United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

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, Forsyth, Guilford, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin, with the exception of Federal Correctional Institution, Butner (which is partially in Durham County) and Fort Bragg Military Reservation (which is partially in Hoke, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland Counties). The latter two institutions are considered entirely part of the Eastern District of North Carolina so as to avoid them being split between two different jurisdictions as they are situated in multiple counties.

History

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

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

:

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

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)

References

References

1. [http://www.ncmd.uscourts.gov/ncmd-counties "NCMD Counties," ''http://www.ncmd.uscourts.gov/ncmd-counties''.]
2. S.1340 - A bill to amend title 28, United States Code, to redefine the eastern and middle judicial districts of North Carolina.https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1340
3. Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 389.
4. [http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district_nc.html U.S. District Courts of North Carolina, Legislative history], ''[[Federal Judicial Center]]''.
5. (2021-11-19). "PN1196 - Nomination of Sandra J. Hairston for Department of Justice, 117th Congress (2021-2022)".