On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by 5 Stat.722, but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by 9 Stat.401. Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by 14 Stat.300. On March 3, 1881, by 21 Stat.507, Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each. The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by 85 Stat.741.
^ Jointly appointed to both the Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana.
^Recess appointment; formally nominated on February 8, 1864, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 17, 1864, and received commission the same day.
^Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1925, confirmed by the Senate on December 21, 1925, and received commission the same day.
^Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1928, confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 1928, and received commission the same day.
^Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on March 8, 1950, and received commission on March 9, 1950.
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 District of Louisiana on March 3, 1823 by 3 Stat. 774 (concurrent with Western District)