Cheri Beasley


Cheri L. Beasley is an American judge currently serving as the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Beasley had previously served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and as a district court judge in Cumberland County, North Carolina.

Education and early career

Following her undergraduate education at Douglass College of Rutgers University, Beasley earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Beasley spent her first years following law school as an assistant public defender in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Beasley was first appointed to the bench as a state district court judge by Governor Jim Hunt in 1999, and then elected in a 2002 election. She was re-elected without opposition in 2006. She served as a Judge in District 12 until her election to the Court of Appeals.

Higher court judicial experience

In 2008, Beasley was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, defeating incumbent Douglas McCullough. In that election, Beasley became the first black woman to win election to statewide office in North Carolina without first being appointed by a governor. In December 2012, after four years sitting on the Court of Appeals, Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Beasley to the North Carolina Supreme Court, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson. She was elected to a full eight-year term in 2014.
On February 12, 2019, Governor Roy Cooper appointed Beasley to the position of Chief Justice following the retirement of Mark Martin, making her the first African-American woman ever to serve as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.