Albert Diaz (born circa 1961) is a judge in North Carolina and a current federal judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Professional career 3 Work as a judge in North Carolina 4 Nomination to the Fourth Circuit 5 References

[edit] Early life and education

Raised in Brooklyn as the son of divorced Puerto Rican parents, Diaz and his two brothers were raised by his mother. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Marines.^[1]

Diaz earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and earned a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1988.^[2] Diaz earned a master of business administration degree from Boston University, in 1993.^[2]

[edit] Professional career

While in the Marines, Diaz served as a prosecutor, defense lawyer and judge.^[1] He left the service in 1995 for private practice, becoming an associate with the law firm of Hunton & Williams and represented Philip Morris USA during tobacco lawsuits in the late 1990s.^[1]

[edit] Work as a judge in North Carolina

In 2001, then-North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley appointed Diaz to the North Carolina Superior Court, making Diaz the first Hispanic ever to be a state judge in North Carolina.^[1] The following year, Diaz lost a bid for election.^[1] However, Easley again appointed Diaz to the Superior Court.^[1] Then, in 2005, the North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice appointed Diaz to be Charlotte, North Carolina's first ever Business Court judge, one of just three in the state.^[1]

[edit] Nomination to the Fourth Circuit

On November 4, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Diaz to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, to replace Judge William Walter Wilkins, who had taken senior status in July 2007 and later retired.^[2] Diaz was nominated to the seat to which Steve A. Matthews previously had been nominated by President George W. Bush. The nomination, made along with that of fellow North Carolina nominee James A. Wynn, Jr., was jointly endorsed by North Carolina senators Kay Hagan, a Democrat, and Richard Burr, a Republican.^[3]

[edit] References