United States District Court for the District of Wyoming


The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Idaho; it is the only federal court district that includes portions of more than one state, creating a possible "Zone of Death" where it would be difficult to prosecute crimes. The court has locations in Cheyenne and Casper.
Appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of, the acting United States attorney is Darin Smith.

Current judges



Zone of death

Law professor Brian C. Kalt has argued that it may be impossible to impanel a jury in compliance with the Vicinage Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution for a crime committed solely in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone National Park. This has been referred to as the Zone of Death.

United States attorneys for the District of Wyoming

U.S. attorneys for Wyoming including the Wyoming Territory:
NameTerm startedTerm endedPresidents served under
Joseph M. Carey18691871Ulysses S. Grant
John James Jenkins18761880Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes
Anthony C. Campbell18851890Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin F. Fowler18901894Benjamin Harrison
Gibson Clark18941898Grover Cleveland and William McKinley
Benjamin M. Ausherman18981907William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt
Timothy F. Burke19071911Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
Hillard S. Ridgely19111914William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson
Charles L. Rigdon19141921Woodrow Wilson
Albert D. Walton19211933Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover
Carl L. Sackett19331949Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman
John Coleman Pickett19491949Harry Truman
John J. Hickey19491953Harry Truman
John F. Raper19531961Dwight D. Eisenhower
Robert N. Chaffin19611969John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard V. Thomas19691974Richard Nixon
Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr.19741975Gerald Ford
James P. Castberg19751977Gerald Ford
Toshiro Suyematsu19771977Gerald Ford
Charles E. Graves19771981Jimmy Carter
Toshiro Suyematsu19811981Jimmy Carter
Richard A. Stacy19811994Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
Dave Freudenthal19942001Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Matt Mead20012007George W. Bush
John R. Green20072008George W. Bush
Kelly H. Rankin20082009George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Christopher A. Crofts20102017Barack Obama
Mark Klaassen20172021Donald Trump and Joe Biden
L. Robert Murray20212022Joe Biden
Nicholas Vassallo20222024Joe Biden
Eric Heimann2024presentJoe Biden and Donald Trump