Supreme Court of North Carolina

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Supreme Court of North Carolina
Court information
Justices:	7
Founded:	1799
Location:	Raleigh, North Carolina
Judicial selection
Method:	Non-partisan election of judges
Term:	8 years
Active justices
North Carolina  •  WikiProject North Carolina  •  North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission  •
Former justices

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

Justices

The current justices of the court are:

Judge	Term	Appointed by	Party
Chief Justice Sarah Parker	1992-2014		Democratic
Justice Mark Martin	1998-2014		Republican
Justice Paul Martin Newby	2004-2020		Republican
Justice Robin Hudson	2006-2014		Democratic
Justice Robert H. Edmunds, Jr.	2001-2016		Republican
Justice Cheri Beasley	12/2012-2014		Democratic
Justice Barbara Jackson	2011-2018		Republican

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. Each justice writes several hundred printed pages of published opinions each year.

Judicial selection

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.

Qualifications

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

Caseloads

Fiscal Year	Pending at start of fiscal year	Appeals filed	Appeals disposed	Petitions filed	Petitions disposed	Pending at end of fiscal year
2010	225	127	105	642	648	241
2009	252	147	118	589	618	252
2008	286	204	204	569	590	265
2007	239	246	214	539	530	280

Salaries

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina earns $140,932 annually, while associate justices earn $137,249, as of January 2010.

News

Governor Perdue to appoint Timmons-Goodson's replacement

Some controversy has arisen over outgoing Gov. Bev Perdue's decision to appoint a Supreme Court justice before the end of her term in 2012.

Due to Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson's upcoming retirement on Dec. 17, 2012, the Governor is allowed to appoint a replacement who will serve until the next general election in 2014. An executive order placed by Gov. Perdue in 2011 requires her to choose such court appointments from a list of candidates provided by the North Carolina Judicial Nominating Commission. However, the commission told the Governor that they do not have enough time to vet candidates before she leaves office. So, the Governor is planning to select and appoint the new justice herself.

Because Gov. Perdue is a Democrat and the Governor-elect, Pat McCrory, is a Republican, some are concerned that bypassing the nominating commission is a political move. Perdue is likely to appoint a Democratic successor for Justice Timmons-Goodson, who is also a Democrat. Others point out that it is the Governor's constitutional right to appoint justices to Supreme Court vacancies, with or without the commission.

Notable decisions

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.

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.

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.'"

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.

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.

Notable firsts

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.

2012

To organize the columns, click on the arrows in the column heading.

Candidate	Incumbency	Office	Primary Vote	Election Vote
NewbyPaul Martin Newby   A	Yes			51.90%   A
Ervin, IVSam Ervin	No			48.10%   D

2010

See also: 2010 State Supreme Court elections

Incumbent Edward Thomas Brady competed against challengers Robert C. Hunter and Barbara Jackson. Barbara Jackson succeeded with 51.88% of the vote.

Supreme Court of North Carolina 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Barbara Jackson		n/a	51.88'%
Edward Thomas Brady		n/a	n/a
Robert C. Hunter		n/a	n/a

2008

See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

Incumbent Robert Edmunds defeated challenger Suzanne Reynolds.

Supreme Court of North Carolina 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Robert Edmunds		n/a	51.04%
Suzanne Reynolds		n/a	n/a

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

Robert Orr Henry Frye, Chief Justice (1999-2001) Franklin Freeman James Wynn Jr Willis Whichard Harry Martin Louis Meyer Burley Mitchell, Chief Justice (1995-1999) John Webb James Exum Jr, Chief Justice (1986-1995) Rhoda Billings, Chief Justice (1986) J. Phil Carlton Joseph Branch, Chief Justice (1979-1986) Daniel Moore Susie Sharp, Chief Justice (1975-1979) William Bobbitt, Chief Justice (1969-1974) R. Hunt Parker, Chief Justice (1966-1969) I. Beverly Lake Sr Emery Denny, Chief Justice (1962-1966) J. Wallace Winborne, Chief Justice (1956-1962) M.V. Barnhill, Chief Justice (1954-1956) William Rodman, Jr.

Carlisle Higgins Sam Ervin Aaron Seawell Michael Schenck George Whitfield Connor Heriot Clarkson William Adams William Reynolds Allen James Manning Walter Brock William Devin, Chief Justice (1951-1954) Walter Stacy, Chief Justice (1925-1951) William Hoke, Chief Justice (1924-1925) George Brown Platt Walker Charles Cook Henry Connor Walter Clark, Chief Justice (1903-1924) David Furches, Chief Justice (1901-1903)

19th Century Chief Justices

William Faircloth, Chief Justice (1895-1901) James Shepherd, Chief Justice (1893-1895) Augustus Summerfield Merrimon, Chief Justice (1889-1892) William Nathan Harrell Smith, Chief Justice (1878-1889) Richmond Mumford Pearson, Chief Justice (1858–1878)

Frederick Nash, Chief Justice (1852-1858) Thomas Ruffin, Chief Justice (1833-1852) Leonard Henderson, Chief Justice (1829–1833) John Louis Taylor, first Chief Justice (1818-1829)

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