James Carroll Fox

James Carroll Fox
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
In office January 31, 2001 – March 23, 2019
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
In office 1990–1997
Preceded by	William Earl Britt
Succeeded by	Terrence Boyle
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
In office September 30, 1982 – January 31, 2001
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629
Succeeded by	Louise Flanagan
Personal details
Born	(1928-11-06)November 6, 1928 Atchison, Kansas
Died	March 23, 2019(2019-03-23) (aged 90) Wilmington, North Carolina
Education	University of North Carolina (B.S.) University of North Carolina School of Law (J.D.)

James Carroll Fox (November 6, 1928 – March 23, 2019) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Education and career

Fox was born in Atchison, Kansas and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in 1946. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina in 1950. He was in the United States Army Reserves from 1951 to 1959 and became a Corporal. He then received a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1957, serving as a law clerk to Judge Donnell Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina from 1957 to 1958. He was in private practice in Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1958 to 1982, and was also a county attorney of New Hanover County, North Carolina from 1967 to 1981.

Federal judicial service

On September 14, 1982, Fox was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a new United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina seat created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 29, 1982, and received his commission on September 30, 1982. He served as Chief Judge from 1990 to 1997, and assumed senior status on January 31, 2001. Fox retired into inactive senior status on March 31, 2017, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court. He died on March 23, 2019, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Sources

• James Carroll Fox at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.