Below are tables showing authorized positions for U.S. district judges, U.S. bankruptcy judges, and U.S. magistrate judges. While district and bankruptcy judgeships are authorized by congressional statute, magistrate judgeships are authorized by the Judicial Conference of the United States. For more detail regarding the authorization of these judgeships, see the Legislative History and Succession Chart(s) pages for each district court (see menu at right), Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships, Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location), and Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year).
Further explanation is provided on this page where the numbers of U.S. district court judgeships for each district do not add up to the total number of such judgeships for the state. This situation occurred when Congress authorized a single judgeship to serve more than one judicial district.
Authorized District Judgeships |
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| Alabama District |
Northern District |
Middle District |
Southern District |
Total Judgeships |
|
| April 21, 1820 3 Stat. 564 |
1 | 1 | |||
| March 10, 1824 4 Stat. 9 (assigned the 1820 judgeship to the Northern and Southern Districts) |
1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| February 6, 1839 5 Stat. 315 (assigned the 1820 judgeship to the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| August 2, 1886 24 Stat. 213 (authorized a new judgeship for the Southern District and assigned the 1820 judgeship from the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts to the Middle and Northern Districts exclusively) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| February 25, 1907 34 Stat. 931 |
2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| June 5, 1936 49 Stat. 1476 (assigned the 1820 judgeship from the Middle and Northern Districts to the Middle District exclusively) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| March 26, 1938 52 Stat. 120 |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| December 7, 1938 Temporary judgeship expired |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| December 24, 1942 56 Stat. 1092 |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 (authorized a single new judgeship for the Middle and Southern Districts) |
3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 (authorized one new judgeship each for the Middle and Northern Districts, and assigned the 1966 judgeship from the Middle and Southern Districts to the Southern District exclusively) |
4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 |
7 | 3 | 2 | 12 | |
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 |
7 | 3 | 3 | 13 | |
| December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 |
8 | 3 | 3 | 14 | |
| May 31, 1996 Temporary judgeship expired |
7 | 3 | 3 | 13 | |
| November 2, 2002 116 Stat. 1758 |
8 | 3 | 3 | 14 | |
Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships |
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|
Northern
District |
Middle
District |
Southern
District |
Total
Judgeships |
|
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 336 |
5
|
2
|
2
|
9 |
| August 26, 1992 106 Stat. 965 |
6
(5 + 1 temporary) |
2 | 2 | 10 (9 + 1 temporary) |
| April 30, 2014 Temporary judgeships expired |
5
|
2 | 2 | 9 |
Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location) |
||
| Northern District | ||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time |
| Anniston | 1 (1971–1974) | |
| Anniston or Gadsden | 1 (1975–1979) | |
| Birmingham | 1 (1972–1974) 2 (1975–1979) 3 (1980–1997) 4 (1998–present) |
1 (1971) |
| Decatur or Huntsville | 1 (1988–present) | 1 (1971–1987) |
| Florence | 1 (1971–1979) | |
| Gadsden | 1 (1971–1974) | |
| Haleyville | 1 (1971–1973) | |
| Tuscaloosa | 1 (1971–1974) | |
| Total | 0 (1971) 1 (1972–1974) 2 (1975–1979) 3 (1980–1987) 4 (1998–1997) 5 (1998–present) |
7 (1971) 6 (1972–1973) 5 (1974) 3 (1975–1979) 1 (1980–1987) 0 (1988–present) |
| Middle District | ||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time |
| Dothan | 1 (1971–1992) | |
| Montgomery | 1 (1972–1984) 2 (1985–1992) 3 (1993–1995) 4 (1996–present) |
1 (1971) |
| Opelika | 1 (1971–1982) | |
| Total | 0 (1971) 1 (1972–1984) 2 (1985–1992) 3 (1993–1995) 4 (1996–present) |
3 (1971) 2 (1972–1982) 1 (1983–1992) 0 (1993–present) |
| Southern District | ||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time |
| Mobile | 1 (1972–1981) 2 (1982–1990) 3 (1991–1999) 4 (2000–present) |
1 (1971) 0 (1972–1989) 1 (1990) |
| Selma | 1 (1971–1986) | |
| Total | 0 (1971) 1 (1972–1981) 2 (1982–1990) 3 (1991–1999) 4 (2000–present) |
2 (1971) 1 (1972–1986) 0 (1987–1989) 1 (1990) 0 (1991–present) |
Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year) |
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| Northern District | ||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total |
| 1971 | 0 | Anniston, Birmingham, Decatur or Huntsville, Florence, Gadsden, Haleyville, Tuscaloosa | 7 | |
| 1972–1973 | Birmingham | 1 | Anniston, Decatur or Huntsville, Florence, Gadsden, Haleyville, Tuscaloosa | 6 |
| 1974 | Birmingham | 1 | Anniston, Decatur or Huntsville, Florence, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa | 5 |
| 1975–1979 | Birmingham (2) | 2 | Anniston or Gadsden, Decatur or Huntsville, Florence | 3 |
| 1980–1987 | Birmingham (3) | 3 | Decatur or Huntsville | 1 |
| 1988–1997 | Birmingham (3), Decatur or Huntsville | 4 | 0 | |
| 1998–present | Birmingham (4), Decatur or Huntsville | 5 | 0 | |
| Middle District | ||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total |
| 1971 | 0 | Dothan, Montgomery, Opelika | 3 | |
| 1972–1982 | Montgomery | 1 | Dothan, Opelika | 2 |
| 1983–1984 | Montgomery | 1 | Dothan | 1 |
| 1985–1992 | Montgomery (2) | 2 | Dothan | 1 |
| 1993–1995 | Montgomery (3) | 3 | 0 | |
| 1996–present | Montgomery (4) | 4 | 0 | |
| Southern District | ||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total |
| 1971 | 0 | Mobile, Selma | 2 | |
| 1972–1981 | Mobile | 1 | Selma | 1 |
| 1982–1986 | Mobile (2) | 2 | Selma | 1 |
| 1987–1989 | Mobile (2) | 2 | 0 | |
| 1990 | Mobile (2) | 2 | Mobile | 1 |
| 1991–1999 | Mobile (3) | 3 | 0 | |
| 2000–present | Mobile (4) | 4 | 0 | |