Veteran public defender Tracy Hewett appointed to District Court seat

Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday appointed veteran public defender Tracy Hewett to the Mecklenburg County District Court seat previously held by Yolanda Trotman.

Trotman resigned effective Dec. 31 after just two years on the bench to resume private practice. District Court handles family law, juvenile justice, criminal misdemeanors and civil cases involving less than $25,000.

Hewett has been a public defender in Charlotte since 2004. She has worked in the DWI and drug-treatment courts and volunteered as a guardian ad litem. Cooper said Hewett’s 13 years of legal experience and her service in numerous community and professional organizations will be “great assets.”

Hewett lost to Aretha Blake for a District Court seat in November, with Blake receiving 50.77 percent of the vote to Hewett’s 49.23 percent. Blake got 176,225 votes to Hewett’s 170,903 votes, according to official Board of Election results.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Veteran public defender Tracy Hewett appointed to District Court seat."