Richard Cannon Erwin
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and confirmed by voice vote, Richard Cannon Erwin was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. He earned a law degree from Howard University School of Law in 1951. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1923–2006
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1980
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Johnson C. Smith 1947 · Howard Law 1951
- Succeeded by
- James A. Beaty Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Middle District of North Carolina | Carter (D) | 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
| Johnson C. Smith University | B.A. | 1947 |
| Howard University School of Law | LL.B. | 1951 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Erwin was assigned 1,186 district-court cases (1984–2004). Median time from filing to termination: 158 days across 1,186 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.
In our data, Erwin authored 50 published opinions for the court (1981–1995). Most cited: Sanders v. Duke University (21 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Sanders v. Duke University | 538 F. Supp. 1143 | 21 |
| 1983 | Stearns v. Genrad, Inc. | 564 F. Supp. 1309 | 17 |
| 1987 | United States v. 30.80 Acres, Bruce Tp., Guilford Cty., Nc | 665 F. Supp. 422 | 15 |
| 1990 | Wall v. AT & T TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | 754 F. Supp. 1084 | 14 |
| 1983 | Seawell v. Miller Brewing Co. | 576 F. Supp. 424 | 14 |
| 1992 | Riley v. Dow Corning Corp. | 876 F. Supp. 728 | 13 |
| 1991 | Love v. Duke University | 776 F. Supp. 1070 | 13 |
| 1991 | Riley v. Dow Corning Corp. | 767 F. Supp. 735 | 12 |
| 1986 | Gallagher v. Duke University | 638 F. Supp. 979 | 10 |
| 1986 | United States v. Hayes | 633 F. Supp. 1183 | 10 |
| 1983 | Felts v. Bishop (In Re Winstead) | 33 B.R. 408 | 10 |
| 1987 | Pappas v. NCNB National Bank of North Carolina | 653 F. Supp. 699 | 9 |
| 1982 | Jones v. First Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n | 546 F. Supp. 762 | 9 |
| 1995 | Slaughter v. Life Connection of Ohio | 907 F. Supp. 929 | 8 |
| 1988 | United States v. Lititz Mutual Insurance | 694 F. Supp. 159 | 8 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 50 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 Richard Cannon Erwin?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Richard Cannon Erwin to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in 1980.
- Was Richard Cannon Erwin appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Richard Cannon Erwin was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Richard Cannon Erwin's confirmation vote?
- Richard Cannon Erwin was confirmed by voice vote on September 29, 1980. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Richard Cannon Erwin on?
- Richard Cannon Erwin was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle 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.
26 years on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).