United States District Court for the District of Delaware

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington.

Because Delaware is the state of incorporation for most major U.S. corporations, the District of Delaware hears and tries many patent and other complex commercial disputes that must be heard in federal court for diversity of citizenship reasons, and hears many appeals from bankruptcy disputes which are filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Appeals from the Court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which sits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

As of December 12, 2025, the United States attorney for the District of Delaware is Benjamin L. Wallace.

History

The court was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, , on September 24, 1789. From its establishment until 1946, the court had a single judge. A temporary additional judgeship was authorized on July 24, 1946, by , and was made permanent on September 5, 1950, by . A third judge was authorized on February 10, 1954, by , and a fourth on July 10, 1984, by .

Current judges :

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

United States attorneys Source: U.S. AttorneyTerm startedTerm endedPresidents served underGeorge Read II 17891816George Washington and John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James MadisonGeorge Read III18161836James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and Andrew JacksonJames A. Bayard Jr.18371843Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, and John TylerWilliam Horsey Rogers18431849John Tyler and James K. PolkPerry Sheward Johnson18491853Zachary Taylor and Millard FillmoreThomas F. Bayard18531855Franklin PierceDaniel Moore Bates18551861Franklin Pierce and James BuchananEdward Green Bradford18611866Abraham Lincoln and Andrew JohnsonJohn Lockwood Pratt18661869Andrew JohnsonAnthony Higgins 18691876Ulysses S. GrantWilliam Corbit Spruance18761880Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. HayesJohn Cunningham Patterson18801888Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, and Grover ClevelandAlexander Bradshaw Cooper18881891Grover Cleveland and Benjamin HarrisonBeniah Watson 18911894Benjamin Harrison and Grover ClevelandLewis Cass Vandergrift 18941899Grover Cleveland and William McKinleyWilliam Michael Byrne18991903William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt John Percy Nields 19031916Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Woodrow WilsonCharles F. Curley19161920Woodrow WilsonJames H. Hughes, Jr.19201924Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, and Calvin CoolidgeDavid J. Reinhardt19241927Calvin CoolidgeLeonard E. Wales19271935Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. RooseveltJohn J. Morris, Jr.19351939Franklin D. RooseveltCharles Stewart Lynch19391944Franklin D. Roosevelt John J. Morris, Jr.19441948Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry TrumanWilliam Marvel19481953Harry TrumanLeonard G. Hagner19531961Dwight D. EisenhowerAlexander Greenfield19611969John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson F. L. Peter Stone19691973Richard NixonRalph F. Keil19731975Richard Nixon and Gerald FordW. Laird Stabler Jr.19751977Gerald FordJames W. Garvin, Jr.19771981Jimmy Carter Joseph James Farnan Jr.19811985Ronald ReaganWilliam C. Carpenter, Jr.19851993Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush Gregory M. Sleet 19931998Bill ClintonCarl Schnee19992001Bill ClintonColm Connolly20012009George W. BushCharles Oberly20112018Barack Obama and Donald TrumpDavid C. Weiss20182025Donald Trump and Joe Biden

See also Courts of Delaware List of current United States district judges List of United States federal courthouses in Delaware

References

External links United States District Court for the District of Delaware U.S. District Court of Delaware, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.