Chief Judge Sentelle was appointed United States Circuit Judge in October 1987 and became Chief Judge on February 11, 2008. He is a 1968 graduate of the University of North Carolina Law School. Following law school, he practiced with the firm of Uzzell & DuMont until he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Charlotte, N.C. in 1970. From 1974 to 1977, he served as a North Carolina State District Judge but left the bench in 1977 to become a partner with the firm of Tucker, Hicks, Sentelle, Moon & Hodge. In 1985, Chief Judge Sentelle joined the U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina, in Asheville, where he served until his appointment to the D.C. Circuit. Chief Judge Sentelle was the Presiding Judge of the Special Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels (1992-2006). Chief Judge Sentelle serves as President of the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of the American Inns of Court. He also a member of the U.S. Judicial Conference's Executive Committee.