United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

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Middle District of North Carolina
Fourth Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 4
Judges: 4
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Catherine Eagles
Active judges: Loretta Copeland Biggs, Catherine Eagles, William Osteen, Thomas Schroeder

Senior judges:
Norwood Tilley


The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina is one of 94 United States district courts. It consists of five divisions with a headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based in downtown Richmond, Virginia at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, out of the court's four judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

William Osteen

George W. Bush (R)

September 19, 2007 -

University of North Carolina, 1983

University of North Carolina School of Law, 1987

Thomas Schroeder

George W. Bush (R)

January 8, 2008 -

Kansas University, 1981

Notre Dame Law, 1984

Catherine Eagles

Barack Obama (D)

December 22, 2010 -

Southwestern at Memphis, 1979

George Washington University Law Center, 1982

Loretta Copeland Biggs

Barack Obama (D)

December 19, 2014 -

Spelman College, 1976

Howard University School of Law, 1979


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 2
  • Republican appointed: 2

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Norwood Tilley

Ronald Reagan (R)

December 16, 2008 -

Wake Forest, 1966

Wake Forest Law, 1969


Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 0
  • Republican appointed: 1

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

L. Patrick Auld

Joi Elizabeth Peake

February 5, 2012 -

Furman University, 1994

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1998

Joe L. Webster

November 7, 2012 -

Howard University, 1976

Howard University School of Law, 1979


Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information on judges of the Middle District of North Carolina, see former federal judges of the Middle District of North Carolina.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Middle District of North Carolina (click for larger map)

The Middle District of North Carolina has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Middle District of North Carolina consists of all the following counties in the middle part of the state of North Carolina.

There are five court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Durham Division, covering Chatham, Durham, Lee, Orange, and Person counties

The Greensboro Division, covering Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, Randolph, and Rockingham counties

The Rockingham Division, covering Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland counties

The Salisbury Division, covering Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Rowan, and Stanly counties

The Winston-Salem Division, covering Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina caseload stats, 2010-2022
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 1,635 1,620 1,515 4 11 409 21 10 9 31 3
2011 1,642 1,378 1,685 4 0 411 19 8 10 44 3
2012 1,958 1,505 2,219 4 0 490 17 7 9 77 4
2013 1,847 1,877 2,221 4 0 462 22 7 11 111 7
2014 1,810 1,992 2,020 4 6 453 16 7 13 124 9
2015 1,766 2,140 1,572 4 0 442 13 7 10 136 13
2016 2,050 1,860 1,788 4 0 513 13 7 10 104 8
2017 1,851 1,964 1,691 4 0 463 16 6 10 85 7
2018 1,853 1,796 1,736 4 0 463 25 7 10 88 8
2019 2,198 2,185 1,714 4 0 550 27 7 11 124 11
2020 1,777 1,760 1,728 4 0 444 15 9 9 105 9
2021 1,652 1,834 1,550 4 0 413 19 9 11 65 7
2022 1,810 1,833 1,523 4 0 453 20 10 11 67 7
2023 1,773 1,888 1,415 4 0 443 26 9 9 45 5
Average 1,830 1,831 1,741 4 1 458 19 8 10 86 7

History

Court history

The District of North Carolina was established by Congress on June 4, 1790, with one post to cover the entire state. On June 4, 1872, Congress divided the district into the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Western District of North Carolina with one post for each district. On March 2, 1927, Congress split the Middle District of North Carolina off from the existing districts. Over time congress added three posts to the Western District of North Carolina to reach the current total of four posts.[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Western District of North Carolina:

Year Statute Total Seats
June 4, 1790 1 Stat. 126 1 (Whole state)
March 2, 1927 44 Stat. 1339 1
May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 2
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 3
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 4

[7]

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the Middle District of North Carolina.

Federal courthouse

There are three federal courthouses that serve the Middle District of North Carolina. They are located in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Durham.[8]

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through November 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Bill Clinton had the most district court appointments with 169.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Magistrate Judgeships," accessed April 29, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "History of the Districts of North Carolina," accessed May 25, 2021
  8. ↑ Middle District of North Carolina, "Court Locations," accessed May 20, 2021
  9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"



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