Samuel James Ervin IV (born November 18, 1955) is a

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 ...

lawyer and jurist 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 2015 to 2022. He previously served as a state Utilities Commissioner and as a 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 ...

. He is the grandson of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Sam J. Ervin, Jr. and the son of

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

Judge Sam J. Ervin III.

Early life and career

Ervin was born and raised in

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 ...

, where he lives today. Ervin attended Burke County public schools and graduated in 1974 from Freedom High School. He graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

from

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� ...

, where he majored in history, and he earned his law degree, cum laude, 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 ...

in 1981. Ervin practiced law in Morganton from 1981 until 1999. In 1999, Ervin was appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

. He was reappointed by 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 ...

in 2007. The Utilities Commission is a quasi-judicial agency responsible for regulating investor-owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and water and sewer companies providing service in North Carolina. From 2004 until 2007, Ervin served as Chairman of the Committee on Electricity of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). He has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the

Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, as designated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act amendments of 1987, is a proposed deep geological repository storage facility within Yucca Mountain for spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioac ...

Judicial career

In his

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

campaign for the

, Ervin was endorsed by the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association and ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' before the primary. He came in first in the May 6 non-partisan primary, with 37 percent of the vote. Ervin and runner-up

Kristin Ruth Kristin H. Ruth is a former state district court judge in North Carolina, who served District 10 (Wake County). Ruth was the senior partner in her law firm for seven years before being elected to the bench in 1998. She was re-elected to four-year t ...

advanced to the November general election. He was again endorsed by the ''Charlotte Observer'' for the general election. Ervin won the November election with approximately 53 percent of the vote. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Ervin announced that he would run for a seat on the

. He lost this race, receiving 48.1% of the vote to the incumbent Justice

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 ...

's 51.9%. Ervin ran for the Supreme Court again in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, this time for the seat being vacated by Justice

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...

. He was endorsed by ''

'' and 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 ...

'', as well as by former Chief Justices

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 ...

and Henry E. Frye and Court of Appeals Chief Judges Sidney S. Eagles, Jr. and Gerald Arnold. Ervin defeated Justice Robert N. Hunter, Jr. with approximately 52 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns.Associated Press

References

External links

Court official biographyErvin for Supreme Court campaign websiteNews & Observer profile pageThe Independent Weekly Q&A
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ervin, Samuel James IV 1955 births 21st-century American judges Davidson College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Living people North Carolina Court of Appeals judges North Carolina Democrats North Carolina lawyers People from Morganton, North Carolina