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North Carolina Supreme Court justice vacancy (February 2019)
 |
|---|
| Martin Vacancy North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| February 12, 2019: Chief justice March 11, 2019: Associate justice |
| Table of contents |
|
Selection process Noteworthy events Media coverage About Chief Justice Martin |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin retired on February 28, 2019. Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[1]
Justice Cheri Beasley succeeded Martin as chief justice of the court effective March 1, 2019. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed Beasley to the position on February 12.[2] To remain in this position, Beasley was required to run for election in 2020.[3] Click here for more information on Beasley.
Judge Mark Davis succeeded Beasley as an associate justice on the court. Gov. Cooper appointed Davis on March 11. He was Cooper's first associate justice nominee to the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court. Davis was required to run for election in 2020 to remain an associate justice.[3][4]
To read more about other state supreme court vacancies across the country that are filled by appointments, click here.
The appointee
Chief justice
- See also: Cheri Beasley
On February 12, 2019, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed Associate Justice Cheri Beasley to replace Martin as the state supreme court's chief justice. Beasley assumed the position on March 1, 2019.[2]
Beasley joined the court as an associate justice in 2012. She was appointed by Gov. Bev Perdue (D). Beasley was elected to serve a full term on the court in 2014. She was a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 2008 to 2012 and a judge for the North Carolina 12th Judicial District from 1999 to 2008. For more on Beasley's career, click here.
Beasley earned her B.A. in political science and economics from Rutgers University/Douglass College in 1988. She obtained her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1991.[5][6]
Beasley was the first African-American chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.[2]
Associate justice
- See also: Mark Davis
On March 11, 2019, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Mark Davis to replace Beasley as an associate justice on the state supreme court. Davis assumed the position on April 8, 2019.[4]
Davis was appointed to the state court of appeals by Gov. Bev Perdue (D) on December 31, 2012. He was elected to serve a full term on the court in 2014. Before his judicial career, Davis was general counsel for Gov. Perdue from 2011 to 2012 and was a special deputy attorney general for the state Department of Justice from 2006 to 2011.[7] For more on Davis' career, click here.
Davis received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.[7] He received a master of laws (LL.M.) degree in judicial studies from Duke University School of Law in 2018.[4]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in North Carolina
At the time of the vacancy, midterm vacancies on the North Carolina Supreme Court were filled via gubernatorial appointment. The governor appointed a successor to serve until the next general election occurring more than 60 days after the vacancy occurred.[8] To remain on the bench, Beasley and Davis needed to win election in November 2020.
Selection of North Carolina Supreme Court justices primarily occurred through partisan elections. Justices wishing to serve additional terms would be required to run for re-election.[8]
Supreme court justices served eight-year terms.
Selection of the chief justice or judge
Due to the judicial vacancy, Gov. Cooper elevated state supreme court associate Justice Cheri Beasley to succeed Martin as chief justice.[2] Otherwise, voters would have elected the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court to serve in that capacity for a full eight-year term.[8]
At the time of the vacancy, North Carolina was one of seven states in which the chief justice was elected by voters.[8]
Makeup of the court
At the time of the vacancy, the makeup of the court was:
- Cheri Beasley - Initially appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue
- Anita Earls - Elected in 2018
- Sam Ervin - Elected in 2014
- Robin Hudson - Elected in 2006
- Michael Morgan - Elected in 2016
- Paul Martin Newby - Elected in 2004
Implications for court's ideological balance
Martin's resignation left the court with one Republican justice, Paul Newby, who was also the most senior justice on the court at the time.[9]
Between two and three seats were up for election in November 2020. Newby's term expired on December 31, 2020. Davis would have needed to run for election in 2020 to stay on the bench. Since the governor elevated an existing justice (Beasley) to serve as chief justice, she also would have needed to run in the election.[3][9]
Partisanship and the role of the supreme court
At the time of Martin's resignation, North Carolina was one of 13 states under divided government—the governorship was under Democratic control while the General Assembly of North Carolina (the combined House of Representatives and Senate) was under Republican control. In the two years following the 2016 election, the state's executive and legislative branches faced conflicts, including a series of vetoes, veto overrides, and lawsuits. According to The Progressive Pulse, "The court oversees important decisions in cases involving voting rights, redistricting, school voucher programs, the power struggle between Cooper and GOP lawmakers, and other hot button partisan issues in the state."[10]
Response from Senate President Pro Tem
North Carolina State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-District 30) said he thought Cooper should have appointed a Republican to the court.[11]
| “ | It seems that Governor Cooper’s primary criteria for appointing judges is their political affiliation. For years, Governor Cooper has called for a nonpartisan judiciary and partisan balance to government. By expanding the Democratic supermajority on the Supreme Court, he has shown that it was just empty rhetoric. Governor Cooper is the hyper-partisan he has long condemned.[12] | ” |
About Chief Justice Martin
- See also: Mark Martin
Martin was the 28th chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He was first elected to the court in 1998, when he was 35 years old. At that time, Martin was the youngest supreme court justice in North Carolina history. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) appointed Martin as chief justice on August 18, 2014. Martin assumed the position on September 1 and was elected to serve a full eight-year term as chief justice on November 4, 2014.[13]
