North Carolina Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina'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. 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.

North Carolina Supreme Court
Seal of the Supreme Court of North Carolina
Established1818
LocationRaleigh, North Carolina
Composition methodPartisan election
Authorized byConstitution of North Carolina
Appeals toSupreme Court of the United States
Appeals fromNorth Carolina Court of Appeals
Judge term length8 years (mandatory retirement at the age of 72)
Number of positions7
WebsiteOfficial website
Chief Justice
CurrentlyPaul Martin Newby
SinceJanuary 1, 2021
Lead position endsMay 31, 2027

History

The first North Carolina appellate court, created in 1799, was called the Court of Conference and consisted of several North Carolina Superior Court (trial) judges sitting en banc twice each year to review appeals from their 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 until 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.

From 1819 until it burnt down in 1831, the court met in the North Carolina State Capitol. After the fire, the court briefly convened in the meeting house of the First Presbyterian Church until the capitol was rebuilt.[2] In 1846, the General Assembly passed a law requiring the court hold a term in Morganton every year to ease travel burdens for lawyers in the western portion of the state. The court had no access to a law library during its stay in the city, and many lawyers later criticized the decisions made there for being deficient. The justices stopped traveling to Morganton after the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.[1]

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, but there are age limits of 72. The General Assembly made Supreme Court elections non-partisan starting with the 2004 elections, but later made them partisan again after the 2016 elections.[3]

Beginning in 1888, the Supreme Court met in buildings located along the periphery of Union Square in Raleigh. In September 1940, the court moved into the new Justice Building near the State Capitol.[2]

One current and five former African American justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court (back to front, left to right): Michael R. Morgan, Patricia Timmons-Goodson, Cheri Beasley, James A. Wynn Jr., Henry Frye, G. K. Butterfield.

Susie Sharp became the court's first female justice in 1962.[4] She became its first female chief justice in 1974. Henry Frye became the first black justice in 1983.[1] In 2011, the court had a female majority for the first time.[4]

In October 1975, the court adopted a new official seal, amending the Latin phrase Suum cuique to Suum cuique tribuere.[5]

Function

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.[1] The court's docket is typically dominated by cases concerning interpretation of the constitution, major legal questions, and appeals of criminal cases involving capital punishment.[6] Justices of the court also sometimes issue advisory opinions in response to questions of law brought by officials in the executive and legislative branches.[7] The court is required by law to examine all non-unanimous Court of Appeals decisions.[8] It has the power to depublish Court of Appeals decisions, thus allowing the lower ruling to stand but preventing it from forming legal precedent.[9]

Session

The Supreme Court is constitutionally required to meet in Raleigh, unless directed otherwise by the General Assembly.[10] The court and its staff are housed in the Justice Building at 2 East Morgan Street in Raleigh. The justices sit for proceedings in a courtroom on the third floor.[2]

Administrative responsibilities

The justices appoint their own court clerk, librarian, and reporter.[1] The chief justice of the court is responsible for appointing the director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, the chief administrative law judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings,[11] and the chief judge of the court of appeals.[10] A justice of the court is required by the constitution to administer the oath of office to an incoming governor.[12] As the head of the state's General Court of Justice, the Supreme Court schedules the sessions of the North Carolina Superior Court.[13]

Impeachments and removal

In the event the governor or lieutenant governor is impeached by the North Carolina House of Representatives, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the impeachment trial in the North Carolina Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court can also be impeached and removed by the legislature.[14]

Court composition

The Supreme Court consists of one chief justice and six associate justices. In the event the chief justice is temporarily unavailable, the senior associate justice may assume their responsibilities. The constitution permits the General Assembly to add up to two additional associate justices.[15] Justices are popularly elected and serve eight-year terms.[16] All candidates for election or appointment to the court must be licensed to practice law in the state.[17]

Justices
Main article: List of justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court

Current justices

The Court's current members are:

