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# Allyson Kay Duncan

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2003-present
- Associate judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals, 1990-present
- In 2020, Duncan joined JAMS as a mediator, arbitrator, and court‐appointed neutral, continuing her work in dispute resolution
- From 1986 to 1990, Duncan was an associate professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law and briefly held the role of an associate judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 1990
- Law clerk, Hon. Julia Cooper Mack, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1977-1978
- Associate editor at the Lawyers Co‐Operative Publishing Company (1976–77) and law clerk to Judge Julia Cooper Mack of the D.C. Court of Appeals (1977–78)
- Retired U.S. federal judge and trailblazer who made history as the first African American woman to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- The first African American woman justice on the North Carolina Court of Appeals

### Education

- B.A. from Hampton University in 1972 and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1975.

### Additional information

- Served until March 21, 2019, when she assumed senior status, and retired July 31, 2019.
- Nominated by President George W. Bush on April 28, 2003, Duncan was confirmed by the Senate on July 17, 2003, and began her tenure on the Fourth Circuit on August 15, 2003.
- Private practice, Raleigh, NC, 1998-2003
- Commissioner, North Carolina Utilities Commission, 1991-1998
- Practitioner, 1991-1991
- She later chaired the North Carolina Utilities Commission (1991–98) and worked as a partner at Kilpatrick Stockton in Raleigh
- prof, 1989-1989
- Attorney, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1978-1986
- She then joined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1978, rising through leadership roles, including serving as Chief of Staff to then–EEOC head Clarence Thomas.
- Born September 5, 1951, Durham, North Carolina.
- Date of birth: 1951-09-05
- The first African American woman on the Fourth Circuit bench
- Hillside High School
- focusing on employment and regulatory law.
- Birth place: Durham, NC

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/937/allyson-kay-duncan/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/937/allyson-kay-duncan/)
- [Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/937/allyson-kay-duncan/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/937/allyson-kay-duncan/)
- [Duncan, Allyson Kay | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/duncan-allyson-kay)
- [Wikidata: Allyson Kay Duncan](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4733480)

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