Prior to his election to the supreme court, Martin served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1994 to 1999. He was a judge in the North Carolina 3A Judicial District from 1992 to 1994. Prior to that, he was legal counsel to Governor James G. Martin (no relation). Martin also worked as an attorney in the private sector and taught law at Duke University School of Law, the North Carolina Central University School of Law, and the University of North Carolina School of Law.[13]
After graduating from law school, Martin served as a law clerk for Judge Clyde Hamilton on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
Martin received his undergraduate degree from Western Carolina University, summa cum laude, in 1985. He obtained his J.D., with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1988. He later graduated from the National Judicial College in the general jurisdiction course and in 1998 earned his LL.M. in judicial process from the University of Virginia School of Law.[14][13]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2019
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2019
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2019. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
| 2019 judicial vacancies filled by appointment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Date of Vacancy | Justice | Reason | Date Vacancy Filled | Successor |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Fred Lewis | Retirement | January 9, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Barbara Pariente | Retirement | January 14, 2019 | Robert J. Luck |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Peggy Quince | Retirement | January 22, 2019 | Carlos Muñiz |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | Bill Cunningham | Retirement | March 27, 2019 | David Buckingham |
| Mississippi Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | William Waller | Retirement | December 19, 2018 | Kenny Griffis |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | February 28, 2019 | Mark Martin | Private sector[15] | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley | Apppointed to new post[16] | March 11, 2019 | Mark Davis |
| Arizona Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | John Pelander | Retirement | April 26, 2019 | James Beene |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 10, 2019 | Patrick Wyrick | Elevation to a federal judgeship[17] | November 20, 2019 | Dustin Rowe |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 30, 2019 | John Reif | Retirement | September 17, 2019 | M. John Kane IV |
| Arizona Supreme Court | July 3, 2019 | Scott Bales | Private sector[18] | September 4, 2019 | Bill Montgomery |
| Texas Supreme Court | July 31, 2019 | Jeff Brown | Elevation to a federal judgeship[19] | August 26, 2019 | Jane Bland |
| New Hampshire Supreme Court | August 23, 2019 | Robert Lynn | Retirement | January 7, 2021 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Virginia Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Elizabeth McClanahan | Retirement | February 15, 2019 | Teresa M. Chafin |
| Vermont Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Marilyn Skoglund | Retirement | December 5, 2019 | William Cohen |
| Kansas Supreme Court | September 8, 2019 | Lee Johnson | Retirement | December 16, 2019 | Evelyn Z. Wilson |
| Delaware Supreme Court | October 30, 2019 | Leo E. Strine Jr. | Retirement | November 7, 2019 | Collins Seitz Jr. |
| Iowa Supreme Court | November 15, 2019 | Mark Cady | Death | January 28, 2020 | Dana Oxley |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 19, 2019 | Robert J. Luck | Elevation to a federal judgeship[20] | September 14, 2020 | Jamie Rutland Grosshans |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 20, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa | Elevation to a federal judgeship[21] | May 26, 2020 | John D. Couriel |
| Kansas Supreme Court | December 17, 2019 | Lawton Nuss | Retirement | March 11, 2020 | Keynen Wall |
| Maine Supreme Court | December 2019 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Retirement | January 6, 2020 | Catherine Connors |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Chief Justice Mark Martin to Become Dean of Regent University School of Law," January 25, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Hill, "North Carolina names first black woman to lead state supreme court," February 12, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Greenville Daily Reflector, "North Carolina chief justice to resign for law school post," January 25, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 NC Governor Roy Cooper, "Gov. Cooper Names Supreme Court Associate Justice," March 11, 2019
- ↑ Progressive Pulse, "Perdue appoints Court of Appeals Judge Cheri Beasley to N.C. Supreme Court," December 12, 2012
- ↑ Cheri Beasley for NC Supreme Court, "Career," archived December 18, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Office of Governor Bev Perdue, "Gov. Perdue Today Announced Four Judicial Appointments," December 31, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The News & Observer, "Phil Berger Jr., son of powerful Republican lawmaker, wants seat on NC Supreme Court," January 28, 2019
- ↑ The Progressive Pulse, "ICYMI: Chief Justice Mark Martin leaving Supreme Court to lead Christian law school," January 28, 2019
- ↑ Election Law Blog, "Chuzpah Dep’t: North Carolina Republican Legislative Leader Phil Berger Criticizes Democratic Governor Cooper for Not Appointing Republican to State Supreme Court," March 12, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Mark Martin," accessed January 30, 2019
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Senior Associate Justice Mark D. Martin (NC)," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- ↑ Beasley was appointed chief justice of the court.
- ↑ Wyrick was confirmed to a seat on the Western District of Oklahoma on April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Bales left the court to become executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.
- ↑ Brown was confirmed to a seat on the Southern District of Texas on July 31, 2019.
- ↑ Luck was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lagoa was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 20, 2019.
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Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi
State courts:
Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi
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