Treadwell was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky in 1955 and graduated from Blackshear High School in 1973.

[1] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978 from Valdosta State University and a Juris Doctor in 1981 from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.

[4] He also has been an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, since 1998.

[3] On February 4, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Treadwell to serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, to fill the vacancy created by Judge Hugh Lawson, who assumed senior status at the end of 2008.

[6] The United States Senate confirmed Treadwell on June 21, 2010 by an 89–0 vote.