United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

The United States 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.

United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
(M.D.N.C.)
Location	L. Richardson Preyer Federal Building (Greensboro) More locations Winston-Salem Durham
Appeals to	Fourth Circuit
Established	March 2, 1927
Judges	4
Chief Judge	Catherine Eagles
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Cliff Barrett (interim)
U.S. Marshal	Catrina A. Thompson
www.ncmd.uscourts.gov

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).

Jurisdiction

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina has jurisdiction over 24 counties: Alamance, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham (excluding that portion of Durham County encompassing the Federal Correctional Institution, Butner, North Carolina), Forsyth, Guilford, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin.^[1]

The district's jurisdiction was modified in 2021 to transfer the portions of four counties (Hoke, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland) containing Fort Bragg Military Reservation and Camp Mackall to the Eastern District of North Carolina.^[2]

History

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

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.^[4] 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.^[4] The Middle District was created from portions of the Eastern and Western Districts on March 2, 1927, by 44 Stat. 1339.^[4] 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

As of December 31, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
13	Chief Judge	Catherine Eagles	Greensboro	1958	2010–2024	2023–present	2024–present	Obama
11	District Judge	William Lindsay Osteen Jr.	Greensboro	1960	2007–present	2012–2017	—	G.W. Bush
12	District Judge	Thomas D. Schroeder	Winston-Salem	1959	2008–present	2017–2023	—	G.W. Bush
15	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
16	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	Senior Judge	Norwood Carlton Tilley Jr.	Greensboro	1943	1988–2008	1999–2006	2008–present	Reagan
14	Senior Judge	Loretta Copeland Biggs	Winston-Salem	1954	2014–2024	—	2024–present	Obama

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
1	Greensboro	Catherine Eagles	Senior status	December 31, 2024	–	–
3	Winston-Salem	Loretta Copeland Biggs			–	–

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Johnson Jay Hayes	NC	1886–1970	1927–1957[Note 1]	—	1957–1970	Coolidge	death
2	Edwin Monroe Stanley	NC	1909–1971	1957–1971[Note 2]	1961–1971	—	Eisenhower	death
3	L. Richardson Preyer	NC	1919–2001	1961–1963[Note 3]	—	—	Kennedy	resignation
4	Eugene Andrew Gordon	NC	1917–2002	1964–1982	1971–1982	1982–2002	L. Johnson	death
5	Hiram Hamilton Ward	NC	1923–2002	1972–1988	1982–1988	1988–2002	Nixon	death
6	Richard Erwin	NC	1923–2006	1980–1992	1988–1992	1992–2006	Carter	death
7	Frank William Bullock Jr.	NC	1938–present	1982–2005	1992–1999	2005–2006	Reagan	retirement
9	William Lindsay Osteen Sr.	NC	1930–2009	1991–2006	—	2006–2007	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
10	James A. Beaty Jr.	NC	1949–present	1994–2014	2006–2012	2014–2018	Clinton	retirement

1. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1927, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 9, 1928, and received commission the same day
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 13, 1958, confirmed by the Senate on February 25, 1958, and received commission on February 27, 1958
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the Senate on February 7, 1962, and received commission on February 17, 1962

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on March 2, 1927 by 44 Stat. 1339 Hayes 1928–1957 Stanley 1958–1971 Ward 1972–1988 Tilley, Jr. 1988–2008 Eagles 2010–2024 vacant 2024–present

Seat 2 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Preyer 1962–1963 Gordon 1964–1982 Bullock, Jr. 1982–2005 Schroeder 2008–present

Seat 3 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Erwin 1980–1992 Beaty, Jr. 1994–2014 Biggs 2014–2024 vacant 2024–present

Seat 4 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Osteen, Sr. 1991–2006 Osteen, Jr. 2007–present

U.S. attorneys for the Middle District

• Frank A. Linney (1927–1928)
• Edwin L. Gavin (1928–1932)
• John R. McCrary (1932–1934)
• Carlisle W. Higgins (1934–1947)
• Bryce R. Holt (1947–1954)
• Edwin M. Stanley (1954–1957)
• Robert L. Gavin (1957–1958)
• James E. Holshouser, Sr. (1958–1961)
• Lafayette Williams (1961)
• William H. Murdock (1961–1969)
• William Lindsay Osteen Sr. (1969–1974)
• N. Carlton Tilley Jr. (1974–1977)
• Benjamin H. White, Jr. (1977)
• Mickey Michaux (1977–1980)
• Kenneth W. McAllister (1981–1986)
• Robert H. Edmunds Jr. (1986–1993)
• Benjamin H. White, Jr. (1993)
• Walter C. Holton Jr. (1994–2001)
• Anna Mills Wagoner (2001–2010)
• Ripley Rand (2010–2017)
• Sandra J. Hairston (2017–2018)
• Matthew G.T. Martin (2018–2021)
• Sandra J. Hairston (2021–2025)^[5]

See also

• Courts of North Carolina
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in North Carolina
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
• Salisbury District, historic legislative district