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.[1] He was elected chief justice in 2020 defeating incumbent Cheri Beasley.
An evangelical Christian,Newby credits Josh McDowell's book More Than a Carpenter as reinforcing his faith in law school. In 1983,he married Toler Macon Tucker,whom he met in law school and whose family had accumulated a fortune from banking and furniture stores. Newby and his wife have adopted four children.[2]
In September 1994,the Newbys attempted to adopted their fourth child,but were sued for custody by the child's biological father. After being sued,the Newbys returned the child to its biological mother,who was later ordered to return the child to its father. After the incident the couple founded two adoption agencies,including Amazing Grace Adoptions,and successfully adopted their fourth child.[2]
On November 3,2020,Newby was elected as the chief justice,for an eight-year term beginning Jan. 1,2021.[3] On January 1,2021,he was sworn in as the 30th Chief Justice.[4]
In 2023,Newby attended a legal conference at the Royal Hawaiian Resort in Honolulu,Hawaii,for which Newby's travel was funded by the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University,but Newby did not report the trip on his annual judicial ethics disclosure form.[2]
Between 2008 and 2025,Newby made four donations to political candidates while serving as a judge in North Carolina,despite the state's rules on judicial conduct barring state judges from personal financial contributions to candidates for elected office.[2]
Notable cases
In 2023,Newby authored a majority opinion for the court that held that partisan gerrymandering was legal in North Carolina,overturning a decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court from the previous year that had outlawed partisan gerrymandering in the state.[2]
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