--- title: "Frank DeArmon Whitney | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Frank DeArmon Whitney U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina - State: North Carolina - Role: 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, District Court, W.D. North Carolina, 2006-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, having assumed senior status on December 1, 2024 - Service: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (2006–2024) - Private practice, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2001-2002 U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 2002-2006 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of North Carolina, 1990-2001 - Law clerk, Hon. David B. Sentelle, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1988-1989 - As Senior Judge, Whitney continues to hear cases in the Western District of North Carolina and remains part of the court’s judicial leadership ### Education - M.B.A. — University of North Carolina — 1987 - University of North Carolina School of Law — J.D. (1987) - Wake Forest University — B.A. (1982) ### Additional information - Chief Judge: held the role of Chief Judge from June 2, 2013, to June 2, 2020 - U.S. Army Reserve colonel, 1982-2012  - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1987-1988, 1989-1990 - Born November 22, 1959, in Charlotte, North Carolina. - Date of birth: 1959-01-01 - Birth place: Charlotte, 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 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392451) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392451) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392451) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3456/frank-dearmon-whitney/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3456/frank-dearmon-whitney/) - [Wikidata: Frank DeArmon Whitney](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5486174) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney", "name": "Frank DeArmon Whitney | KnowJudges", "description": "Frank DeArmon Whitney, U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney#judge", "name": "Frank DeArmon Whitney", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392451", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3456/frank-dearmon-whitney/" ], "birthDate": "1959", "birthPlace": "Charlotte, NC", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Wake Forest University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of North Carolina" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of North Carolina School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "North Carolina", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/north-carolina" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank DeArmon Whitney", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-dearmon-whitney" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 132 | 2 | Not available | 2 | | 2y | 450 | 101 | 2.7 | 101 | | 5y | 1152 | 735 | 5.2 | 735 | | 10y | 2491 | 2071 | 6.2 | 2071 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.