Judge Carter was appointed United States District Judge for the Central District of California in 1998. Prior to his appointment, he served as a judge in both the Orange County Superior Court and the Orange County Municipal Court. Judge Carter also served as Assistant District Attorney in Santa Ana, California. In addition to his service as a United States District Judge, Judge Carter currently serves as a visiting professor at the political science department at UC Irvine. Judge Carter has also advised fellow judges, as well as prosecutors and defense counsel, at the Hague, as well as in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Brazil, Bosnia, China, Armenia, the Republic of Georgia, Russia, Algeria, Malawi, Mexico, the Philippines, and other locations around the globe. He frequently participates in counterterrorism efforts for the United Nations in South Asia, including leading a program that brings together judicial officers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and elsewhere to improve counterterrorism efforts in the region. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, receiving a Bronze Star for Valor and a Purple Heart.