George L. Wainwright Jr. (born December 10, 1943) is a former Associate Justice of 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 ...

. Born in

Wilson County, North Carolina Wilson County, officially the County of Wilson, is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,784. The county seat is Wilson. The county comprises the Wilson, NC Micropolitan Statistic ...

, Wainwright earned a degree in political science as a Morehead Scholar at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

before working in

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

and real estate in

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 23rd-most populous city in North Carolina. Located about east of the capital city of Raleigh, North Car ...

for over 15 years. He earned his law degree from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

in 1984. Wainwright is also a veteran of the

United States Coast Guard Reserve The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for ...

. From 1986 to 1990, Wainwright practiced law in

Morehead City Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hi ...

and in

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, South Carolina) is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina ( ...

, at the firm Wheatly, Wheatly, Nobles & Weeks. In 1991, Governor Jim Martin named Wainwright to a North Carolina District Court judgeship. He became a

North Carolina Superior Court The Superior Court is North Carolina's general jurisdiction trial court. It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court. History The Superior Court is North Carolina's oldest court. It was established by a law passed on November 1 ...

judge in 1994, and was finally elected to the state Supreme Court in 1998. He chose not to run for re-election in 2006. Governor

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd mayor of Charlotte ...

appointed Wainwright to the State Ethics Commission in 2014, and later named him chairman of the commission.WNCT-TV

Notes

External links

Official North Carolina Supreme Court biography of Justice Wainwright
1943 births Living people Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Wake Forest University alumni People from Wilson County, North Carolina United States Coast Guard reservists {{NorthCarolina-state-judge-stub