U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
U.S. District Court for the Western 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Lesley Voorhees | Reagan (R) | 1988 |
| Graham Calder Mullen | Bush (R) | 1990 |
| Frank DeArmon Whitney | Bush (R) | 2006 |
| Martin Karl Reidinger | Bush (R) | 2007 |
| Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. | Obama (D) | 2011 |
| Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Matthew Emile Orso | Trump (R) | 2025 |
| Susan Courtwright Rodriguez | Trump (R) | 2025 |
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Robert James Conrad Jr. | Bush (R) | 2005–2025 |
| H[arold] Brent McKnight | Bush (R) | 2003–2004 |
| Lacy Herman Thornburg | Clinton (D) | 1995–2009 |
| David Bryan Sentelle | Reagan (R) | 1985–1987 |
| Robert Daniel Potter | Reagan (R) | 1981–2009 |
| James Bryan McMillan | Johnson (D) | 1968–1995 |
| Woodrow Wilson Jones | Johnson (D) | 1967–2002 |
| James Braxton Craven Jr. | Kennedy (D) | 1961–1966 |
| Wilson Warlick | Truman (D) | 1949–1978 |
| David Ezekiel Henderson | Truman (D) | 1948–1949 |
| Edwin Yates Webb | Wilson (D) | 1919–1955 |
| James Edmund Boyd | McKinley (R) | 1901–1935 |
| Robert Paine Dick | Grant (R) | 1872–1898 |
| Hamilton Glover Ewart | McKinley (R) | ?–1900 |
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.