Loretta Yvonne Copeland Biggs (born March 6, 1954) is a United States District Court Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Loretta Copeland Biggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina | |
| Assumed office December 19, 2014 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | James A. Beaty Jr. |
| Associate Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals | |
| In office January 2001 – January 2003 | |
| Appointed by | Jim Hunt |
| Succeeded by | Sanford L. Steelman Jr. |
| Judge of the 21st Judicial District Court of North Carolina | |
| In office 1987–1994 | |
| Appointed by | James G. Martin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Loretta Yvonne Copeland March 6, 1954 Atlanta, Georgia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Spelman College (BA) Howard University (JD) |
Biography
editBiggs was born on March 6, 1954, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] She graduated, cum laude, from Spelman College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[2] In 1979 she received a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law. She worked as a staff attorney for The Coca-Cola Company from 1979 to 1982. She served as an assistant district attorney in Forsyth County from 1984 to 1987 and as a district court judge from 1987 to 1994. From 1984 to 1987 she was an adjunct professor of law at Wake Forest University School of Law. Biggs joined the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of North Carolina in 1994 and was the executive assistant United States Attorney from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2002, Biggs was a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals after being appointed by Governor Jim Hunt. She was narrowly defeated in her 2002 bid for a full term on the court by Sanford Steelman, Jr. Biggs then entered private practice with the firm of Davis, Harwell & Biggs, where she was managing partner. In 2014 she moved to the Winston-Salem firm of Allman, Spry, Davis, Leggett & Crumpler, P.A. where she worked until confirmation of her judicial appointment.[3][4][5]
Federal judicial service
editOn September 18, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Biggs to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, to the seat being vacated by James A. Beaty Jr. who assumed senior status on June 30, 2014.[6][7] She received a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on November 13, 2014.[8] On December 11, 2014, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[9] On December 13, 2014 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination. On December 16, 2014, Reid withdrew his cloture motion on Copeland's nomination, and the Senate proceeded to vote to confirm Copeland in a voice vote. She received her federal judicial commission on December 19, 2014.[5] Biggs is the first black woman to serve on a federal district court in North Carolina.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Judge Loretta C. Biggs Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
- ^ "President Obama Nominates Seven to Serve on the United States District Courts". whitehouse.gov. 18 September 2014 – via National Archives.
- ^ "Former law firm of Loretta Biggs". www.allmanspry.com.
- ^ "web.archive.org". Archived from the original on 2014-09-24.
- ^ a b Loretta Copeland Biggs at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ "Judicial Nominations – United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
- ^ "Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. 18 September 2014 – via National Archives.
- ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – December 11, 2014" (PDF).
External links
edit- Loretta Copeland Biggs at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Loretta Copeland Biggs at Ballotpedia
- Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
