Beasley appointed to North Carolina Supreme Court

December 13, 2012

North Carolina: On December 12, 2012, Gov. Bev Perdue appointed Cheri Beasley to associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Beasley will replace Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson, who is retiring on December 17. She has been a judge since 1999, first serving on the 12th District Court and then, since 2008, on the Court of Appeals.

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"I am grateful for [Gov. Perdue's] confidence in my ability to render fair and impartial decisions while serving on our state’s highest Court. Throughout my years of service on the judiciary, I have always considered it a privilege to serve the people of our state," Beasley stated.

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The appointment is not without controversy, however. When Timmons-Goodson announced her retirement, the North Carolina Judicial Nominating Commission told outgoing Governor Perdue that they would not be able to vet candidates for the vacancy before the end of her term. An executive order placed by Gov. Perdue in 2011 requires her to choose court appointments from a list of candidates provided by the commission. However, she decided to bypass the commission and make the appointment herself. Some saw it as a purely political move, since Perdue is a Democrat and Governor-elect Pat McCrory is a Republican. Sen. Phil Berger, a Republican, stated, "It is increasingly clear that Gov. Perdue’s creation of the judicial screening commission was nothing short of a deceitful political charade." Others defended the Governor's constitutional right to appoint justices to Supreme Court vacancies with or without the commission.