Information About the Location and Cases Heard by the Virginia District Court

The Virginia District Court is in the federal level court system in the state. There are two such courts and they serve the state’s Eastern District and the Western District.

The Court for Virginia’s Eastern District

This is the first U.S. District Court for Virginia and it enjoys jurisdiction to hear cases from Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia and the metro areas of Richmond. Have you already approached this court and not satisfied with its judgment? If so, then you need to take your case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

The counties in which this court operate are Arlington, Brunswick, Accomack, Fauquier, Gloucester, King George, James City, Northampton, Northumberland, Essex, Fairfax, Prince George, Spotsylvania, Stafford, New Kent, Sussex, Westmoreland, Prince William, Hanover, Southampton, Lunenburg, Surry and others.

The Eastern District Court also enjoys jurisdiction on independent municipalities within these counties.

This is the more important of the two courts because it covers as much as 85% of the population of Virginia. Or in other words, about 6 million people are covered in its jurisdiction.

The Court for Virginia’s Western District

When it comes to the functioning, regulations and subject jurisdiction, the court for the Western District is the same as the Eastern District. The only difference is the area covered.

This court covers the counties of Buena Vista, Bedford, Bristol, Harrisonburg, Roanoke, Salem, Galax, Lexington, Norton, Radford, Waynesboro and others. The cities in which it has jurisdiction are Appomattox, Augusta, Albemarle, Botetourt, Buchanan, Charlotte, Clarke, Frederick, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Orange, Page, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Scott, Shenandoah, Madison, Montgomery, Rockingham, Buckingham, Russell, Washington, Wise and others.

The Western District Court sits at various places in the state and they are Big Stone Gap, Abingdon, Harrisonburg, Danville, Charlottesville, Roanoke and at Lynchburg.

District Judges

As of now, the Eastern District has four judges, three senior judges, and four magistrate judges, with jurisdiction over 43 counties and roughly 85% of the state's population (Clerk’s Offices open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday-Friday). http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov is the official site for the Eastern District Court of Virginia.

The locations of the Eastern District Court include:

•    Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314.
•    Walter E. Hoffman United States Courthouse, 600 Granby Street, Norfolk, VA 23510
•    United States Courthouse, 2400 West Avenue, Newport News, VA 23607.
•    Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Federal Courthouse, 701 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

The Western District has four judges, three senior judges and four magistrate judges, with jurisdiction over 18 counties and 52 independent cities (Clerk’s Offices open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday – Friday). http://www.vawd.uscourts.gov/ is its official site.

They are located at:

•    210 Franklin Road, Room 308, Roanoke, VA 24011. Phone: 540-857-5100
•    180 W. Main Street, Room 104, Abingdon, VA 24210. Phone: 276-628-5116
•    322 E. Wood Ave., Room 204, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219. Phone: 276-523-3557
•    255 W. Main Street, Room 304, Charlottesville, VA 22902. Phone: 434-296-9284
•    700 Main Street, Room 202, Danville, VA 24541. Phone: 434-793-7147.
•    116 N. Main Street, Room 314, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. Phone: 540-434-3181.
•    Lynchburg: 1101 Court Street, Suite A66, Lynchburg, VA 24504. Phone: 434-847-5722

You might be interested to know that a bankruptcy court is also linked up with each U.S. District Court, and this is the case in Virginia too.

Some federal trial courts have jurisdiction over only specific types of cases:

•    The U.S. Court of International Trade oversees cases involving international trade and customs issues.
•    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims oversees most claims for money against the United States, including disputes over federal contracts, unlawful takings of private property by the federal government, and suits for injury on federal property or by a federal employee.
•    The U.S. Tax Court oversees contested pre-assessment determinations of taxes.