After more than a year off the bench, Mecklenburg judge officially retires
After more than a year of medical leave, Mecklenburg District Judge Tyyawdi Hands is retiring, court officials announced Wednesday.
A review of court calendars shows Hands last sat on the bench for remote hearings in October 2024.
Hands was re-elected for a sixth term without a challenger in November 2024 — while out on medical leave for a concussion she said she suffered in a June 2024 car accident, The Charlotte Observer reported in September. Candidate filing in that race was in December 2023, before the accident.
Hands was born in Las Vegas and was the first in her family to go to college, according to a news release from Mecklenburg court administrators. She was appointed as a judge in 2009, then lost an election, and was appointed again by then-Gov. Beverly Perdue in 2011. She has held the post since.
She “spearheaded initiatives to make communities safe and increase access to justice, including implementation of virtual courts to address domestic violence, criminal and civil cases,” according to the news release.
This is a developing story.