Seat Justice Born Joined Term ends[lower-alpha 1] Mandatory retirement[lower-alpha 2] Party affiliation Law school
Chief Justice Paul Martin Newby (1955-05-05) May 5, 1955 December 5, 2004 2028 May 31, 2027 Republican North Carolina
1 Anita Earls (1960-02-20) February 20, 1960 January 1, 2019 2026 February 29, 2032 Democratic Yale
2 Phil Berger Jr. (1972-03-26) March 26, 1972 January 1, 2021 2028 March 31, 2044 Republican Wake Forest
3 Richard Dietz (1977-02-01) February 1, 1977 January 1, 2023 2030 February 28, 2049 Republican Wake Forest
4 Tamara P. Barringer (1958-12-01) December 1, 1958 January 1, 2021 2028 December 31, 2030 Republican North Carolina
5 Trey Allen (1974-11-20) November 20, 1974 January 1, 2023 2030 November 30, 2046 Republican North Carolina
6 Michael R. Morgan (1955-10-22) October 22, 1955 January 1, 2017 2024 October 31, 2027 Democratic North Carolina Central
  1. Term ends Dec. 31 of the year listed.
  2. 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 https://ballotpedia.org/Mandatory_retirement).

Chief justices

Note that dates are for service as chief justice only. Many chief justices have also served as associate justices.

  1. John Louis Taylor (1818–1829)
  2. Leonard Henderson (1829–1833)
  3. Thomas Ruffin (1833–1852)
  4. Frederick Nash (1852–1858)
  5. Richmond Mumford Pearson (1858–1878)
  6. William Nathan Harrell Smith (1878–1889)
  7. Augustus Summerfield Merrimon (1889–1892)
  8. James E. Shepherd (1893–1895)
  9. William T. Faircloth (1895–1901)
  10. David M. Furches (1901–1903)
  11. Walter Clark (1903–1924)
  12. William A. Hoke (1924–1925)
  13. Walter P. Stacy (1925–1951)
  14. William A. Devin (1951–1954)
  15. M.V. Barnhill (1954–1956)
  16. J. Wallace Winborne (1956–1962)
  17. Emery B. Denny (1962–1966)
  18. R. Hunt Parker (1966–1969)
  19. William H. Bobbitt (1969–1974)
  20. Susie Sharp (1975–1979)
  21. Joseph Branch (1979–1986)
  22. Rhoda Billings (1986)
  23. James G. Exum (1986–1995)
  24. Burley Mitchell (1995–1999)
  25. Henry Frye (1999–2001)
  26. I. Beverly Lake Jr. (2001–2006)
  27. Sarah Parker (2006–2014)
  28. Mark Martin (2014–2019)
  29. Cheri Beasley (2019–2020)
  30. Paul Newby (2021–present)

See also

References
  1. Brinkley, Martin H. "Supreme Court of North Carolina: A Brief History". North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  2. "History of the Justice Building". North Carolina Judicial Branch. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  3. "McCrory signs Senate Bill 4 in less than an hour; appoints chief of staff's wife to Industrial Commission". The Pulse. 2016-12-16. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  4. "Newest Madam Justice Makes Supremely Female Majority". The News & Observer. January 7, 2011. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
  5. Miller, Kay Sour (November 1975). "Sue 'Em Quick" Is Out of Style". The State. Vol. 43, no. 6. pp. 13–14, 35.
  6. "Judicial Branch". nc.gov. The State of North Carolina. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  7. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 53.
  8. Billman, Jeffrey (May 16, 2023). "Phil Berger Sr.'s Plan for N.C. Courts". The Assembly. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  9. Doran, Will (April 13, 2023). "In three sentences, NC Supreme Court gives itself vast new power". WRAL-TV. Capitol Broadcasting Company. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  10. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 131.
  11. Blythe, Anne (February 17, 2022). "Disorder in the Court". The Assembly.
  12. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 116.
  13. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 133.
  14. Sáenz, Hunter (February 11, 2021). "VERIFY: Is there an impeachment process in North Carolina?". WCNC Charlotte. WCNC-TV. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  15. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 130.
  16. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 138.
  17. Orth & Newby 2013, p. 143.

Works cited

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