Meet Cheri Beasley, North Carolina's first Black female Chief Justice

Justice Cheri Beasley was formally sworn in as chief justice of the state Supreme Court at a ceremony Thursday afternoon. Beasley, having served in North Carolina courts for 20 years, over six of which on the Supreme Court, is the first Black woman in North Carolina history to be Chief Justice.  

Gov. Roy Cooper named Beasley as the next chief justice in February after former Chief Justice Mark Martin announced his departure in January. Beasley will stay in her role until at least 2020, when she will go on the ballot to potentially win another eight-year term.

“The other thing that's really exciting about folks reaching out for today is I think people understand that if this is indeed the right time, and I'm the right person, that it really does offer all of us a lot of hope and promise for North Carolina,” Beasley said at her swearing-in ceremony.

Beasley’s appointment was not without contest — Justice Paul Newby, a member of the court since 2004, criticized Cooper’s decision in a statement on Twitter.

“Sadly, today Governor Cooper decided to place raw partisan politics over a non-partisan judiciary by refusing to honor the time-tested tradition of naming the Senior Associate Justice as Chief Justice,” Newby said. “The Governor's decision further erodes public trust and confidence in a fair judiciary, free from partisan manipulation.”

Martin and Newby have been the only Republicans on the Supreme Court since North Carolina re-established partisan judicial elections in 2016. Now, there is a 5-1 divide in favor of the Democrats. 

The governor is under no legal obligation to follow this tradition, and it has been broken before. In 1986, Gov. James Martin, a Republican, appointed Justice Rhoda Billings to the position instead of Democratic Senior Justice James Exum. Exum won the election later that year. 

Jim Drennan, an adjunct professor in the UNC School of Government, said Beasley's experiences on the North Carolina District Court and Court of Appeals may change the way she approaches cases. 

Drennan said he thinks Beasley may have things that are important to her that she will use her pulpit to put before the public. 

“She's seen all those social problems that the District Court has to deal with — child abuse, juvenile delinquency, mental illness, substance abuse — all those things are issues that district courts have to deal with on a regular basis,” Drennan said. 

Beasley echoed this idea in her swearing-in speech, which had a focus on hope and community building.

“The impact of our service is so much greater in the communities that surround us,” Beasley said. “We should always be mindful of that.”

Chief justices, while they act as a seventh vote on court decisions, are also responsible for the administrative wing of North Carolina’s judicial system, including the appointment of the administrative office’s head. 

2020 will be a big year for the state Supreme Court because Martin’s vacant seat, Beasley’s seat and Newby’s seat will all be on the ballot. 

Even with a Republican sweep, the court would remain tipped toward the Democrats, but Drennan said judicial elections are tough to predict. The judiciary is not a top priority for all voters, and with judges appearing later on the ballot, voter fatigue becomes an issue. 

Either way, Drennan said the court’s partisanship should not have an impact on its decisions. 

“They do decide each case on the merits, that's what they take the oath to do, and I think that's what they try to do,” Drennan said. “The vast majority of cases don't have partisan implications.”

Regardless of a potentially short tenure as chief justice, Beasley said she is ready for her new role.

“I'm ready to lead," Beasley said. "I'm excited about leading, and I'm looking forward to continued service to the people of the state of North Carolina."

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