The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

. 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.

History

The first North Carolina appellate court, created in 1799, was called the Court of Conference and consisted of several

North Carolina Superior Court The Superior Court is North Carolina's general jurisdiction trial court. It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court. Jurisdiction and administration The Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in North Caroli ...

(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. From the time the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

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 John Louis Taylor (March 1, 1769 – January 29, 1829) was an American jurist and first chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Born in London, England, he is the only foreign-born Chief Justice in state history. He was brought to Amer ...

Leonard Henderson Leonard Henderson (October 6, 1772 – August 13, 1833) was an American jurist who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1829 to 1833, and an associate judge of that court beforehand. Biography Henderson was born in G ...

, and

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

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, but there are age limits of 72. The General Assembly made Supreme Court elections non-partisan starting with the

2004 elections 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, but later made them partisan again after the 2016 elections.

Susie Sharp Susie Marshall Sharp (July 7, 1907 – March 1, 1996) was an American jurist who served as the first female chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. She was not the first woman to head the highest court in a U.S. state, but is bel ...

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). The Supreme Court is housed in the Law and Justice Building, located across from the North Carolina State Capitol in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. The building was built in 1940 and underwent major renovations in 2005–2007. In 1975, a new seal was adopted. The old Latin phrase

Suum cuique "" (), or "''Unicuique suum''", is a Latin phrase often translated as "to each his own" or "may all get their due". It has been significant in the history of philosophy and as a motto. History Antiquity The Latin phrase relates to an old G ...

was amended to Suum cuique tribuere.

''Bayard v. Singleton'' (1787)

African American Justices of the NC Supreme Court (cropped)

The court's controversial 1787 decision in ''Bayard v. Singleton'' is among its most significant. ''Bayard'', involving a dispute over property confiscated during the Revolutionary War, was the first ruling in America to declare a legislative act unconstitutional, thus establishing the principle of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

. Judicial review was later adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in ''

Marbury v. Madison ''Marbury v. Madison'', 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court case that established the principle of Judicial review in the Uni ...

'' (1803). The ruling led to a discussion between Supreme Court justice

James Iredell James Iredell (October 5, 1751 – October 20, 1799) was one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799. His son, James Iredel ...

and Founding Father

Richard Dobbs Spaight Richard Dobbs Spaight (March 25, 1758September 6, 1802) was an American Founding Father, politician, planter, and signer of the United States Constitution, who served as a Democratic-Republican U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 10th con ...

as to the proper role of judges in the Constitutional Republic, leaving Spaight questioning if a court had a right to overturn the legislation. ''Bayard'' involved a host of North Carolina's Revolutionary Era luminaries: future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Alfred Moore argued the case on behalf of the state, and the opinion was written by future Governor of North Carolina Samuel Ashe. Though ''Bayard'' was technically decided by the

, before the Supreme Court of North Carolina was established, it is now widely attributed to the current supreme court.

Justices

Current justices

The Court's current members are:

Chief justices

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

(1818–1829) #

(1829–1833) #

Thomas Ruffin Thomas Ruffin (1787–1870) was an American jurist and justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1829 to 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859. He was chief justice of that Court from 1833 to 1852. Biography Thomas Ruffin was born on November ...

(1833–1852) #

Frederick Nash Frederick Nash (February 9, 1781 – December 5, 1858) was an American lawyer and jurist from Hillsborough, North Carolina. He served on the North Carolina Supreme Court and was its chief justice from 1852 until his death. Frederick was the son ...

(1852–1858) #

Richmond Mumford Pearson Richmond Mumford Pearson (1805–1878) was an American jurist who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1858 to 1878. He was the father of Congressman Richmond Pearson and the father-in-law of North Carolina Governor D ...

(1858–1878) #

William Nathan Harrell Smith William Nathan Harrell Smith (September 24, 1812 – November 14, 1889) was a United States Representative from North Carolina, and a chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Biography William N. H. Smith was born in Murfreesboro, North ...

(1878–1889) #

Augustus Summerfield Merrimon Augustus Summerfield Merrimon (September 15, 1830November 14, 1892) was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1873 and 1879. An attorney from Buncombe County, North Carolina, Merrimon served in the North Carolina H ...

(1889–1892) #

James E. Shepherd James Edward Shepherd (1847–1910) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court (1888-1895), three years as chief justice. Early life and education Shepherd was born at Mintonville, near Suffolk, Virginia, t ...

(1893–1895) # William T. Faircloth (1895–1901) # David M. Furches (1901–1903) # Walter Clark (1903–1924) #

William A. Hoke William Alexander Hoke (October 25, 1851 – September 13, 1925) was a North Carolina politician and jurist who served as an associate justice (1905–1924) and chief justice (1924–1925) of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Born in Lincolnton ...

(1924–1925) # Walter P. Stacy (1925–1951) # William A. Devin (1951–1954) #

M.V. Barnhill Maurice Victor Barnhill (1887–1963) was an associate justice (1937–1954) and chief justice (1954–1956) of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Barnhill was born in Halifax County, North Carolina on December 5, 1887, and attended the University ...

(1954–1956) # J. Wallace Winborne (1956–1962) # Emery B. Denny (1962–1966) #

R. Hunt Parker Robert Hunt Parker (1892–1969) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice and chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Born in Enfield, North Carolina, on February 15, 1892, Parker served in the United States Army durin ...

(1966–1969) # William H. Bobbitt (1969–1974) #

(1975–1979) # Joseph Branch (1979–1986) #

Rhoda Billings Rhoda Bryan Billings (born September 30, 1937) is an American lawyer and a former justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Billings is a native of Wilkesboro, North Carolina. She earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of L ...

(1986) #

James G. Exum James Gooden Exum Jr. also known as Jim Exum (born September 14, 1935) is an American jurist who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1975 to 1994, and as chief justice from 1986 to 1994. Under his leadership, the court "expanded civil ...

(1986–1995) #

Burley Mitchell Burley Bayard Mitchell Jr. (born December 15, 1940) is an American jurist and former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He received his bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and his J.D. degree from the Universit ...

(1995–1999) #

Henry Frye Henry E. Frye (born August 1, 1932) is an American judge and politician who served as the first African-American chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Early life and education Henry Frye was born August 1, 1932, in Ellerbe, North Car ...

(1999–2001) #

I. Beverly Lake Jr. Isaac Beverly Lake Jr. (January 30, 1934 – September 12, 2019) was an American jurist and politician, who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Early life I. Beverly Lake Jr. was born on January 30, 1934, in Raleigh, Nor ...

(2001–2006) # Sarah Parker (2006–2014) # Mark Martin (2014–2019) #

Cheri Beasley Cheri Lynn Beasley (born February 14, 1966) is an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020; she was appointed an associate justice in 2012. Beasley had previously served o ...

(2019–2020) #

Paul Newby Paul Martin Newby (born May 5, 1955) is an American judge, who was first elected to a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2004. He was elected Chief Justice in 2020. Early life and education Newby was born in Asheboro, North Carolina. H ...

(2021–present)

Notes

External links

North Carolina Supreme Court official page

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

by

Robert Digges Wimberly Connor Robert Digges Wimberly Connor (September 26, 1878 – February 25, 1950) was an American historian who served as the first state archivist of North Carolina from 1907 to 1921, and later as the first Archivist of the United States from 1934 to ...

{{authority control North Carolina state courts

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

1818 establishments in North Carolina Courts and tribunals established in 1818