President signs Tillis, Burr bill combining Fort Bragg into one federal judicial district into law

Bicameral, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Richard Burr (R-NC) redefining the eastern and middle judicial districts of North Carolina became law on July 6.

The senators in April introduced S. 1340 to consolidate Fort Bragg into one federal judicial district, the Eastern District of North Carolina, whose courthouse is in Fayetteville. The identical bill, H.R 2746, was also introduced in April by U.S. Reps. Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Richard Hudson (R-NC) in their chamber.

“North Carolina is the proud home of Fort Bragg, the largest military installation in the world based on population, which spans six North Carolina counties. The current judicial district boundaries split the base into two districts, resulting in some defendants being required to travel to Durham, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem to appear in court,” Sen .Tillis said. “This bipartisan legislation is a commonsense fix that will ensure all of Fort Bragg is included in the Eastern District to improve court operations and reduce hardship for defendants.”

Currently, depending where on Fort Bragg an infraction occurred, an individual would be required to appear in court 20 minutes away or up to two hours away, according to information provided by Sen. Tillis’ office.

“By consolidating Fort Bragg’s judicial district into one we will alleviate some of the confusion for service members and their families located at Fort Bragg,” said Sen. Burr. “I applaud the bipartisan work to get this commonsense initiative across the finish line.”

Both houses of Congress approved the bill last month and President Joe Biden on July 6 signed the measure into law.