Allyson K. Duncan
{{Short description|American judge (born 1951)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Allyson K. Duncan
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Allyson Duncan (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Duncan in 2012
| office = Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
| term_start = March 21, 2019
| term_end = July 31, 2019
| office1 = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
| term_start1 = August 15, 2003
| term_end1 = March 21, 2019
| appointer1 = George W. Bush
| predecessor1 = Samuel James Ervin III
| successor1 = Allison Jones Rushing
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|09|05}}
| birth_place = {{nowrap|Durham, North Carolina, U.S.}}
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| party = Republican
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| education = Hampton University (BA)
Duke University (JD)
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Allyson Kay Duncan (born September 5, 1951, in Durham, North Carolina) is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She was the Fourth Circuit's first female African American judge.
Background
Duncan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampton University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 1975. She was an associate editor at the Lawyers Co-Operative Publishing Company from 1976 to 1977. Duncan then served for one year as a law clerk to Judge Julia Cooper Mack of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 1977 to 1978.
In 1978, Duncan joined the staff of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. By the time she left in 1986, she had served in a variety of important posts at the commission: appellate attorney, assistant to the deputy general counsel, assistant to the chairman, acting associate legal counsel, and acting legal counsel. At one point, the then-head of the EEOC, Clarence Thomas, promoted Duncan as his Chief of Staff over another candidate, Anita Hill.{{cite news
| title = Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out
| author = Jan Crawford Greenburg
| work = ABC News
| date = 2007-09-30
| url = https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3665221&page=1
| access-date = 2008-10-18 }}
At North Carolina Central University School of Law, Duncan served as an associate professor from 1986 to 1990, teaching property law, appellate advocacy, and employment discrimination. In 1990, she served briefly on the North Carolina Court of Appeals as an Associate Judge. She was appointed by Governor James G. Martin to replace Charles Becton but lost the following election to James A. Wynn.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAoBiCSt2Q0C&q=Judge+allison+duncan&pg=PA165|title=Quiet Revolution in the South: The Impact of the Voting Rights Act, 1965-1990|first=Chandler|last=Davidson|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0691021082|via=Google Books}}
Duncan was appointed a Commissioner of the North Carolina Utilities Commission in 1991 and remained in that post until 1998, when she joined the Raleigh office of Kilpatrick Stockton as a partner. She worked there until her appointment to the federal bench. Duncan became the first African-American president of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2003.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.duke.edu/features/duncan.html|title=Allyson Duncan '75 Confirmed for 4th Circuit - Duke University School of Law|publisher=}}
Federal judicial service
Duncan was nominated on April 28, 2003, by President George W. Bush to fill a vacancy on the Fourth Circuit created by Judge Samuel James Ervin III, who died on September 18, 1999. A Republican, Duncan was supported by both Senators Elizabeth Dole and John Edwards, a departure from the trend toward partisan controversy over North Carolina appointments to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.{{cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columns/story/1445480.html|title=News & Observer: Break the cycle of bickering|publisher=}} Bill Clinton previously had nominated Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson to the seat late in his presidency, but Gibson never received a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing or vote before his presidency ended. The United States Senate confirmed Duncan by a 93–0 vote on July 17, 2003.{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00289|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation Allyson Duncan Of North Carolina To Be U.S. Circuit Judge)|publisher=United States Senate}} She was the third judge nominated to the Fourth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the Senate. She received her commission on August 15, 2003.{{FJC Bio|nid=1391911|inline=yes}}
In May 2018, Duncan announced that she would assume senior status upon the confirmation of her successor.{{cite news|last=Whelan|first=Ed|date=May 18, 2018|title=Flipping Judicial Seats|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/flipping-judicial-seats/|work=National Review|location=New York City|access-date=February 7, 2019 }} In September 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Allison Jones Rushing to replace Duncan on the 4th Circuit Court.{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Brian|date=September 10, 2018|title=At 36, North Carolina native picked by Trump for lifetime appointment|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article217592285.html|work=The News & Observer|location=Raleigh, North Carolina|access-date=February 7, 2019}} Rushing was confirmed by the Senate on March 5, 2019. Duncan assumed senior status on March 21, 2019, and retired on July 31, 2019.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FJC Bio|nid=1391911}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=Samuel James Ervin III}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit}}|years=2003–2019}}
{{s-aft|after=Allison Jones Rushing}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Allyson K.}}
Category:African-American judges
Category:Duke University School of Law alumni
Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Category:North Carolina Central University faculty
Category:North Carolina Court of Appeals judges
Category:People from Durham, North Carolina
Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush