Richard E. Myers II
Richard Ernest Myers II (born 1967) is the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He is a former law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Early life and education. Myers was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, as a child. His voter registration states that he belongs to "two or more races." Myers earned his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, and his Master of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He worked  as a reporter for the "Star-News" from 1991 to 1995, where he covered the murder of James R. Jordan Sr., the father of Michael Jordan. In 1998, he received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as an Articles Editor on the "North Carolina Law Review". He graduated Order of the Coif. Legal and academic career. Upon graduation from law school, Myers served as a law clerk to Judge David Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then worked in  private practice at O'Melveny & Myers. He previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California and later the Eastern District of North Carolina. While a federal prosecutor, Myers prosecuted a wide variety of crimes including counterfeiting, narcotics, and firearms offenses. Myers was the Henry Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Trial Advocacy at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where his teaching and scholarship focused on criminal law. He joined UNC as a faculty member in 2004, and left in 2019 upon becoming a judge. At UNC, Myers served as the  advisor to the law school's Federalist Society chapter. Federal judicial service. On August 14, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Myers to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. On September 9, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He has been nominated to the seat vacated by Malcolm Jones Howard, who took senior status on December 31, 2005. Myers was nominated to a seat which had been vacant since December 31, 2005, making it the longest federal judicial vacancy at the time  of Myers' nomination. On September 11, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On October 31, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote. On December 4, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a vote of 72–22. On December 5, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 68–21. He received his judicial commission on December 10, 2019. He maintains chambers in Wilmington. Myers became Chief Judge in January 2021. Memberships. Myers has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2004. He  has been a member of the National Rifle Association since 2010. He has been a member of the Christian Legal Society since 2004, of which he serves as a faculty advisor. Review of judicial rulings. In 2022, Chief Judge Richard Myers concluding that a Civil War amnesty law passed by Congress in 1872 essentially repealed the 14th Amendment's "disqualification clause," which prohibited officeholders from returning to elected positions if they supported an insurrection.Myers agreed that the Amnesty Act of 1872 applied not only retroactively to Confederate officials, but also in perpetuity regarding future rebellions. Richard E. Myers II