THE HONORABLE DAVID C. KEESLER
David C. Keesler was sworn in as United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of North Carolina in May 2004 following a successful career as a state and federal prosecutor and as a trial lawyer in private law practice. Judge Keesler presides over federal civil and criminal matters pending in the 32 counties that make up the Western District of North Carolina. He chairs the Western District’s Advisory Committee on Local Rules.
Prior to going on the bench, Judge Keesler was a litigation partner at Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he practiced in the areas of white collar criminal defense and commercial litigation. While in private law practice, Judge Keesler also served as an expert legal analyst for WBTV News and ESPN.
Before joining Moore & Van Allen, Judge Keesler served for nearly 10 years as both a state and federal prosecutor. For over five and a half years, Judge Keesler served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Charlotte, and rose to the position of Deputy Criminal Chief for General Crimes. For his work on the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist case, he was awarded the 1999 Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney by then-Attorney General Janet Reno. Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Keesler worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Charlotte for four years. During his career as a prosecutor, Judge Keesler tried several hundred non-jury and jury trials in both state and federal courts.
Judge Keesler graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984, where he was a Morehead Scholar and chair of the Honor Court. He earned his law degree in 1987 from the University of Virginia, where he served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Law Politics and as President of the Student Legal Forum. Following law school, Judge Keesler served as law clerk to the late Justice Louis B. Meyer of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
A native of Charlotte, Judge Keesler has long been active in the community and in bar association activities. He is particularly involved in the Mecklenburg County Bar, where he is a frequent CLE lecturer and serves on the Bar’s Diversity Committee and as Judicial Liaison to the Board of Directors. Judge Keesler is also active in his church, which he serves as a deacon, and at Trinity Episcopal School, where his children attend.
Judge Keesler and his wife, Susan, have two daughters, Amelia and Caroline. He enjoys spending time with family, coaching youth soccer, playing tennis, traveling, and cheering for the UNC Tarheels.
