--- title: "Richard Lesley Voorhees | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/richard-lesley-voorhees" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Richard Lesley Voorhees 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, 1988-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, having assumed senior status on August 31, 2017 - As a senior judge, Voorhees continues to hear cases in the Western District of North Carolina ### Education - University of North Carolina School of Law — J.D. (1968) - Davidson College — B.A. (1963) ### Additional information - Judicial tenure: 1988–2017 (judge), 1991–1998 (chief judge), senior since 2017 - Service: held the role of a judge from 1988 to 2017, and as Chief Judge from 1991 to 1998 - Private practice, Gastonia, North Carolina, 1968-1988 - He also practiced law in Gastonia, North Carolina, from 1968 to 1988 - Before entering the judiciary, he served in the U.S. Army as an ROTC cadet (1959–1963), as a Lieutenant in the Signal Corps (1963–1965), and as a Reserve Captain (1965–1969). - Born June 5, 1941, in Syracuse, New York. - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Birth place: Syracuse, NY ## 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/1389211) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1389211) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1389211) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3330/richard-lesley-voorhees/) - [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/3330/richard-lesley-voorhees/) - [Wikidata: Richard Lesley Voorhees](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7327346) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/richard-lesley-voorhees", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/richard-lesley-voorhees", "name": "Richard Lesley Voorhees | KnowJudges", "description": "Richard Lesley Voorhees, 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.