R. David Proctor

Robert David Proctor (born December 5, 1960) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Education and career
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Proctor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carson–Newman College, (now Carson–Newman University), in 1983 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1986. He was a law clerk to Hiram Emory Widener Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1986 to 1987. He was in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1987 to 2003.

Federal judicial service
On May 1, 2003, Proctor was nominated by President George W. Bush to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama created by 116 Stat. 1758. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 17, 2003, and received his commission on September 22, 2003. He became chief judge on January 1, 2024.