--- title: "David Bryan Sentelle | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-bryan-sentelle" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # David Bryan Sentelle U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1987-present - Visiting professor, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 1977-present - Presiding Judge, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review — 2018–2023, including as Presiding Judge 2020–2023. - Sentelle, David B. "Interview with Judge David Sentelle." Interview conducted September 28 and October 13, 1994, by William Kearns Davis, Jr. Law School Oral History Project, Southern Historical Collection, Louis Round Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1995 - Visiting professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1991-1992 - Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit — Appointed September 11, 1987 - Senior Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and still serving on senior status - Judge, District Court, W.D. North Carolina, 1985-1987 - U.S. District Judge, Western District of North Carolina — 1985–1987, appointed by Reagan - Judge, Mecklenburg County [North Carolina] District Court, 1974-1977 - Earlier career included service as Mecklenburg County District Court Judge (1974–1977) and as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Charlotte, NC (1970–1974) - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of North Carolina, 1970-1974 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit - In summary: David Bryan Sentelle is a veteran federal judge with a career spanning state courts, federal district court, appellate court leadership, and senior status, currently serving on the D.C. Circuit and having recently presided over the FISC Court of Review ### Education - J.D. — University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its School of Law (1968) - University of North Carolina — B.A. (1965) ### Additional information - Chief Judge 2008–2013; assumed senior status February 12, 2013. - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2008-2013 - held the role of Presiding Judge of the Special Division for Appointing Independent Counsels (1992–2006). - Private practice, Charlotte, NC, 1977-1985 - Private practice, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1977-1985 - Private practice, Asheville, NC, 1968-1970 - Private practice, Asheville, North Carolina, 1968-1970 - Born February 12, 1943, in Canton, North Carolina. - Date of birth: 1943-01-01 - Began as an associate attorney in Asheville, NC, then served in federal prosecution before his judicial appointments. - Birth place: Canton, NC ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387586) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387586) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387586) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2905/david-bryan-sentelle/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [Federal Judicial Center: D.C. Circuit judicial service](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387586) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2905/david-bryan-sentelle/) - [Judge David Bryan Sentelle](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387586) - [Wikidata: David B. Sentelle](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5231000) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-bryan-sentelle", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-bryan-sentelle", "name": "David Bryan Sentelle | KnowJudges", "description": "David Bryan Sentelle, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 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