Supreme Court of North Carolina

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Supreme Court of North Carolina
Sitting justices
Edward Brady Robert Edmunds Robin Hudson Mark Martin Paul Newby Sarah Parker Patricia Timmons-Goodson
Former justices
North Carolina on Judgepedia

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court, and is located in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jurisdiction

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, including Court of Appeals cases that are reviewed upon petition.^[1] Each justice writes several hundred printed pages of published opinions each year.

Case load

In the 2006/2007 Annual Report, the caseload of the Supreme Court of North Carolina describes the time period of July 1, 2006–June 30, 2007. In that time, 161 cases were pending as of July 1, 2006, 539 cases were filed, 530 cases were disposed, and 170 cases were pending as of June 30, 2007.^[2]

The court's justices

Selection of justices

The court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices has varied from time to time. In 1987, the decision on the selection process of Supreme Court justices went to the Judicial selection Study Commission. The Commission recommended that the justices from that point on be appointed. This is a change from the past when the justices were elected. This idea, however, has not gained the votes necessary in the House of Representatives. Currently, justices are selected through general elections.^[3]

Qualifications

All judges on the Supreme Court of North Carolina must retire before the last day of the month in which he turns 72.^[4]

Current justices

The Court's current (October 2008) members are:

Former Justices

Justices are listed roughly in reverse chronological order. Note that dates in parentheses are for service as Chief Justice only. Many Chief Justices have also served as associate justices.

21st Century

• George Wainwright Jr
• I. Beverly Lake Jr, Chief Justice (2001-2006)
• G.K. Butterfield

20th Century

19th Century Chief Justices

History of the court

In 1799, the first appellate court, the Court of Conference, was created in the state. The court sat en banc twice each year. In 1805, the court was renamed the "Supreme Court," and in 1810, the court was ordered to reduce the number of opinions and deliver them viva voce in open court.^[5]

From 1818 to 1868

In this time, the justices on the court were selected by the General Assembly and were selected for life terms. In the case of a vacancy, the Governor of the state appointed a replacement that would serve on the bench until the end of the next session of the General Assembly.^[6]

After 1868

The constitution of 1868 changed the judiciary in four main ways. One, the court was created out of the constitution, two, the Supreme Court increased from three to five, three, responsibility for the selection of court justices was transferred from the legislature to the people, and finally, the "formerly separate law and equity jurisdictions of the Court into a single 'form of action for the enforcement or protection of private rights or the redress of private wrongs.'"^[7]

Recent history

In 1987, the decision on the selection process of Supreme Court justices went to the Judicial selection Study Commission. This move was suggested by then Chief Justice James Exum Jr. The Commission recommended that the justices from that point on be appointed. This is a change from the past when the justices were elected. This idea, however, has not gained the votes necessary in the House of Representatives. Currently, justices are selected through general elections.^[8]

Courthouse

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.^[9]

See also

• Judicial Elections
• North Carolina Supreme Court
• North Carolina Court of Appeals
• North Carolina judicial news
• North Carolina blogs

External links

• North Carolina Supreme Court Official Site
• History of the NC Supreme Court
• NC Manual of 1913 by Robert Digges Wimberly Connor
• Supreme Court Homecoming Set for May 11, 2007
• Fringe Tactics: Special Interest Groups Target Judicial Races
• Constitution of North Carolina: Supreme Court

References

Portions of this article have been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Copyright Notice can be found here.

The North Carolina Project on Judgepedia

Supreme Court Court of Appeals Federal court of appeal

Federal eastern district for North Carolina Federal middle district for North Carolina Federal western district for North Carolina