United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (in case citations, N.D. Okla.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
(N.D. Okla.)
Location	Tulsa More locations United States Post Office and Courthouse (Tulsa) Bartlesville Miami Pawhuska Vinita
Appeals to	Tenth Circuit
Established	February 16, 1925
Judges	4
Chief Judge	John F. Heil III
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Clint Johnson
U.S. Marshal	Clayton D. Johnson
www.oknd.uscourts.gov

The District was established on February 16, 1925, with the transfer of a judgeship in the Eastern District to the newly established Northern district.^[1]

Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma is one of three federal judicial districts in Oklahoma.^[2] Court for the District is held at Tulsa.

The court's jurisdiction comprises the following counties: Craig, Creek, Delaware, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Rogers, Tulsa, and Washington.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of December 26, 2021^[update] the United States attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma is Clint Johnson.^[3]

Current judges

As of March 1, 2025^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
20	Chief Judge	John F. Heil III[Note 1]	Tulsa	1968	2020–present	2021–present	—	Trump
21	District Judge	Sara E. Hill	Tulsa	1977	2024–present	—	—	Biden
22	District Judge	John D. Russell	Tulsa	1963	2024–present	—	—	Biden
23	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
13	Senior Judge	Terence C. Kern	Tulsa	1944	1994–2010	1996–2003	2010–present	Clinton
16	Senior Judge	Claire Eagan	Tulsa	1950	2001–2022	2005–2012	2022–present	G.W. Bush
17	Senior Judge	James H. Payne[Note 1]	inactive	1941	2001–2017	—	2017–present	G.W. Bush
18	Senior Judge	Gregory Kent Frizzell	Tulsa	1956	2007–2025	2012–2019	2025–present	G.W. Bush
19	Senior Judge	John E. Dowdell	inactive	1955	2012–2021	2019–2021	2021–present	Obama

1. Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma.

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
1	Tulsa	Gregory Kent Frizzell	Senior status	March 1, 2025	–	–

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Franklin Elmore Kennamer	OK	1879–1960	1925–1940[Note 1]	—	1940–1960	Coolidge/Operation of law	death
2	Alfred P. Murrah	OK	1904–1975	1937–1940[Note 2]	—	—	F. Roosevelt	elevation to 10th Cir.
3	Bower Slack Broaddus	OK	1888–1949	1940–1949[Note 2]	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
4	Royce H. Savage	OK	1904–1993	1940–1961	1949–1961	—	F. Roosevelt	resignation
5	William Robert Wallace	OK	1886–1960	1950–1960[Note 2]	—	—	Truman	death
6	Luther L. Bohanon	OK	1902–2003	1961–1974[Note 2]	—	1974–2003	Kennedy	death
7	Frederick Alvin Daugherty	OK	1914–2006	1961–1982[Note 3][Note 2]	—	1982–2006	Kennedy	death
8	Allen E. Barrow	OK	1914–1979	1962–1979	1962–1979	—	Kennedy	death
9	H. Dale Cook	OK	1924–2008	1974–1992[Note 2]	1979–1992	1992–2008	Ford	death
10	Thomas Rutherford Brett	OK	1931–2021	1979–1996	1994–1996	1996–2003	Carter	retirement
11	James O. Ellison	OK	1929–2014	1979–1994	1992–1994	1994–2014	Carter	death
12	David Lynn Russell	OK	1942–present	1981–1990[Note 2]	—	—	Reagan	seat abolished
14	Michael Burrage	OK	1950–present	1994–2001[Note 2]	—	—	Clinton	resignation
15	Sven Erik Holmes	OK	1951–present	1994–2005	2003–2005	—	Clinton	resignation

1. Reassigned from the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
2. Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 7, 1962, and received commission on February 17, 1962.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat reassigned from Eastern District on February 16, 1925 by 43 Stat. 945 Kennamer 1925–1940 Savage 1940–1961 Barrow 1962–1979 Ellison 1979–1994 Holmes 1994–2005 Frizzell 2007–2025 vacant 2025–present

Seat 2 Seat established on June 22, 1936 by 49 Stat. 1804 (concurrent with Eastern and Western Districts) Murrah 1937–1940 Broaddus 1940–1949 Wallace 1950–1960 Bohanon 1961–1974 Cook 1974–1992 Burrage 1994–2001 Payne 2001–2017 Heil III 2020–present

Seat 3 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 (concurrent with Eastern and Western Districts) Daugherty 1961–1982 D. Russell 1981–1990 Seat reassigned solely to Western District on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089

Seat 4 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Brett 1979–1996 Eagan 2001–2022 Hill 2024–present

Seat 5 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Kern 1994–2010 Dowdell 2012–2021 J. Russell 2024–present

See also

• Courts of Oklahoma
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Oklahoma