President Donald Trump nominates Jamaican-American law professor Richard E. Myers II of North Carolina, to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Richard E. Myers, II (Photo: UNC)

​On August 14, 2019, President Donald Trump ​nominated Jamaican-born Professor Richard E. Myers II of University of North Carolina Law School to fill the longest federal judicial vacancy in the U.S. in North Carolina’s Eastern District, a seat which has been vacant for 13 years.

​Richard E. Myers II, 51, is the Henry Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Trial Advocacy at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where his teaching and scholarship focuses on criminal law. Previously, Professor Myers served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Eastern District of North Carolina and Central District of California United States Attorneys’ Offices. While a Federal prosecutor, Professor Myers prosecuted a wide variety of crimes including counterfeiting, narcotics, and firearms offenses. Before going into public service, Professor Myers was in private practice at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Upon graduation from law school, Professor Myers served as a law clerk to Judge David Sentelle on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Born in Jamaica, he immigrated to Wilmington, North Carolina as a child.  He earned his B.A., summa cum laude, and his M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as an Articles Editor on the North Carolina Law Review.

​Myers joined the UNC Law School faculty in July 2004. He is a registered Republican and lives in Chapel Hill, NC.