James Dever (North Carolina)
2005 - Present
20
James C. Dever III is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He first joined the court in 2005 after a nomination from President George W. Bush. He served as chief judge of the court from 2011 to 2018.
Early life and education
Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Dever graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1984 and from Duke University School of Law with his J.D. in 1987.[1]
Military service
Dever served on active duty in the general counsel's office of the U.S. Air Force from 1988 to 1992. He later served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1992 to 2000.[1]
Professional career
- 2005 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
- 2011-2018: Chief judge
- 2008 - Present: Senior lecturing fellow, Duke University School of Law
- 1997 - Present: Adjunct professor, Campbell University, Wiggins School of Law
- 1992-2004: Private practice, North Carolina
- 1987-1988: Law clerk, Hon. Clifford Wallace, United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit[1]
Judicial career
Eastern District of North Carolina
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: James C. Dever III |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 1072 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 22, 2002
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: March 3, 2005
|
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: April 14, 2005
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| Confirmed: April 28, 2005
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| Vote: Voice vote
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 Returned: November 20, 2002December 8, 2004 |
Dever was first nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina by President George W. Bush on May 22, 2002, to a seat vacated by Earl Britt. Under provisions of Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the Senate, Dever's nomination was returned to the president on November 20, 2002. President Bush resubmitted Dever's nomination on January 7, 2003. Under provisions of Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the Senate, Dever's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the 108th United States Congress on December 8, 2004. President Bush resubmitted Dever's nomination on February 14, 2005. Hearings on Dever's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3, 2005, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) on April 14, 2005. Dever was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on April 28, 2005, and he received his commission on May 2, 2005. Dever served as the chief judge of the district court from 2011 to 2018.[1][2][3][4][5]
Magistrate judge, Eastern District of North Carolina
Dever served as a federal magistrate judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina from 2004 to 2005.[1]
Noteworthy cases
Berean Baptist Church v. Cooper (2020)
Berean Baptist Church v. Cooper: On May 16, 2020, Judge James Dever, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, issued a temporary restraining order against a provision of Gov. Roy Cooper's (D) Executive Order 138 that barred indoor religious services involving more than 10 people. The plaintiffs in the suit – Berean Baptist Church, Return America, Inc., Ronnie Baity, and People's Baptist Church, Inc., – alleged that this provision of the order violated their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. Dever agreed, writing the following in his order: "There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution of the United States or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise claim concerning the assembly for religious worship provisions in Executive Order 138, that they will suffer irreparable harm absent a temporary restraining order, that the equities tip in their favor, and that a temporary restraining order is in the public interest."[6]
Ford Porter, a spokesman for Cooper's office, said the governor would not appeal the decision.[7]
See also
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
- United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge James C. Dever III," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1780 — James C. Dever III — The Judiciary," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 20 — James C. Dever III — The Judiciary," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 208 — James C. Dever III — The Judiciary," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 107th Congress," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, "Berean Baptist Church v. Cooper: Order," May 16, 2020
- ↑ Fox Business, "North Carolina religious services may move indoors after judge block's governor's order," May 18, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina 2005-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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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 | ||
Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina
State courts:
Supreme Court of North Carolina • North Carolina Court of Appeals • North Carolina Superior Courts • North Carolina District Courts
State resources:
Courts in North Carolina • North Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Carolina
