A state court of last resort / Established 1818

Supreme Court of North Carolina

Raleigh · A court of last resort in North Carolina.

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the highest court in North Carolina. Its justices are chosen by partisan election. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

Justices in history

Currently serving

Partisan

Selection

8-yr

Term

Current bench verified against the court’s official roster, 2026-07-02.

Current justices

Former justices

Justice	Years
Barbara Jackson	2011
Robin E. Hudson	2007
J Frank Huckins	2006–2013
Patricia Timmons-Goodson	2006–2011
Edward Thomas Brady	2003–2011
George Kenneth Butterfield Jr.	2001–2002
Robert Holt Edmunds Jr.	2001
Franklin Freeman	2000–2000
Mark D. Martin	1999
George L. Wainwright Jr.	1998–2006
James Andrew Wynn Jr.	1998–1998
Robert F. Orr	1994–2004
Sarah E. Parker	1993
John Webb	1986–1998
Willis P. Whichard	1986–1998
Rhoda Billings	1985–1986
Earl W. Vaughn	1985–1985
Henry E. Frye	1983–2001
Harry C. Martin	1982–1992
Burley B. Mitchell	1982–1999
Louis B. Meyer	1981–1994
Walter E. Brock Jr.	1979–1980
J Phil Carlton	1979–1983
David M. Britt	1978–1982
James William Copeland	1975–1985
James G. Exum	1974–1995
Dan K. Moore	1969–1978
J. Frank Huskins	1968–1982
Joseph Branch	1966–1986
I Beverly Lake Sr.	1966–2006
James W. Pless Jr.	1966–1968
Susie Sharp	1962–1979
William H. Bobbitt	1954–1974
Carlisle W. Higgins	1954–1974
Robert Hunt Parker	1952–1969
Itimous T. Valentine Sr.	1951–1952
Jefferson D. Johnson Jr.	1950–1960
Samuel James Ervin Jr.	1948–1954
Emery B. Denny	1942–1966
Aaron A. F. Seawell	1938–1950
Maurice Victor Barnhill	1937–1956
John Wallace Winborne	1937–1962
William A. Devin	1935–1954
Michael Schenck	1934–1948
Walter P. Stacy	1925–1951
Lycurgus R. Varser	1924–1926
William A. Hoke	1904–1925
William B. Rodman Sr.	1868–1965
Thomas Ruffin Jr.	1829–1859
John Louis Taylor	1818–1829

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Supreme Court of North Carolina are chosen in partisan elections to 8-year terms. Returned to partisan elections beginning with the 2018 cycle after being nonpartisan from 2004 to 2016. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: Current roster: North Carolina Judicial Branch (nccourts.gov) — Meet the Justices and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data); selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data as of 2026-07-02 (official roster); historical bench 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).