Education
Hampton University; Duke University.
Hampton University; Duke University.
She is the Fourth Circuit"s first female African-American judge. Duncan received a Bachelor from Hampton University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 1975. She was an associate editor at the Lawyers Company-Operative Publishing Company from 1976 to 1977.
Duncan then served for one year as a law clerk to Judge Julia Cooper Mack of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 1977 to 1978.
In 1978, Duncan joined the staff of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. At one point, the then-head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Clarence Thomas, promoted Duncan as his chief of staff over another candidate, Anita Hill.
At North Carolina Central University School of Law, Duncan served as an associate professor from 1986 to 1990, teaching Property Law, Appellate Advocacy, and Employment Discrimination. In 1990, she served briefly on the North Carolina Court of Appeals as an Associate Judge.
She was appointed by Government.
James G. Martin to replace Charles Becton but lost the following election to James A. Wynn. She worked there until her appointment to the federal bench. Duncan became the first African-American president of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2003.
Duncan was nominated on April 28, 2003, by President George West. Bush to fill a vacancy on the Fourth Circuit created by Judge Samuel J. Ervin III, who died on September 18, 1999.
A Republican, Duncan was supported by both Senators Elizabeth Dole and John Edwards, a departure from the trend toward partisan controversy over North Carolina appointments to the Fourth Circuit court. Bill Clinton previously had nominated Professor South. Elizabeth Gibson to the seat late in his presidency, but Gibson never received a United States. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing or vote before his presidency ended.
The United States. Senate confirmed Duncan by a vote of 93-0 on July 17, 2003, and she received her commission on August 15, 2003. She was the third judge nominated to the Fourth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate.