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Gov. Bev Perdue on Wednesday appointed Cheri Beasley to the N.C. Supreme Court.
Beasley, currently a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals, will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson.
“I am thrilled to appoint Cheri to our state’s highest court.” Perdue said. “She has excelled both as a District Court judge and as a judge on the Court of Appeals. She will make a superb justice on the Supreme Court.”
Perdue made the decision despite criticism from some Republican leaders that she was ignoring the nominating process that she had set up by her own executive order. Perdue said she intended to run the name or names of potential candidates past members of the judicial nominations committee for their feedback, but would not submit the names to them for full consideration.
“We’ve reached a new low when the only way our governor can appoint someone to enforce the law is by breaking her own rules,” Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger stated.
Beasley was elected to the appeals court in 2008. Before that she was a district court judge and worked as an assistant public defender in Fayetteville.
“I am honored that Governor Perdue has appointed me to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of North Carolina,” Beasley said. “I am grateful for her 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 has been active in numerous professional organizations, including the North Carolina Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Association of District Court Judges, the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. She has also served as a lecturer at the UNC law school and N.C. Central law school.
Beasley received her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
The (Raleigh) News and Observer contributed
