Below are tables showing authorized positions for U.S. district judges, U.S. bankruptcy judges, and U.S. magistrate judges. While district and bankruptcy judgeships are authorized by congressional statute, magistrate judgeships are authorized by the Judicial Conference of the United States. For more detail regarding the authorization of these judgeships, see the Legislative History and Succession Chart(s) pages for each district court (see menu at right), Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships, Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location), and Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year).
Further explanation is provided on this page where the numbers of U.S. district court judgeships for each district do not add up to the total number of such judgeships for the state. This situation occurred when Congress authorized a single judgeship to serve more than one judicial district.
Authorized District Judgeships |
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|
Washington
District |
Eastern
District |
Western
District |
Total
Judgeships |
|
| February 22, 1889 (effective November 11, 1889) 25 Stat. 676 |
1
|
1
|
||
| March 2, 1905 33 Stat. 824 |
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
| March 2, 1909 35 Stat. 686 |
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
| May 31, 1938 52 Stat. 584 |
1
|
3
|
4
|
|
| January 20, 1940 54 Stat. 16 (assigned the 1938 judgeship to the Eastern and Western Districts) |
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
| May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 (authorized a single judgeship for the Eastern and Western Districts and assigned the 1938 judgeship to the Western District exclusively) |
2
|
4
|
5
|
|
| October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 (authorized one judgeship each for the Eastern and Western Districts and assigned the 1961 judgeship to the Western District exclusively) |
2
|
5
|
7
|
|
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 |
3
|
7
|
10
|
|
| December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 |
4
|
7
|
11
|
|
| December 1, 1990 (effective September 2003) 104 Stat. 5089 |
4
|
8
|
12
|
|
|
September 1, 2011
Temporary judgeship expired |
4
|
7
|
11
|
|
Authorized Bankruptcy Judgeships |
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| Eastern District |
Western District |
Total Judgeships |
|
| July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 336 |
1 | 4 | 5 |
| October 27, 1986 100 Stat. 3088 |
2 | 5 | 7 |
Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by location) |
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| Eastern District | |||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time | |
| East Wenatchee | 1 (1971–1975) | ||
| Ephrata | 1 (1971–1975) | ||
| Kennewick | 1 (1971–1975) | ||
| Spokane | 1 (1980–present) | 1 (1971–1979) | |
| Walla Walla | 1 (1971–1975) | ||
| Yakima | 1 (1992–present) | 1 (1971–1991) | |
| Total | 0 (1971–1979) 1 (1980–1991) 2 (1992–present) |
6 (1971–1975) 2 (1976–1979) 1 (1980–1991) 0 (1992–present) |
|
| Western District | |||
| Location | Full-Time | Part-Time | Combination |
| Bellingham | 1 (1971–present) | ||
| Mt. Rainier National Park | 1 (1971–1986) | ||
| Mt. Rainier National Park or Tacoma | 1 (1987–1991) | ||
| Olympic National Park | 1 (1971–1998) | ||
| Seattle | 1 (1974–1977) 2 (1978–present) |
1 (1971–1973) | clerk-magistrate 1 (1972–1973) |
| Seattle or Tacoma | 1 (1992–2002) 2 (2003–2015) 3 (2016–present) |
||
| Tacoma | 1 (1971–present) | ||
| Vancouver | 1 (1971–2015) | ||
| Total | 1 (1971–1973) 2 (1974–1977) 3 (1978–1991) 4 (1992–2002) 5 (2003–2015) 6 (2016–present) |
5 (1971–1973) 4 (1974–1991) 3 (1992–1998) 2 (1999–2015) 1 (2016–present) |
0 (1971) 1 (1972–1973) 0 (1974–present) |
Authorized Magistrate Judgeships (by fiscal year) |
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| Eastern District | ||||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total | ||
| 1971–1975 | 0 | East Wenatchee, Ephrata, Kennewick, Spokane, Walla Walla, Yakima | 6 | |||
| 1976–1979 | 0 | Spokane, Yakima | 2 | |||
| 1980–1991 | Spokane | 1 | Yakima | 1 | ||
| 1992–present | Spokane, Yakima | 2 | 0 | |||
| Western District | ||||||
| Fiscal Year(s) | Full-Time | Total | Part-Time | Total | Combination | Total |
| 1971 | Tacoma | 1 | Bellingham, Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Seattle, Vancouver | 5 | 0 | |
| 1972–1973 | Tacoma | 1 | Bellingham, Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Seattle, Vancouver | 5 | Seattle (clerk-magistrate) | 1 |
| 1974–1977 | Seattle, Tacoma | 2 | Bellingham, Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Vancouver | 4 | 0 | |
| 1978–1986 | Seattle (2), Tacoma | 3 | Bellingham, Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Vancouver | 4 | 0 | |
| 1987–1991 | Seattle (2), Tacoma | 3 | Bellingham, Mt. Rainier National Park or Tacoma, Olympic National Park, Vancouver | 4 | 0 | |
| 1992–1998 | Seattle (2), Seattle or Tacoma, Tacoma | 4 | Bellingham, Olympic National Park, Vancouver | 3 | 0 | |
| 1999–2002 | Seattle (2), Seattle or Tacoma, Tacoma | 4 | Bellingham, Vancouver | 2 | 0 | |
| 2003–2015 | Seattle (2), Seattle or Tacoma (2), Tacoma | 5 | Bellingham, Vancouver | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016–present | Seattle (2), Seattle or Tacoma (3), Tacoma | 6 | Bellingham | 1 | 0 | |