United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
(M.D.N.C.)
Appeals to Fourth Circuit
Established March 2, 1927
Judges assigned 4
Chief judge James A. Beaty, Jr.
Official site

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (in case citations, M.D.N.C.) is a United States district court with jurisdiction over 24 counties in the center of North Carolina. It consists of five divisions with a headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Appeals from the Middle District of North Carolina are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

Contents

Jurisdiction

The Durham division covers Chatham, Durham, Lee, Orange, and Person counties.

The Greensboro division includes: Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, Randolph, and Rockingham counties.

The Rockingham division hears cases for: Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland.

The Salisbury division includes: Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Rowan, and Stanly counties.

The Winston-Salem division covers: Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties.

History

The United States District Court for the District of North Carolina was established on June 4, 1790, by 1 Stat. 126.[1][2] On June 9, 1794 it was subdivided into three districts by 1 Stat. 395,[2] but on March 3, 1797, the three districts were abolished and the single District restored by 1 Stat. 517,[2] until April 29, 1802, when the state was again subdivided into three different districts by 2 Stat. 156.[1][2]

In both instances, these districts, unlike those with geographic designations that existed in other states, were titled by the names of the cities in which the courts sat. After the first division, they were styled the District of Edenton, the District of New Bern, and the District of Wilmington; after the second division, they were styled the District of Albemarle, the District of Cape Fear, and the District of Pamptico. However, in both instances, only one judge was authorized to serve all three districts, causing them to effectively operate as a single district.[2] The latter combination was occasionally referred to by the cumbersome title of the United States District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear & Pamptico Districts of North Carolina.

On June 4, 1872, North Carolina was re-divided into two Districts, Eastern and Western, by 17 Stat. 215.[2] The Middle District was created from portions of the Eastern and Western Districts on March 2, 1927, by 44 Stat. 1339.[2] Shortly thereafter, President Calvin Coolidge appointed Johnson Jay Hayes by recess appointment to be the first judge of the Middle District of North Carolina.

Current judges

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
10 Chief Judge James A. Beaty Jr. Winston-Salem 1949 1994–present 2006–present — Clinton
11 District Judge William Lindsay Osteen Jr. Greensboro 1960 2007–present — — G.W. Bush
12 District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder Winston-Salem 1959 2008–present — — G.W. Bush
13 District Judge Catherine Eagles Greensboro 1958 2010–present — — Obama
8 Senior District Judge Norwood Carlton Tilley, Jr. Greensboro 1943 1988–2008 1999–2006 2008–present Reagan

Three magistrate judges also serve the district: Magistrate Judge P. Trevor Sharp; Magistrate Judge Patrick Auld; and Magistrate Judge Wallace Dixon.[3]

Former judges

Judge Appointed by Began active
service		 Ended active
service		 Ended senior
status		 End reason
Frank William Bullock Jr. Ronald Reagan 01982-12-10 December 10, 1982 02005-12-31 December 31, 2005 02006-08-01 August 1, 2006 retirement
Richard Erwin Jimmy Carter 01980-09-30 September 30, 1980 01992-09-22 September 22, 1992 02006-11-07 November 7, 2006 death
Eugene Andrew Gordon Lyndon B. Johnson 01964-06-09 June 9, 1964 01982-07-12 July 12, 1982 02002-05-04 May 4, 2002 death
Johnson Jay Hayes Calvin Coolidge 01927-04-06 April 6, 1927[4] 01957-06-18 June 18, 1957 01970-10-22 October 22, 1970 death
William Lindsay Osteen, Sr. George H. W. Bush 01991-06-18 June 18, 1991 02006-04-03 April 3, 2006 02007-09-14 September 14, 2007 retirement
L. Richardson Preyer John F. Kennedy 01961-10-07 October 7, 1961[5] 01963-10-09 October 9, 1963 – resignation
Edwin Monroe Stanley Dwight D. Eisenhower 01957-10-23 October 23, 1957[6] 01971-12-23 December 23, 1971 – death
Hiram Hamilton Ward Richard Nixon 01972-06-28 June 28, 1972 01988-08-20 August 20, 1988 02002-04-04 April 4, 2002 death

U.S. Attorneys for the Middle District

Notes

  1. ^ a b Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 389.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g U.S. District Courts of North Carolina, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
  3. ^ http://www.ncmd.uscourts.gov/ncmdphon.htm
  4. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1927, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 9, 1928, and received commission on January 9, 1928.
  5. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 7, 1962, and received commission on February 17, 1962.
  6. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 13, 1958, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 25, 1958, and received commission on February 27, 1958.

See also

External links