William Earl Britt (born December 7, 1932) is a former

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Caroli ...

Education and career

Britt was born in

McDonald Macdonald, MacDonald or McDonald may refer to: Organisations * McDonald's, a chain of fast food restaurants * McDonald & Co., a former investment firm * MacDonald Motorsports, a NASCAR team * Macdonald Realty, a Canadian real estate brokerage f ...

, North Carolina. He is the younger brother of

David M. Britt David Maxwell Britt (January 3, 1917 – May 5, 2009) was a North Carolina politician and jurist who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, as one of the original judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and finall ...

. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Wake Forest University in 1956 and a Bachelor of Laws from

Wake Forest University School of Law The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited ...

in 1958. He was in the United States Army (SP-4) from 1953 to 1955. He was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Justice

Emery B. Denny Emery Byrd Denny (November 23, 1892 – April 24, 1973) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1942 until 1962 and as chief justice of that court from 1962 until 1966. Prior to his ser ...

of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1958 to 1959. He was in private practice of law in Fairmont and Lumberton, North Carolina from 1959 to 1980.

Federal judicial service

Britt was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on April 14, 1980, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

John Davis Larkins Jr. John Davis Larkins Jr. (June 8, 1909 – February 16, 1990) was an American politician and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Education and career ...

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 21, 1980, and received his commission on May 23, 1980. He served as Chief Judge from 1983 to 1990. Britt assumed senior status on December 7, 1997 and officially retired May 31, 2022. Judge Britt was the last district judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina to have been nominated by a Democratic president.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Britt, William Earl 1932 births Living people Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina People from Robeson County, North Carolina United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges Wake Forest University alumni Wake Forest University School of Law alumni United States Army soldiers North Carolina lawyers People from Fairmont, North Carolina People from Lumberton, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina 21st-century American judges