North Carolina Supreme Court
| North Carolina Supreme Court | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Supreme Court of North Carolina | |
| Established | 1818 |
| Country | North Carolina  , United States  |
| Location | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Authorized by | North Carolina Constitution |
| Decisions are appealed to | Supreme Court of the United States |
| Judge term length | 8 years |
No. of positions | 7 |
| Website | Official website |
| Chief Justice | |
| Currently | Mark Martin |
| Since | Sept. 2014 |
| Lead position ends | January 2023 |
The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices has varied from time to time. The primary function of the Supreme Court is to decide questions of law that have arisen in the lower courts and before state administrative agencies.
Contents
1 History
2 Justices
2.1 Current Justices
2.2 Chief Justices
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links
History
Justice Building in Raleigh, NC
The first North Carolina appellate court, created in 1799, was called the Court of Conference and consisted of several Superior Court (trial) judges sitting en banc twice each year to review appeals from their own courts. In 1805 it was named the Supreme Court, and a seal and motto were to be procured.[1]
From the time the North Carolina General Assembly created the Court as a distinct body in 1818 to 1868, the members of the Court were chosen by the General Assembly and served for life, or "during good behavior." The legislature appointed John Louis Taylor, Leonard Henderson, and John Hall as the first Supreme Court judges. The three judges were allowed to select their own Chief Justice, and they chose Taylor. The Court first met on January 1, 1819.
Since the adoption of the 1868 state constitution, each justice has been elected (separately, including a distinct Chief Justice position) by the people to an eight-year term. There are no term limits. The General Assembly made Supreme Court elections non-partisan starting with the 2004 elections, but later made them partisan again after the 2016 elections.[2]
Susie Sharp became the court's first female justice in 1962 (and later, she became its first female chief justice). In 2011, the court had a female majority for the first time (that majority ended in 2014 with the retirement of Chief Justice Sarah Parker).[3]
The Supreme Court is housed in the Law and Justice Building, located across from the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina. The building was built in 1940 and underwent major renovations in 2005–2007.[4]
In 1975 a new seal was adopted. The old Latin phrase Suum cuique was amended to Suum cuique tribuere.[5]
Justices
Current Justices
The Court's current (January 2019) members are:
| Name | Born | Joined | Term Ends[6] | Mandatory Retirement[7] | Law School Attended | Party Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Martin, (Chief Justice) | (1963-04-29) April 29, 1963 | 1999 | 2022 | April 29, 2035 | University of North Carolina School of Law | Republican |
Cheri Beasley | (1966-02-14) February 14, 1966 | 2013 | 2022 | February 14, 2038 | University of Tennessee College of Law | Democratic |
Anita Earls | (1960-02-20) February 20, 1960 | 2019 | 2026 | Feb. 20, 2032 | Yale Law School | Democratic |
Sam J. Ervin, IV | (1955-11-18) November 18, 1955 | 2015 | 2022 | November 18, 2027 | Harvard Law School | Democratic |
Robin E. Hudson | (1952-02-20) February 20, 1952 | 2007 | 2022 | February 20, 2024 | University of North Carolina School of Law | Democratic |
Michael R. Morgan | 1955 (age 63–64) | 2017 | 2024 | 2027 | North Carolina Central University School of Law | Democratic |
Paul Martin Newby | (1955-05-05) May 5, 1955 | 2005 | 2020 | May 5, 2027 | University of North Carolina School of Law | Republican |
Chief Justices
Note that dates are for service as Chief Justice only. Many Chief Justices have also served as associate justices.
John Louis Taylor (1818–1829)
Leonard Henderson (1829–1833)
Thomas Ruffin (1833–1852)
Frederick Nash (1852–1858)
Richmond Mumford Pearson (1858–1878)
William Nathan Harrell Smith (1878–1889)
Augustus Summerfield Merrimon (1889–1892)
James E. Shepherd (1893–1895)
William T. Faircloth (1895–1901)
David M. Furches (1901–1903)
Walter Clark (1903–1924)
William A. Hoke (1924–1925)
Walter P. Stacy (1925–1951)
William A. Devin (1951–1954)
M.V. Barnhill (1954–1956)
J. Wallace Winborne (1956–1962)
Emery B. Denny (1962–1966)
R. Hunt Parker (1966–1969)
William H. Bobbitt (1969–1974)
Susie Sharp (1975–1979)
Joseph Branch (1979–1986)
Rhoda Billings (1986)
James G. Exum (1986–1995)
Burley Mitchell (1995–1999)
Henry Frye (1999–2001)
I. Beverly Lake, Jr. (2001–2006)
Sarah Parker (2006–2014)
Mark Martin (2014–2019)- *awaiting appointment by Gov. Roy Cooper
See also
- North Carolina Court of Appeals
Notes
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2008-06-16.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link).mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ NC Policy Watch: McCrory signs Senate Bill 4
^ News & Observer: Newest Madam Justice makes supremely female majority Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine
^ News & Observer: Renovated Law and Justice Building now open
^ [1]
^ Term ends Dec. 31 of the year listed.
^ North Carolina judges must retire on the last day of the month in which they turn age 72 if they are still in office (see also http://judgepedia.org/Mandatory_Retirement).
External links
- North Carolina Supreme Court official page
- History of the NC Supreme Court
- Video: Reflections on the History of the Supreme Court of North Carolina
- History of the Supreme Court by Chief Justice Walter Clark (1919)
- NC Supreme Court Historical Society
NC Manual of 1913 by Robert Digges Wimberly Connor
Coordinates: 35°46′46″N 78°38′19″W / 35.779412°N 78.638479°W / 35.779412; -78.638479
| Elections in North Carolina | |
|---|---|
| U.S. Senate |
|
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (Recent) |
|
'S' = Special election | |
