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Allyson Duncan
Allyson Kay Duncan was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. She was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush (R). She assumed senior status on March 5, 2019, and ended her service on July 31, 2019, when she retired.[1]
Early life and education
A native of Durham, North Carolina, Duncan graduated from Hampton University with her bachelor's degree in 1972, and from Duke University School of Law with her J.D. in 1975.[1]
Professional career
- 2003-2019: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- March-July 2019: Senior judge
- 1998-2003: Private practice, Raleigh, N.C.
- 1991-1998: Commissioner, North Carolina Utilities Commission
- 1990: Associate judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals
- 1986-1990: Associate professor, North Carolina Central University School of Law
- 1978-1986: Staff attorney, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- 1977-1978: Law clerk, Hon. Julia Cooper Mack, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- 1976-1977: Associate editor, Lawyers Co-Operative Publishing Company[1]
Judicial nominations and appointments
4th Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Allyson K. Duncan |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 80 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: April 28, 2003
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: June 25, 2003
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: July 10, 2003
|
| Confirmed: July 17, 2003
|
| Vote: 93-0
|
Duncan was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit by President George W. Bush (R) on April 28, 2003, to a seat vacated by Judge Samuel Ervin. The American Bar Association rated Duncan Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Duncan's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 25, 2003, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on July 10, 2003. Duncan was confirmed on a recorded Senate vote of 93-0 on July 17, 2003, and she received her commission on August 15, 2003. Duncan retired from full-time service, assuming senior status, on March 5, 2019. She completely ended her service on July 31, 2019.[1][3]
Noteworthy cases
Copyright suit over NFL Baltimore Ravens logo (2013)
On December 17, 2013, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit, composed of Judges Harvie Wilkinson, Allyson Duncan, and Albert Diaz, found that both the Baltimore Ravens' and National Football League's (NFL) use of the team's old "Flying B" logo did not infringe upon plaintiff Frederick Bouchat's copyright.[4]
In the underlying case, Bouchat, an amateur artist, proposed a new logo for the Ravens after the team moved to Baltimore in 1995. The Ravens then presented a logo that was strikingly similar to the one Bouchat suggested. Bouchat obtained a copyright on his original drawing and filed suit, ultimately winning the case but without damages awarded. Several years later, the Ravens again changed the team logo, but Bouchat alleged infringement once more, and attempted to prevent the team and the NFL from using its previous "Flying B" logo in documentary films and photographs. The district court found that the defendants' use was fair.[4]
Judge Wilkinson, writing for the majority, affirmed the lower court's decision, noting that the use of Bouchat's copyrighted work was transformative (i.e., it was used for a different purpose than its original one). Wilkinson further stated:
| “ | The uses here were not only transformative, but also -- take your pick -- fleeting, incidental, de minimis, innocuous. If these uses failed to qualify as fair, a host of perfectly benign and valuable expressive works would be subject to lawsuits. That in turn would discourage the makers of all sorts of historical documentaries and displays, and would deplete society's fund of informative speech.[4][5] | ” |
The use of the Ravens logo, as negligible and incidental as it was, failed to rise to the level of "the type of commercial use frowned upon" by copyright law. Bouchat was not awarded any damages.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed June 15, 2006
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN533 — Allyson K. Duncan — The Judiciary," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Courthouse News Service, "Old NFL Ravens Logo Won't Cost Team Again," December 19, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Samuel Ervin |
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals 2003-2019 |
Succeeded by: Allison Jones Rushing
|
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| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
