Patricia Ann "Pat" Timmons-Goodson (born September 18, 1954) is an American judge and politician who served on the

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 ...

from 2006 to 2012. She previously served on the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility for ...

and is a former nominee to be a federal judge for the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Caroli ...

. Timmons-Goodson ran for Congress in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Early life and education

Timmons-Goodson was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, the daughter of a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

enlisted man (Sergeant First Class) and homemaker, and was raised on military bases in the United States and Europe. She attended 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 ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in speech in 1976. She received 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 ...

in 1979 from

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...

. In 2014, she received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in Judicial Studies from the

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...

Career

She began her career working as a district manager for the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

’s

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

Regional Office, from 1979 to 1980. From 1981 to 1983, she served as an assistant district attorney for the Office of the District Attorney for the 12th judicial district in Fayetteville,

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 ...

. From 1983 to 1984, she was a staff attorney for Lumbee River Legal Services. She was named a

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

District Court Judge in 1984; she was subsequently elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to four-year terms as a district judge in 1986, 1990, and 1994. In 1997, she was appointed 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 ...

to 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 ...

. She retired from that court in late 2005. On January 19, 2006, North Carolina Governor

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. A member of ...

appointed her to the

to take the place of Associate 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 ...

. Upon taking her seat in February 2006, she was the first African American woman to serve on the Court. She was elected by the voters to remain on the Court in November 2006, defeating Judge

Eric Levinson Eric L. Levinson is an American jurist, lawyer, and diplomat. He served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Superior Court. He also was the Justice Attache to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Levinson was a North Carolina ...

. She made it known in November 2012 that she would resign her seat before the end of the year. Court of Appeals Judge

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 ...

was appointed to fill her seat. Timmons-Goodson was inducted into the

North Carolina Women's Hall of Fame The North Carolina Women's Hall of Fame is an initiative that emerged from the Governor's Conference for Women in 2009 to recognize women who have provided leadership in community service, their professions, or advocacy for women’s rights in North ...

in 2010. In 2014, President Barack Obama appointed her to the

. She has served as the Vice Chair of that Commission since 2015.

Expired nomination to district court

On April 28, 2016,

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

nominated Timmons-Goodson to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, to the seat vacated by Judge

Malcolm Jones Howard Malcolm Jones Howard (born June 24, 1939) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Education and career Born in Kinston, North Carolina, Howard received a Bachelo ...

, who took

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on December 31, 2005. Her nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.

2020 campaign for Congress

In 2019, Timmons-Goodson filed to run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

seat representing

North Carolina's 8th congressional district North Carolina's eighth congressional district is a United States congressional district that comprises a large portion of the southern Piedmont area of North Carolina from Concord to Spring Lake, including China Grove, Albemarle, Troy, Pin ...

. The 8th district covers all or part of 7 counties including Cabarrus, Stanly, Montgomery, Moore, Lee, Harnett, and Cumberland. Timmons-Goodson lost to incumbent Republican Richard Hudson in the general election in November 2020, by 53% to 47%.

Personal life

Timmons-Goodson is a member of

The Links The Links is an American invitation-only social and service organization of prominent Black women in the United States. Founded in 1946, it is the largest nationwide organization of Black women in the USA. Members include multiple prominent wome ...

References

External links

Pat Timmons-Goodson for Congress
campaign website *
News & Observer biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Timmons-Goodson, Patricia 1954 births African-American judges Duke University School of Law alumni Living people North Carolina Court of Appeals judges North Carolina Democrats Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court People from Florence, South Carolina United States Commission on Civil Rights members University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people