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The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. The court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices has varied from time to time. 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Current Justices 3 Former Justices 3.1 21st Century 3.2 20th Century 3.3 19th Century 4 See also 5 External links

The first North Carolina appellate court, created in 1799, was called the Court of Conference and consisted of several Superior Court (trial) judges sitting en banc twice each year to review appeals from their own courts. This court was called the Supreme Court from 1805 to 1818.

From the time the North Carolina General Assembly created the Court as a distinct body in 1818 to 1868, the members of the Court were chosen by the General Assembly and served for life, or "during good behavior." The legislature appointed John Louis Taylor, Leonard Henderson, and John Hall as the first Supreme Court judges. The three judges were allowed to select their own Chief Justice, and they chose Taylor. The Court first met on January 1, 1819.

Since the adoption of the 1868 state constitution, each justice has been elected (separately, including a distinct Chief Justice position) by the people to an eight-year term. There are no term limits. Today, these races are non-partisan.

The Supreme Court is housed in the Law and Justice Building, located across from the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina. The building was built in 1940 and underwent major renovations in 2005-2007. [1]

The Court's current (January 2007) members are:

• Sarah Parker, Chief Justice
• Mark Martin
• Robert H. Edmunds, Jr.
• Edward Thomas Brady
• Paul Martin Newby
• Patricia Timmons-Goodson
• Robin E. Hudson

Justices are listed roughly in reverse chronological order. Note that dates in parentheses are for service as Chief Justice only. Many Chief Justices have also served as associate justices.

• George L. Wainwright, Jr.
• I. Beverly Lake, Jr., Chief Justice (2001-2006)
• G.K. Butterfield

• Robert F. Orr
• Henry Frye, Chief Justice (1999-2001)
• Franklin Freeman
• James A. Wynn, Jr.
• Willis Whichard
• Harry C. Martin
• Louis B. Meyer
• Burley Mitchell, Chief Justice (1995-1999)
• John Webb
• James G. Exum, Chief Justice (1986-1995)
• Rhoda Billings, Chief Justice (1986)
• J. Phil Carlton
• Joseph Branch, Chief Justice (1979-1986)
• David M. Britt
• Daniel K. Moore
• Susie Sharp, Chief Justice (1975-1979)
• William H. Bobbitt, Chief Justice (1969-1974)
• R. Hunt Parker, Chief Justice (1966-1969)
• I. Beverly Lake Sr.
• Emery B. Denny, Chief Justice (1962-1966)
• J. Wallace Winborne, Chief Justice (1956-1962)
• M.V. Barnhill, Chief Justice (1954-1956)
• William B. Rodman, Jr.
• Carlisle W. Higgins
• Sam Ervin
• Aaron A. F. Seawell
• Michael Schenck
• George Whitfield Connor
• Heriot Clarkson
• W. J. Brogden
• William J. Adams
• William Reynolds Allen
• James S. Manning
• Walter E. Brock
• William A. Devin, Chief Justice (1951-1954)
• Walter P. Stacy, Chief Justice (1925-1951)
• William A. Hoke, Chief Justice (1924-1925)
• George H. Brown
• Platt D. Walker
• Charles A. Cook
• Henry G. Connor
• Walter Clark, Chief Justice (1903-1924)
• David M. Furches, Chief Justice (1901-1903)

• Robert M. Douglas
• Walter A. Montgomery
• Armistead Burwell
• James C. MacRae
• William T. Faircloth, Chief Justice (1895-1901)
• Alphonso C. Avery
• James E. Shepherd, Chief Justice (1893-1895)
• Joseph J. Davis
• Augustus Summerfield Merrimon, Chief Justice (1889-1892)
• William Nathan Harrell Smith, Chief Justice (1878-1889)
• Thomas Ruffin, Jr.
• John H. Dillard
• William P. Bynum
• Thomas Samuel Ashe
• Nathaniel Boyden
• Thomas Settle
• Robert P. Dick
• William B. Rodman
• Edwin Godwin Reade
• Matthias Evans Manly
• Richmond Mumford Pearson, Chief Justice (1858–1878)
• William H. Battle
• Frederick Nash, Chief Justice (1852-1858)
• Thomas Ruffin, Chief Justice (1833-1852)
• William Gaston
• Joseph J. Daniel
• Leonard Henderson, Chief Justice (1829–1833)
• John D. Toomer
• John Hall
• John Louis Taylor, first Chief Justice (1818-1829)

• North Carolina Court of Appeals
• North Carolina judicial elections, 2004
• North Carolina judicial elections, 2006
• North Carolina judicial elections, 2008

• North Carolina Supreme Court official page
• History of the NC Supreme Court
• NC Manual of 1913 by Robert Digges Wimberly Connor
• Supreme Court Homecoming Set for May 11, 2007

• North Carolina Supreme Court is at coordinates 35°46′46″N 78°38′19″W / 35.779412, -78.638479Coordinates: 35°46′46″N 78°38′19″W / 35.779412, -78.638479

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