--- title: "Graham Calder Mullen | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/graham-calder-mullen" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Graham Calder Mullen 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, 1990-2005 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1990 and elevated to senior status in 2005 ### Education - B.A. from Duke University in 1962 and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1969. ### Additional information - Chief Judge: 1998–2005 - Private practice, Gastonia, North Carolina, 1969-1990 - Before his judicial career, he held the role of a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy (1962–1966) and practiced law in Gastonia from 1969 to 1990 - Born 1940. - Date of birth: 1940-01-01 - representing landowners, corporations, hospitals, and railroads - U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina for 15 years - handling a wide range of federal cases, including contract disputes, civil rights matters, and ERISA litigation - Mullen was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, and grew up in western North Carolina. - 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/1385476) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385476) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385476) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2344/graham-calder-mullen/) - [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/2344/graham-calder-mullen/) - [Judge Graham Calder Mullen](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385476) - [Wikidata: Graham Calder Mullen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5592707) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/graham-calder-mullen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/graham-calder-mullen", "name": "Graham Calder Mullen | KnowJudges", "description": "Graham Calder Mullen, U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. 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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.