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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|
Tennessee
District |
Eastern
District |
Middle District |
Western
District |
Total
Judgeships |
|
| January 31, 1797 1 Stat. 496 |
1
|
1
|
|||
| February 13, 1801 2 Stat. 89 |
0
|
||||
| April 29, 1802 2 Stat. 165 (assigned the 1797 judgeship to the Eastern and Western Districts) |
1
|
1
|
1
|
||
| June 18, 1839 5 Stat. 313 (assigned the 1797 judgeship to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts) |
1
|
1 |
1
|
1
|
|
| June 14, 1878 20 Stat. 132 (authorized a new judgeship for the Western District and assigned the 1797 judgeship to the Eastern and Middle Districts exclusively) |
1
|
1 |
1
|
2
|
|
| September 14, 1922 42 Stat. 837 |
1
|
2 |
1
|
3
|
|
|
May 23, 1928
Judgeship altered* |
1
|
1 |
1
|
3
|
|
| May 31, 1938 52 Stat. 584 (authorized a single new judgeship for the Eastern and Middle Districts) |
2
|
2 |
1
|
4
|
|
| November 27, 1940 54 Stat. 1216 (assigned the 1938 judgeship to the Eastern District exclusively) |
2
|
1 |
1
|
4
|
|
| February 10, 1954 68 Stat. 8, 10 |
2
|
2 |
1
|
5
|
|
|
January 7, 1957
Temporary judgeship expired |
2
|
1 |
1
|
4
|
|
| May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 |
3
|
2 |
2
|
7
|
|
| June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 |
3
|
2 |
3
|
8
|
|
| October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 |
3
|
3 |
3
|
9
|
|
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 |
4
|
3 |
4
|
11
|
|
| December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 |
5
|
4 |
5
|
14
|
|
| *In 1928, a vacancy in a judgeship designated to serve both the Eastern and Middle Districts was filled by a judge appointed to serve only in the Eastern District. | |||||
Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships |
||||
| Eastern District |
Middle District |
Western District |
Total Judgeships |
|
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 336 |
2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| October 27, 1986 100 Stat. 3088 |
3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| November 3, 1988 102 Stat. 2982 |
3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| August 26, 1992 106 Stat. 965 |
4 (3 + 1 temporary) |
3 | 4 | 11 (10 + 1 temporary) |
| April 20, 2005 119 Stat. 196 |
4 (3 + 1 temporary) |
3 | 5 (4 + 1 temporary) |
12 (10 + 2 temporary) |
| June 30, 2020 Temporary judgeships expired |
4 (3 + 1 temporary) |
3 | 4 | 11 (10 + 1 temporary) |
Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location) |
||
| Eastern District | ||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time |
| Chattanooga | 1 (1979–2004) 2 (2005–present) |
1 (1971–1978) |
| Chattanooga or Knoxville | 1 (1991–present) | |
| Gatlinburg or Sevierville | 1 (1984–1990) | |
| Greenville | 1 (1986–present) | 1 (1971–1985) |
| Johnson City | 1 (1971–1975) | |
| Knoxville | 1 (1974–present) | 1 (1971–1973) |
| Newport | 1 (1971–1978) | |
| Winchester | 1 (1971–1983) | |
| Total | 0 (1971–1973) 1 (1974–1978) 2 (1979–1985) 3 (1986–1990) 4 (1991–2004) 5 (2005–present) |
6 (1971–1973) 5 (1974–1975) 4 (1976–1978) 2 (1979–1985) 1 (1986–1990) 0 (1991–present) |
| Middle District | ||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time |
| Clarksdale | 1 (1971–1974) | |
| Columbia | 1 (1971–1984) | |
| Cookeville | 1 (1971–1974) | |
| Nashville | 1 (1972–1984) 2 (1985–1997) 3 (1998–present) |
1 (1971) |
| Total | 0 (1971) 1 (1972–1984) 2 (1985–1997) 3 (1998–present) |
4 (1971) 3 (1972–1974) 1 (1975–1984) 0 (1985–present) |
| Western District | ||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time |
| Dyersburg | 1 (1971–1975) | |
| Jackson | 1 (1971–1978) 0 (1979–1988) 1 (1989–1990) |
|
| Jackson or Memphis | 1 (1991–present) | |
| Memphis | 1 (1972–1978) 2 (1979–2009) 3 (2010–present) |
1 (1971) |
| Savannah | 1 (1971–1978) | |
| Total | 0 (1971) 1 (1972–1978) 2 (1979–1990) 3 (1991–2009) 4 (2010–present) |
4 (1971) 3 (1972–1975) 2 (1976–1978) 0 (1979–1988) 1 (1989–1990) 0 (1991–present |
Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year) |
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| Eastern District | ||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total |
| 1971–1973 | 0 | Chattanooga, Greenville, Johnson City, Knoxville, Newport, Winchester | 6 | |
| 1974–1975 | Knoxville | 1 | Chattanooga, Greenville, Johnson City, Newport, Winchester | 5 |
| 1976–1978 | Knoxville | 1 | Chattanooga, Greenville, Newport, Winchester | 4 |
| 1979–1983 | Chattanooga, Knoxville | 2 | Greenville, Winchester | 2 |
| 1984–1985 | Chattanooga, Knoxville | 2 | Gatlinburg or Sevierville, Greenville | 2 |
| 1986–1990 | Chattanooga, Greenville, Knoxville | 3 | Gatlinburg or Sevierville | 1 |
| 1991–2004 | Chattanooga, Chattanooga or Knoxville, Greenville, Knoxville | 4 | 0 | |
| 2005–present | Chattanooga (2), Chattanooga or Knoxville, Greenville, Knoxville | 5 | 0 | |
| Middle District | ||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total |
| 1971 | 0 | Clarksdale, Columbia, Cookeville, Nashville | 4 | |
| 1972–1974 | Nashville | 1 | Clarksdale, Columbia, Cookeville | 3 |
| 1975–1984 | Nashville | 1 | Columbia | 1 |
| 1985–1997 | Nashville (2) | 2 | 0 | |
| 1998–present | Nashville (3) | 3 | 0 | |
| Western District | ||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total |
| 1971 | 0 | Dyersburg, Jackson, Memphis, Savannah | 4 | |
| 1972–1975 | Memphis | 1 | Dyersburg, Jackson, Savannah | 3 |
| 1976–1978 | Memphis | 1 | Jackson, Savannah | 2 |
| 1979–1988 | Memphis (2) | 2 | 0 | |
| 1989–1990 | Memphis (2) | 2 | Jackson | 1 |
| 1991–2009 | Jackson or Memphis, Memphis (2) | 3 | 0 | |
| 2010–present | Jackson or Memphis, Memphis (3) | 4 | 0 | |