at 333
Constitution Avenue,
N.W. in
Washington, D.C. The court was established by
Congress in 1863 as the
Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, replacing the abolished circuit and district courts of the District of Columbia that had been in place since 1801. The court consisted of four justices, including a
chief justice, and was granted the same powers and
jurisdiction as the earlier circuit court. Any of the justices could convene a
United States circuit court or a local criminal court. In 1936, Congress renamed the court the
District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia. Its current name was adopted in 1948, and from then on justices were known as judges. Originally housed in the former
District of Columbia City Hall, the court now sits in the
E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse located at 333
Constitution Avenue,
N.W., in
Washington, D.C. The District has no local
district attorney or equivalent, and so local prosecutorial matters also fall into the jurisdiction of the
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Assistant United States attorneys (AUSAs) are tasked with prosecution of not only federal crimes but also crimes that would normally be left to the state prosecutor's discretion. The District Court has the largest U.S. Attorney's Office in the nation, with around 250 assistant U.S. attorneys. == Active judges ==