Algernon Lee Butler (August 2, 1905 – September 5, 1978) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Caroli ...

Education and career

Born in Clinton,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Butler attended the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law (branded as Carolina Law) is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law sch ...

, and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in 1928 to enter the bar. He entered private practice in Clinton in 1928, and was a member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

in 1931, and a county attorney of Sampson County, North Carolina from 1938 to 1951.

Federal judicial service

On July 28, 1959, Butler was nominated by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Donnell Gilliam. Butler was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on August 28, 1959, and received his commission on August 31, 1959. He served as Chief Judge from 1961 to 1975, assuming senior status on August 2, 1975, and serving in that capacity until his death on September 5, 1978.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Algernon Lee 1905 births 1978 deaths Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American lawyers United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Clinton, North Carolina 20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly