U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Fourth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
| Judge | Appointed by | Since |
|---|---|---|
| William Earl Britt | Carter (D) | 1980 |
| Terrence William Boyle | Reagan (R) | 1984 |
| Louise W. Flanagan | Bush (R) | 2003 |
| James C. Dever III | Bush (R) | 2005 |
| Richard Ernest Myers II | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Malcolm Jones Howard | Reagan (R) | 1988–2025 |
| James Carroll Fox | Reagan (R) | 1982–2019 |
| Franklin Taylor Dupree Jr. | Nixon (R) | 1970–1995 |
| John Davis Larkins Jr. | Kennedy (D) | 1961–1990 |
| Algernon Lee Butler | Eisenhower (R) | 1959–1978 |
| Donnell Gilliam | Truman (D) | 1945–1960 |
| Isaac Melson Meekins | Coolidge (R) | 1925–1946 |
| Henry Groves Connor | Taft (R) | 1909–1924 |
| Thomas Richard Purnell | McKinley (R) | 1897–1908 |
| Augustus Sherrill Seymour | Arthur (R) | 1882–1897 |
| George Washington Brooks | (reassignment) (N) | 1872–1882 |
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1872.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Verify against the primary source before relying.