Horace Locklear (born November 27, 1942) is an American politician and former attorney who served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

from 1977 until 1983. A member of the Lumbee tribe, he was the first Native American to practice law in North Carolina.

Early life

Horace Locklear was born on November 27, 1942, to Riley and Margaret Locklear in Lumberton, North Carolina, United States. He is a member of the Lumbee tribe. He attended Piney Grove Elementary School and Magnolia High School. After graduating from the latter, he attended

Pembroke State College The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP or UNC Pembroke) is a public university in Pembroke, North Carolina. UNC Pembroke is a master's level degree-granting university and part of the University of North Carolina system. Its history i ...

, graduating in 1964. He then attended North Carolina Central University, graduating in 1972 with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree. On May 11, 1963, Locklear married Barbara Brayboy. He had three children with her.

Career

In 1964 Locklear worked as a job developer for the

North Carolina Fund The North Carolina Fund was a series of experimental programs conceived at the request of North Carolina governor Terry Sanford, who was aided by writer John Ehle. Its director, George Esser, was appointed in 1963. It was created as a non-profit c ...

's Manpower Program in Statesville. In 1968 he cofounded the

Lumbee Regional Development Association The Lumbee Regional Development Association (LRDA) is a nonprofit corporation, chartered by the State of North Carolina in 1968, organized to analyze and develop solutions for the health, educational, economic, and general welfare problems of rural ...

. On August 28, 1972, Locklear was admitted into the

North Carolina State Bar The North Carolina State Bar (NCSB) is the state agency charged with regulating the practice of law in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In contrast, the North Carolina Bar Association is a voluntary association. History NCSB was established in ...

, becoming the first Native American to do so. He opened a law practice in Lumberton in an office across the street from the Robeson County Courthouse. That year he was also appointed to serve as North Carolina's delegate at the 25th annual Governor's Interstate Indian Council in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

. In 1974 he served as the county manager of Nick Galifianakis' U.S. Senate campaign. In 1976 he ran as member of the Democratic Party unopposed for a seat in the

. He was elected and took office the following year, representing the 21st District, which included portions of Robeson, Hoke, and Scotland counties. In 1979 Locklear gave a speech before the House in favor of designating the eastern box turtle the state reptile of North Carolina, noting its historical importance to indigenous communities. He left office in 1982. In 1988 Locklear briefly served as a defense attorney for Eddie Hatcher, a man charged with taking hostages at the offices of '' The Robesonian'' in February. Hatcher dismissed him before his trial began. In November Locklear was charged in the Robeson County Court with attempted obstruction of justice, obtaining property under false pretenses, and attempted obtaining property under false pretenses. The prosecutor alleged that Locklear had met with a convicted drug trafficker and acquired money from him while asserting that he had close connections with a judge and could convince the judge to lighten his sentence. No charges were brought against the drug trafficker, and Locklear's attorneys accused the prosecutor of engaging in selective prosecution. He eventually reached a plea bargain with the prosecutor, pleading guilty to two charges of obstruction of justice and in turn receiving a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

of three years and being compelled to perform community service. He was subsequently

disbarred Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal conduct ...

by the North Carolina State Bar for unethical conduct.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Locklear, Horace 1942 births Lumbee people Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers North Carolina Central University alumni University of North Carolina at Pembroke alumni Disbarred American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American legislators Living people