Linda M. McGee (born September 20, 1949) is an American judge, who retired as the Chief Judge of the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

at the end of 2020. McGee retired as the "longest serving Court of Appeals judge in state history." Born in

Marion, North Carolina Marion is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1844, the city was named in honor of Brigadier General Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War Hero whose talent in guerrilla warfare ...

, McGee earned her undergraduate degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1971 and her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from UNC-Chapel Hill two years later. After law school, she worked as executive director of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers from 1973 until 1978, when she entered private practice in

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters for the disaster a ...

. McGee was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1995 by Governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

, and elected to eight-year terms in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. In the 2012 election, McGee was re-elected for her final term, and was endorsed for re-election by the (Raleigh)

News and Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...

, which described her as an "energetic, experienced judge" and added, "Outside the courtroom, McGee is an effective advocate for the judicial system." She was appointed Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals by Supreme Court Chief Justice

Sarah Parker Sarah Parker (born August 23, 1942) is an American judge who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from February 2006 until August 2014. Education and career Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Parker attended Meredith ...

, effective August 1, 2014. She is married and has two children.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Linda M. 1949 births Living people North Carolina Court of Appeals judges People from Marion, North Carolina American women judges North Carolina Democrats 21st-century American women