 2d 789 (E.D. Va. 2002) (in which the court took the position, eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, that a prevailing plaintiff in a patent suit is not necessarily entitled to injunctive relief)

• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Official Website
• United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Official Website

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