Graham Calder Mullen
Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and confirmed by voice vote, Graham Calder Mullen is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. He earned a law degree from Duke University School of Law in 1969. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1940 · age 86
- Appointed by
- George H.W. Bush, 1990
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Duke 1962 · Duke Law 1969
- Succeeded
- James Bryan McMillan
- Succeeded by
- Martin Karl Reidinger
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Western District of North Carolina succeeded James Bryan McMillan | G.H.W. Bush (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| Duke University | B.A. | 1962 |
| Duke University School of Law | J.D. | 1969 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Mullen was assigned 5,255 district-court cases (1979–2025). Median time from filing to termination: 237 days across 5,168 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 585 of Mullen’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 503 were affirmed, 52 reversed or vacated, and 30 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Mullen authored 60 published opinions for the court (1991–2011). Most cited: Nutrition & Fitness, Inc. v. Blue Stuff, Inc. (42 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nutrition & Fitness, Inc. v. Blue Stuff, Inc. | 264 F. Supp. 2d 357 | 42 |
| 1992 | Burgess v. Catawba County | 805 F. Supp. 341 | 27 |
| 2003 | In Re Duke Energy ERISA Litigation | 281 F. Supp. 2d 786 | 24 |
| 1991 | United Dominion Industries, Inc. v. Overhead Door Corp. | 762 F. Supp. 126 | 23 |
| 1992 | Litchfield Co. of South Carolina Ltd. Partnership v. Anchor Bank (In Re Litchfield Co. of South Carolina Ltd. Partnership) | 135 B.R. 797 | 18 |
| 2003 | Byrd v. Moore | 252 F. Supp. 2d 293 | 17 |
| 2009 | Laws v. Priority Trustee Services of N.C., L.L.C. | 610 F. Supp. 2d 528 | 15 |
| 1995 | Riley v. Weyerhaeuser Paper Co. | 898 F. Supp. 324 | 14 |
| 2011 | Campbell v. Hanover Insurance | 457 B.R. 452 | 13 |
| 1995 | United States v. City of Charlotte, NC | 904 F. Supp. 482 | 10 |
| 2011 | Cleveland Construction, Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance | 819 F. Supp. 2d 477 | 9 |
| 1998 | Taylor v. Mayflower Transit, Inc. | 22 F. Supp. 2d 509 | 9 |
| 2010 | Pender v. Bank of America Corp. | 756 F. Supp. 2d 694 | 8 |
| 2010 | Vincent v. LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | 733 F. Supp. 2d 729 | 8 |
| 2002 | CEM CORP. v. Personal Chemistry AB | 192 F. Supp. 2d 438 | 8 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 60 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Graham Calder Mullen?
- President George H.W. Bush appointed Graham Calder Mullen to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in 1990.
- Was Graham Calder Mullen appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Graham Calder Mullen was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Graham Calder Mullen's confirmation vote?
- Graham Calder Mullen was confirmed by voice vote on September 10, 1990. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Graham Calder Mullen on?
- Graham Calder Mullen is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
35 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).