Robert C. Ervin

Last updated

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, the son of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sam J. Ervin III and the brother of state Supreme Court Justice Sam J. Ervin IV. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Ervin is a native of Morganton, North Carolina, graduating from Freedom High School. He went on to graduate from Davidson College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982, and from Harvard Law School with a juris doctor degree in 1985. He was admitted to the bar in North Carolina in 1985. [2]

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 and Caldwell counties) in 2002. [3]

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. [3]

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. [4] The appointment eventually went to Max O. Cogburn Jr.

Ervin and fellow District 25A Superior Court Judge Beverly Beal were re-elected without opposition in 2010. [5] He was re-elected without opposition again in 2018. [6] [7]

Among his most notable cases has been the trial of police officer Randall Kerrick for the shooting of Jonathan Ferrell. [8] The case ended in a mistrial. [9] He also presided over legal proceedings regarding the control of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. He handled the case in which Bruton Smith sued Cabarrus County over economic incentives. [1] The Charlotte Observer wrote that Ervin is "well-known...for his calm bench demeanor." [8]

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." [10] Chapman was eventually freed after his murder charges were dismissed. [11] [12]

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"). [13]

Personal life

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 of Burke County. [3]

Related Research Articles

John Marsh Tyson is an American jurist and government official, who currently serves as a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He also previously served on the court from 2001 to 2009.

Eric L. Levinson is an American jurist and lawyer. In 2014, he unsuccessfully sought a seat as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He also completed a public policy program in comparative economics and politics through the Fund for American Studies in Washington, D.C., and an international finance studies program in London, England, as part of his undergraduate requirements.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Highest court in the U.S. state of Texas for criminal matters

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges.

Michael Byron Nifong is an American former North Carolina attorney, who has been disbarred. He served as the district attorney for Durham County, North Carolina until he was removed, disbarred and jailed following court findings concerning his conduct in the Duke lacrosse case, primarily his conspiring with the DNA lab director to withhold exculpatory DNA evidence that could have acquitted the defendants.

John Webb was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (1986–1998). Prior to serving on North Carolina's highest court, Justice Webb had been a Superior Court (trial) judge and a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

2008 North Carolina judicial election

One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and six judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2008. This coincided with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial, and Council of State elections.

Samuel James Ervin IV is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who has served on the North Carolina Supreme Court since January 1, 2015. 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. Sen. Sam Ervin and the son of Judge Sam Ervin III.

Emmet G. Sullivan American judge

Emmet Gael Sullivan is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Samuel James Ervin III 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.

Albert Diaz is a United States 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.

2012 North Carolina judicial election

One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the elections for Governor and other offices. North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. In three of the four races, incumbents were re-elected to their seats, but incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Cressie Thigpen was defeated by Chris Dillon.

Marcus Reymond Robinson is an African-American convicted and sentenced to death in Cumberland County Superior Court for the June 1991 death of Erik Tornblom. Robinson also was sentenced to 40 years in prison for robbery with a dangerous weapon, 10 years for larceny and five years for possessing a weapon of mass destruction. In April 2012, he successfully appealed against the death sentence under North Carolina's 2009 Racial Justice Act which allowed for a prisoner under sentence of death to appeal for the sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment if racism is proven to be a factor in the original trial. North Carolina Superior Court judge Gregory Weeks found that the Act was applicable in Robinson's case after his lawyers cited a study from Michigan State University indicating that qualified black jurors were systemically excluded from jury service, both generally in North Carolina and at Robinson's trial. Consequently, Weeks ordered his removal from death row. Robinson was the first death row inmate to use the legislation.

Sam Ervin United States Senator and jurist

Samuel James Ervin Jr. 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 told humorous stories in his Southern drawl. During his Senate career, Ervin was a staunch defender of the Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, as the South's constitutional expert during the congressional debates on civil rights. Unexpectedly, he became a liberal hero for his support of civil liberties. He is remembered for his work in the investigation committees that brought down Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 and especially for his investigation of the Watergate scandal in 1972 that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon.

2014 North Carolina judicial election

Four justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and four judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2014, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years.

Moral Mondays

Moral Mondays are protests that originated in North Carolina, United States and emerged elsewhere in the United States. Led by religious progressives, the leaders of the protesters sought to restore "morality" in the public sphere. Protests began in response to several actions by the government of North Carolina which was elected into office in 2013 and are characterized by civil disobedience—specifically entering the state legislature building to be peacefully arrested. The movement protests many wide-ranging issues under the blanket claim of unfair treatment, discrimination, and adverse effects of government legislation on the citizens of North Carolina. The protests in North Carolina launched a grassroots social justice movement that, in 2014, spread to Georgia and South Carolina, and then to other U.S. states such as Illinois and New Mexico.

The current Burke County Courthouse is located at 201 South Green Street, Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina and operates as the courthouse for Burke County. It was opened in 1976 to replace the Old Burke County Courthouse. The old courthouse, in use by 1837, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

2016 North Carolina judicial election

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.

On September 14, 2013, Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old former college football player for the Florida A&M University Rattlers, allegedly charged at and was shot and killed by police officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, but not convicted.

Stanley Martin Weisberg is a former prosecutor and Los Angeles County Superior Court judge known for presiding over the trials of the police officers charged with the beating of Rodney King, and of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, in the trial for the murder of their parents. In a number of cases, he made controversial rulings that were subject to criticism.

2022 North Carolina judicial elections

Two justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and four judges of the fifteen-member North Carolina Court of Appeals will be elected by North Carolina voters on November 8, 2022, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections will be conducted on a partisan basis.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.