N C Surpreme Court Associate Justice Visits Asheville

by Don C. Locke


North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson recently visited Asheville as a part of her statewide campaign for election to the Court. The first African American to serve on the Court, Justice Timmons-Goodson was appointed by Governor Mike Easley in 2005, but must be elected to a full term in November.



Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson

Mayor Terry Bellamy, a UNC-Charlotte classmate and sorority sister of
the Justice\’s younger sister, hosted Justice Timmons-Goodson, her
mother, and sister as they made numerous appearances in the Asheville
area.

Speaking in a soft, forceful voice, Justice Timmons-Goodson expressed
her belief that the most qualified candidate should be elected in any
contest. She then outlined her more than twenty-six years of
professional legal service in North Carolina.

Justice Timmons-Goodson graduated from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of
Law in 1979. The Fayetteville native began her professional career as a
U. S. District Census Manager in 1980. Soon thereafter, she became
Assistant District Attorney for the 12th Judicial District and served
Cumberland County in this position for two years before becoming staff
attorney for the nonprofit Lumbee Legal Services Corporation.

Governor Jim Hunt appointed her to the 12th District Court, in which
position she presided over more than a thousand appellate cases. In
1997 she was named an Associate Judge on the NC Court of Appeals, where
she remained until October 2005. Governor Mike Easley soon called her
out of retirement to serve on the Supreme Court.

When not wearing her robes, Justice Timmons-Goodson serves as secretary
of the Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association, and
she produced and co-hosted Dimensions of Justice, a monthly television
show highlighting the North Carolina court system, from 1994 until 2004.

Justice Timmons-Goodson was born in Florence, South Carolina, the
daughter of a U.S. Army officer. She was reared on military bases in
the United States and in Europe. She and her husband, Dr. Ernest J.
Goodson, are the parents of two sons. Justice Timmons-Goodson is an
active member of the First Baptist Church in Fayetteville, North
Carolina.