Robert C. Ervin (born 1960) is a North Carolina Superior Court judge who has presided over numerous high-profile cases. He is the grandson of U.S. Senator
Sam J. Ervin
Samuel James Ervin Jr. (September 27, 1896April 23, 1985) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974. A native of Morganton, he liked to call himself a "country lawyer", and often to ...
, the son of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge
Sam J. Ervin III
Samuel James Ervin III (March 2, 1926 – September 18, 1999) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the son of United States Senator Sam Ervin.
Education and career
Ervin was born in ...
and the brother of state Supreme Court Justice
Sam J. Ervin IV
Samuel James Ervin IV (born November 18, 1955) is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2015 to 2022. He previously served as a state Utilities Commissioner and as a judge of the North Carolina Cou ...
Morganton, North Carolina
Morganton is a city in and the county seat of Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 16,918 at the 2010 census. Morganton is approximately northwest of Charlotte.
Morganton is one of the principal cities in the Hick ...
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan†...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982, and from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
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 in 1985. He was admitted to the bar in North Carolina in 1985.
Career
After practicing law in Charlotte for several years, Ervin joined the Morganton law firm that became known as Byrd, Byrd, Ervin, Whisnant, McMahon and Ervin. He practiced with that firm from 1988 until shortly after he was elected to an eight-year term as a Superior Court judge by voters in District 25A (
Burke
Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...
and
Caldwell
Caldwell may refer to:
People
* Caldwell (surname)
* Caldwell (given name)
* Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada
Places
Great Britain
* Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet
* Caldwell, East ...
counties) in 2002.Morganton News-Herald: Judge Ervin will seek re-election to the bench (Feb. 8, 2010).
The North Carolina Advocates for Justice named Ervin "Outstanding Trial Judge of the Year" in 2008. He also was appointed by the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court to serve on the Indigent Defense Services Commission and the Rural Courts Commission.
In 2009, Ervin was one of three candidates recommended by U.S. Senator Kay Hagan to the President for appointment as a judge of the
United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (in case citations, W.D.N.C.) is a federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina.
Appeals from the Western District of North Carolina are take ...
Max O. Cogburn Jr.
Max Oliver Cogburn Jr. (born April 21, 1951) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Early life and education
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cogburn earned a Bachelor o ...
Ervin and fellow District 25A Superior Court Judge Beverly Beal were re-elected without opposition in 2010. He was re-elected without opposition again in 2018.
Among his most notable cases has been the trial of police officer Randall Kerrick for the
shooting of Jonathan Ferrell
On September 14, 2013, Jonathan Ferrell (born October 11, 1988), a 24-year-old former college football player for the Florida A&M University Rattlers sought help after a car crash. When police arrived, he ran towards them and was killed by po ...
Charlotte Douglas International Airport
Charlotte Douglas International Airport ( IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles we ...
. He handled the case in which
Bruton Smith
Ollen Bruton Smith (March 3, 1927 – June 22, 2022) was a promoter and owner/CEO of NASCAR track owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc. He was inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was bill ...
sued
Cabarrus County
Cabarrus County ( ) , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
In 2007, Ervin ordered a new trial for death row inmate Glen Edward Chapman, finding that "law enforcement officials withheld evidence, used false testimony, and misplaced or destroyed important documents that could have supported Chapman's innocence claim." Chapman was eventually freed after his murder charges were dismissed.
Ervin dismissed a 2016 suit filed by two former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student-athletes against the university, alleging fraud in connection with "bogus" classes (see "
University of North Carolina academic-athletic scandal
The University of North Carolina academic-athletic scandal involved alleged fraud and academic dishonesty committed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Following a lesser scandal that began in 2010 involving academic fraud an ...
Ervin and his wife, Dana Miller Ervin, have two daughters. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Morganton and is the former president of
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...