The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (in case citations, W.D.N.C.) is a federal district court which covers the western third of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Appeals from the Western District of North Carolina are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

Jurisdiction

The court's jurisdiction comprises the following counties: Alexander, Alleghany,

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missouri * ...

, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe,

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, East ...

, Catawba,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan G ...

Haywood Haywood may refer to: Places Canada * Haywood, Manitoba United Kingdom * Haywood, Herefordshire * Great Haywood, Staffordshire * Little Haywood, Staffordshire United States * Hayward, California, formerly Haywood * Haywood, Kentucky * Haywood, ...

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, McDowell,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

, Rutherford,

Swain Swain, Swains or Swain's may refer to: Places * Swain Islands, Antarctica * Swain's Island (Newfoundland and Labrador), Canada * Swains Island, an atoll in the Tokelau chain, American Samoa * Swain County, North Carolina, United States * Swains ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Watauga Watauga can refer to: ;Places *Watauga, Kentucky * Watauga County, North Carolina * Watauga, South Dakota * Watauga, Tennessee * Watauga, Texas ;Bodies of Water * Watauga Lake in Tennessee * The Watauga River in North Carolina and Tennessee ;Shi ...

, Wilkes and Yancey. It has jurisdiction over the cities of Asheville,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

, and Statesville. The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. the United States Attorney is

Dena J. King Dena Janae King (born 1981) is an American lawyer and who has served as the United States attorney for the Western District of North Carolina since 2021. Education King received her Bachelor of Science, '' magna cum laude'', from the North Ca ...

History

The

United States District Court for the District of North Carolina The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

was established on June 4, 1790, by .Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 389.U.S. District Courts of North Carolina, Legislative history
''

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of respo ...

''. On June 9, 1794, it was subdivided into three districts by , but on March 3, 1797, the three districts were abolished and the single District restored by , until April 29, 1802, when the state was again subdivided into three different districts by . 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 . The presiding judge of the District of North Carolina,

George Washington Brooks George Washington Brooks (March 16, 1821 – January 6, 1882) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear and Pamptico Districts of North Carolina and the United States District Court for t ...

, was then reassigned to preside over only the Eastern District, allowing President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

to appoint

Robert P. Dick Robert Paine Dick (October 5, 1823 – September 12, 1898) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Education and career Born on October 5, 1823, in Greensboro, North C ...

to be the first judge of the Western District of North Carolina. The Middle District was created from portions of the Eastern and Western Districts on March 2, 1927, by .

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

U.S. Attorneys for the Western District

:''The Western and Eastern districts were created in 1872. D. H. Starbuck, who was serving as

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the entire state, continued in office by serving as Attorney for the Western District.'' *

D. H. Starbuck Darius Henry Starbuck (September 15, 1818 – May 26, 1887) was a North Carolina lawyer and political figure who served as United States Attorney for United States District Court for the District of North Carolina, the entire state, and then for th ...

(1870–1876) * Virgil S. Lusk (1876–1880) * James E. Boyd (1880–1885) *

Hamilton C. Jones Jr. Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilton ...

(1885–1889) * Charles Price (1889–1893) * Robert B. Glenn (1893–1897) * Alfred E. Holton (1897–1914) *

William C. Hammer William Cicero Hammer (March 24, 1865 – September 26, 1930) was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina. Born near Asheboro, North Carolina, Hammer attended private and common schools. He studied at Yadkin Institute and Western Maryland C ...

(1914–1920) *

Stonewall J. Durham Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to: * Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction * Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics * Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...

(1920–1921) *

Frank A. Linney Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

(1921–1927) * Thomas J. Harkins (1927–1931) *

Charles A. Jonas Charles Andrew Jonas (August 14, 1876 – May 25, 1955) was an American attorney and politician, serving one term as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from western North Carolina from 1929 to 1931. A Republican, he was ...

(1931–1932) *

Frank Caldwell Patton Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

(1932–1933) * Marcus Erwin (1933–1939) *

W. Roy Francis W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

(1939–1940) * Theron L. Candle (1940–1945) * David E. Henderson (1945–1948) * Thomas E. Uzzell (1948–1953) *

James M. Baley Jr. James M. Baley Jr. (1912–2003) was an American lawyer and judge. A Republican, he served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing Madison County, in the General Assemblies of 1937-38 and 1939-40. He served as United States ...

(1953–1961) *Hugh E. Monteith (1961) *

William Medford William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...

(1961–1969) *

James O. Israel Jr. James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

(1969) * Keith S. Snyder (1969–1977) *Harold M. Edwards (1977–1981) *Harold J. Bender (1981) * Charles R. Brewer (1981–1987) *

Thomas J. Ashcraft Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

(1987–1993) *Jerry W. Miller (1993) * Mark T. Calloway (1994–2001) *

Robert J. Conrad Jr. Robert James "Bob"Esser, William L. IV"Bob Conrad Sworn in as Western District Federal Judge", ''The Mecklenburg Bar News'', Mecklenburg County Bar, Vol. 32, No. 2, August 2005, pp. 1–2. Conrad Jr. (born May 17, 1958) is a United States distric ...

(2001–2004) * Gretchen Shappert (2004–2009) *Edward R. Ryan (acting; 2009–2010) *

Anne Tompkins Anne Magee Tompkins (born 1962) is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Early life and education Born in Waynesboro, Virginia, Tompkins att ...

(2010–2015) * Jill Westmoreland Rose (2015–2017) * R. Andrew Murray (2017–2021)

References

External links

United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina North Carolina, Western District North Carolina law Asheville, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Hickory, North Carolina 1872 establishments in North Carolina Courthouses in North Carolina Western North Carolina Courts and tribunals established in 1872