4th Circuit (incl. bankruptcy)

The Fourth Circuit jurisdiction is one of the larger US Districts, in terms of the states which fall under its jurisdiction. The Federal Circuit Court for the District is the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Courthouse, which is located in Richmond, VA.

The districts and states which fall under the Fourth Circuit and appeals heard by the Federal Circuit Courthouse includes: District of Maryland, Eastern/Middle/Western Districts of North Carolina, District of South Carolina, Eastern/Western Districts of Virginia, and Northern/Southern Districts of West Virginia.

The district courts in each of the states/territories are the US District Court of Maryland in Baltimore,  the Eastern District Court of N. Carolina in Raleigh, the Middle District  in Greensboro, and the Western District of N. Carolina is in Charlotte. The District of S. Carolina is in Columbia. The Eastern District Court of Virginia is in Alexandria, and the Western District Court is in Roanoke, VA. In W. Virginia the Northern District Court is in Wheeling and Southern District in Charleston, WV.

There are currently 15 active judges and 3 senior judges who sit on the Fourth Circuit bench. Roger L. Gregory is currently the Chief Judge appointed to head the Federal Circuit Court for the Fourth District. As with the other Circuits, seats are filled and appointments made for new judges in the order which they were filled.

A famous case from the circuit is Zeran v. America Online (1997). In this case the court determined the immunity of ISPs for wrongs committed by their users under Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act. The court held the CDA provided “federal immunity to causes of action which would make service providers liable for information originating from third-party users.” The court found that allowing plaintiff’s claims would release a floodgate for freedom of speech litigation, with the new wave of online/internet activity by third-party users under ISP service agreements.

Cases and content covered by the National Law Review from the Fourth Circuit includes: writs of mandamus, certiorari, Habeas Corpus (including custody and release of prisoners), appeals from tax cases, En Banc Determinations, NLRB decision appeals, bankruptcy proceedings, motions for relief, judgment, or final orders, and reviews of enforcement or agency orders. Further, our website often covers news and updates about federal appointments, judges stepping down, agency announcements, and general news which comes out of the Fourth District Federal Court, and local state court systems.