Karon O. Bowdre

Karon O. Bowdre
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Incumbent
Assumed office November 18, 2013
Preceded by	Sharon Lovelace Blackburn
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Incumbent
Assumed office November 8, 2001
Nominated by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Sam C. Pointer, Jr.
Personal details
Born	1955 (age 68–69) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Alma mater	Samford University Cumberland School of Law

Karon Owen Bowdre (born 1955) is the Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. She joined the court in 2001 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.

Early life and education

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Bowdre graduated from Samford University with her Bachelor's degree in 1977 and later from Cumberland School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in 1981.

Legal career

She was a law clerk for Junius Foy Guin, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama from 1981 to 1982. Bowdre was a partner at the Birmingham, Alabama firm of Rives & Peterson from 1982 to 1990. Beginning in 1989, Bowdre became a full-time Professor of law at Samford University Cumberland School of Law where she taught insurance law, legal ethics, and professional responsibility, and directed Cumberland’s legal research and writing program before her federal appointment in 2001.

Federal Judicial Career

In 2001, Bowdre was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama by President George W. Bush on September 4, 2001 to a seat vacated by Sam Clyde Pointer Jr. Bowdre was confirmed by the Senate on November 6, 2001 on a Senate vote and received her commission on November 8, 2001. She assumed the position of Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on November 18, 2013.

Sources

• Karon O. Bowdre at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.