U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
North Carolina · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Fourth Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the Middle 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.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Norwood Carlton Tilley Jr. (current) · Catherine Caldwell Eagles (current) · Lindsey Ann Freeman (current) · Thomas D. Schroeder (current) · Loretta Copeland Biggs (current) · David Alan Bragdon (current) · William Lindsay Osteen Jr. (current) · Johnson Jay Hayes · Eugene Andrew Gordon · Hiram Hamilton Ward · Richard Cannon Erwin
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| James A. Beaty Jr. | Clinton (D) | 1994–2018 |
| William Lindsay Osteen Sr. | G.H.W. Bush (R) | 1991–2007 |
| Frank William Bullock Jr. | Reagan (R) | 1982–2006 |
| Richard Cannon Erwin | Carter (D) | 1980–2006 |
| Hiram Hamilton Ward | Nixon (R) | 1972–2002 |
| Eugene Andrew Gordon | L.B. Johnson (D) | 1964–2002 |
| Lunsford Richardson Preyer | Kennedy (D) | 1962–1963 |
| Edwin Monroe Stanley | Eisenhower (R) | 1958–1971 |
| Johnson Jay Hayes | Coolidge (R) | 1928–1970 |
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Joi Elizabeth Peake | 2012–present |
| Joe L. Webster | 2012–present |
| Lawrence Patrick Auld | 2009–present |
| P Trevor Sharp | 1982–2012 |
Bankruptcy court
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 1928. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.