The United States District Court for the District of Georgia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on August 11, 1848.
The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on May 28, 1926. Today, there are five divisions encompassing seventy counties with offices in Athens, Albany, Columbus, Macon, and Valdosta.
Judges of the Middle District of Georgia
| Judge | Active Service | Chief Judge | Senior Status | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Josiah Tilson | 1926-1927 1927-1928 |
Coolidge | ||
| Bascom Sine Deaver | 1928-1944 | Coolidge | ||
| Thomas Hoyt Davis | 1945-1961 | 1949-1961 | 1961-1969 | F.D. Roosevelt |
| Abraham Benjamin Conger | 1949-1953 | Truman | ||
| William Augustus Bootle | 1954-1972 | 1961-1972 | 1972-2005 | Eisenhower |
| J. Robert Elliott | 1962-2000 | 1972-1980 | Kennedy | |
| Wilbur Dawson Owens, Jr. | 1972-1995 | 1980-1995 | 1995-2010 | Nixon |
| Duross Fitzpatrick | 1985-2008 | 1995-2001 | 2001-2008 | Reagan |
| W. Louis Sands | 1994-2014 | 2001-2006 | 2014-present | Clinton |
| Hugh Lawson | 1995-2008 | 2006-2008 | 2008-2024 | Clinton |
| C. Ashley Royal | 2001-present | 2008-2014 | 2016 - present | G.W. Bush |
| Clay D. Land | 2001-present | 2014-2020 | G.W. Bush | |
| Marc T. Treadwell | 2010-present | 2020 - 2024 | Obama | |
| Leslie Abrams Gardner | 2014-present | 2024 - present | Obama | |
| Tilman E. "Tripp" Self | 2018 - present | Trump |
May 28, 2026 marks the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the Middle District of Georgia. To commemorate the Court’s Centennial, Judge Clay D. Land wrote The First 100 Years. The First 100 Years contains a sampling of cases and stories that represent the significant and interesting work performed in the Middle District of Georgia over its first 100 years. The Court would like to thank Judge Land for his years of scholarship in researching, writing, and chronicling this history. The book is available for digital download for free in ePub format. Instructions to download the file onto Kindle and Apple devices are included below.
Digital Download (ePub format)