HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
A Federal Public Defender office for the Middle District of North Carolina was approved in 1992. William E. Martin, an attorney from Cary, North Carolina, who had previously served as FPD for the Eastern District of North Carolina, was appointed as its first Federal Defender. On December 29, 1992, an Administrative Assistant, a Paralegal, and a First Assistant were hired and the process of creating a new office began. Over the following four months, while working out of four small rooms on the first floor of the U.S. Courthouse building in Greensboro, space was acquired, equipment and furniture purchased, and staff were hired for the headquarters office in Greensboro.
The office officially opened on May 3, 1993, and began accepting case appointments. Staff consisted of the FPD, First Assistant, four Assistant Federal Public Defenders (AFPDs), Administrative Assistant, Paralegal, two Investigators, two Legal Secretaries and a Receptionist. The office was later approved for a Computer System Administrator and an additional secretary. An unstaffed branch office was opened in the Federal Building in Winston-Salem in the summer of 1993. In November, 1998, it became a staffed branch office, with a staff of one AFPD. In 1999 that AFPD was promoted to Senior Litigator. In 2001, the staff in the branch office expanded to include three support staff.
After serving one term as the Federal Public Defender, Mr. Martin returned to the private practice of law. On August 4, 1997, Louis C. Allen III became the Federal Public Defender, and he served until his retirement on July 31, 2025. Under Mr. Allen’s leadership, the office grew substantially, established regular training programs for CJA Panel attorneys, and twice argued cases before the United States Supreme Court. On August 1, 2025, Eric D. Placke became the Federal Public Defender. The office currently employs ten attorneys and eleven support staff.