--- title: "Joe L. Webster | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joe-l-webster-north-carolina-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Joe L. Webster U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina - State: North Carolina - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - 2012–present: United States Magistrate Judge, Middle District of North Carolina, Durham, NC His appointment made him the first African American U.S. Magistrate Judge in that district - United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, appointed on November 7, 2012, and recognized as the first African American magistrate judge in that district - Administrative Law Judge, State of North Carolina - Office of Administrative Hearings, 2006–2012-11 - In 1980, he became the first African American attorney to practice law in Madison, NC, and for 25 years practiced in Madison and other small towns - He has also been an adjunct professor at Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law ### Education - In 2016, he completed an LL.M. in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, M.D. North Carolina, 2012-present - He has received the Pro Bono Service Award (NCBA, 1985) and the Community Service Award (NC Association of Black Lawyers, 1986) - J.D. — Howard Univ. — 1979 - He graduated from local high school in 1972, obtained a B.A. magna cum laude from Howard University in 1976, and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 1979. - B.A. — Howard Univ. — 1976 - General Counsel, Mid-Eastern Athletic Converence - Staff Attorney, Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont - After law school, Webster held the role of a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow at Legal Services of Southern Piedmont in Charlotte. - Chairman, North Carolina Board of Law Examiners - He also served 13 years on the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners, including two years as chair - Born and raised in Madison, North Carolina, Webster grew up in the tobacco fields and textile mills alongside five brothers and two sisters. - Webster has been active in the North Carolina Bar Association, serving as Vice President on the Board of Governors and Board of Directors. - Birth place: 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=31) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=31) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=31) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9362/joe-l-webster/) - [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/9362/joe-l-webster/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Joe Louis Webster](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9362/joe-l-webster/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Joe Louis Webster](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joe-l-webster-north-carolina-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joe-l-webster-north-carolina-us-magistrate", "name": "Joe L. 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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-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.