Isaac Beverly Lake Jr. was an American jurist and politician,who served as chief 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 of six associate justices and one chief justice,although the number of justices has varied. The primary function of the Supreme Court is to decide questions of law that have arisen in the lower courts and before state administrative agencies.
James Andrew Wynn Jr. is an American jurist. He serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and formerly served on both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Patricia Ann "Pat" Timmons-Goodson is an American judge and politician who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2006 to 2012. She previously served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights and is a former nominee to be a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Timmons-Goodson ran for Congress in 2020.
Willis Padgett Whichard is an American lawyer and a prominent figure in North Carolina politics and education. Whichard is the only person in the history of North Carolina who has served in both houses of the state legislature and on both of the state's appellate courts.
Elon University School of Law is an American law school located in Greensboro,North Carolina,occupying the former downtown public library building. Established in 2006,Elon Law is one of nine graduate programs offered by Elon University. It earned full accreditation from the American Bar Association in 2011 and has announced plans to introduce a part-time program for working professionals in Charlotte,North Carolina,beginning in Fall 2024.
Burley Bayard Mitchell Jr. is an American jurist and former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
James Gooden Exum Jr. also known as Jim Exum is an American jurist who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1975 to 1994,and as chief justice from 1986 to 1994.
The North Carolina Law Review is a law journal of the University of North Carolina School of Law. It publishes six issues each year as well as its online supplement,the North Carolina Law Review Forum.
Samuel James Ervin IV 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 Court of Appeals. He is the grandson of U.S. Senator Sam J. Ervin,Jr. and the son of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Judge Sam J. Ervin III.
One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and five judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 2,2010,on the same day as the U.S. Senate election,U.S. House elections,and other state-level elections. North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. All incumbent judges and justices who sought re-election won their respective races,except for Judge Cressie Thigpen of the Court of Appeals,who had been appointed shortly before the election and lost North Carolina's first statewide election to use Instant-runoff voting.
Albert Diaz is an American lawyer who is the chief circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Diaz is the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Fourth Circuit. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals,Diaz was a North Carolina state superior court judge and an appellate judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals.
Cressie H. Thigpen Jr. is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Elreta Narcissus Alexander-Ralston was an American trial attorney and district court judge in North Carolina. She was the first black woman to become a judge via popular election in the U.S.,the first black judge elected in North Carolina,and the first black woman to practice law in North Carolina. With an unusual career,she has been noted for her “refusal to allow the circumstances of her birth,the realities of her time,and the limitations imposed by others define her destiny.”However,Alexander-Ralston's legacy has remained largely unrecognized,with her story untold for many years. This supports the notion that black women lawyers have received minimal widespread recognition for their accomplishments and contributions.
Lucy Noble Inman was a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and formerly served as a special North Carolina Superior Court judge. She won election to the appellate court in a statewide race on November 4,2014.
One justice of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and five judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 8,2016,concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years.
One justice of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 6,2018,concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were partisan for the first time since the elections of 2002. A law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2017 cancelled primary elections for judicial elections in 2018 only,meaning that an unlimited number of candidates from any party could run in the general election.
Anita Earls is an American civil rights attorney who has served as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court since 2019. She previously served as the executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice,as well as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice during the Clinton administration. On November 6,2018,Earls defeated Republican incumbent Justice Barbara Jackson in a three-candidate election to win a seat on the state's highest court.
United States 
United States Air Force 
