Who appointed Max Oliver Cogburn Jr.?

President Barack Obama appointed Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in 2011.

Was Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Max Oliver Cogburn Jr.'s confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. 96–0 on March 10, 2011.

Western District of North Carolina / Appointed 2011 / Active

Max Oliver Cogburn Jr.

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and confirmed by the Senate 96–0, Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. He earned a law degree from Samford University, Cumberland School of Law in 1976. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Born: 1951 · age 75
Appointed by: Barack Obama, 2011
Confirmed: 96–0
Education: University of North Carolina 1973 · Samford, Cumberland Law 1976
Succeeded: Lacy Herman Thornburg

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2011	Western District of North Carolina succeeded Lacy Herman Thornburg	Obama (D)	96–0

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.

Confirmation vote

Nomination Confirmed 96–0 on March 10, 2011 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 38. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 96

49 D, 45 R, 2 I

Did not vote · 4

2 D, 2 R

Education

University of North Carolina	B.A.	1973
Samford University, Cumberland School of Law	J.D.	1976

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Cogburn was assigned 3,015 district-court cases (1988–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 229 days across 2,287 closed cases.

Other civil matters37%

Criminal13%

Contract9%

Civil rights9%

Personal-injury torts6%

Labor & ERISA5%

Other21%

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 290 of Cogburn’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 259 were affirmed, 21 reversed or vacated, and 10 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, Cogburn authored 37 published opinions for the court (2000–2011). Most cited: Willis v. Baxter International, Inc. (14 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
2001	Willis v. Baxter International, Inc.	175 F. Supp. 2d 819	14
2011	Jones v. DOLE FOOD CO., INC.	827 F. Supp. 2d 532	13
2003	Layman v. Alexander	294 F. Supp. 2d 784	13
2000	Green v. United States	163 F. Supp. 2d 593	11
2002	Kelso v. Corning Cable Systems International Corp.	224 F. Supp. 2d 1052	9
2011	David v. Alphin	817 F. Supp. 2d 764	8
2002	Rogers v. Barnhart	204 F. Supp. 2d 885	7
2003	Hoyle v. Liberty Life Assur. Co. of Boston Inc.	291 F. Supp. 2d 414	6
2002	Austin v. Continental Casualty Co.	216 F. Supp. 2d 550	6
2000	Joiner v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.	114 F. Supp. 2d 400	6
2002	Waters v. Collins & Aikman Products Co.	208 F. Supp. 2d 593	4
2002	Brewer v. Dana Corp. Spicer Heavy Axle Division	205 F. Supp. 2d 511	4
2001	Henderson Amusement, Inc. v. Good	172 F. Supp. 2d 751	4
2003	Abromitis v. Continental Casualty Co./CNA Insurance Companies	261 F. Supp. 2d 388	3
2000	Schulze v. Meritor Automotive	163 F. Supp. 2d 599	3

Showing the 15 most-cited of 37 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 Max Oliver Cogburn Jr.?: President Barack Obama appointed Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in 2011.
Was Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Max Oliver Cogburn Jr.'s confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. 96–0 on March 10, 2011.
Which court is Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. on?: Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. 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.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.

15 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).