LAURINBURG — Scotland County got a visit from North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri L. Beasley on Tuesday as the guest speaker at a dinner hosted by State Rep. Garland Pierce of Wagram.
The group gathered at the St. Johns Educational Association Building to listen to Pierce and Judge Beasley, who said she was honored to be at the event and that Pierce has been supportive of the court’s budget.
“I want people to know what the courts are doing I’m very excited about the works that we’re doing,” Beasley told WLNC radio. “And we’re hopeful that people better understand how they can be engaged in court programs and why our work is so important across communities across North Carolina.”
Beasley has talked in the past about her commitment to complete the eCourts initiative that was begun by her predecessor, fully implement the Raise the Age reforms recently enacted by the state legislature and improving the accessibility of the courts for all North Carolinians.
Beasley began her journey to chief justice in Cumberland County, serving as assistant public defender in the 12th Judicial District from 1994 to 1999. In 1999 she was appointed as District Court judge for the 12th district, then elected to continue in 2002 and 2006. In 2008 she was elected judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, defeating the incumbent Judge Douglas McCullough.
In December 2012, she was appointed as associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court and elected to the position for an eight-year term in November 2014. She was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper and took her seat as chief justice of the Court in March.
Beasley is the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice in the state’s history, and only the fourth in the country’s history to serve as chief justice of any state’s highest court.
WLNC also spoke to the Scotland County Clerk of Courts Phillip McRae, who was overwhelmed that Beasley had agreed to come to Scotland County.
“She is absolutely a charming person, extremely smart,” McRae said. “She did a lot of work to get to where she’s at today. But to attract someone of that stature to Scotland County is overwhelming to me. I’m delighted to get to see her tonight …”
It was also announced during the dinner that Pierce will be seeking re-election for another two-year term as a State House representative. He has been serving in that position since 2004 and was re-elected in 2018.
