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Sarah Parker

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For the actress, see Sarah Jessica Parker.

Sarah Parker
Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
February 6, 2006 – August 31, 2014
Appointed byMike Easley
Preceded byI. Beverly Lake Jr.
Succeeded byMark Martin
Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
January 2, 1995 – February 6, 2006
Appointed byJim Hunt
Preceded byBurley Mitchell
Succeeded byPatricia Timmons-Goodson
In office
January 1, 1993 – January 1, 1995
Preceded byI. Beverly Lake Jr.
Succeeded byI. Beverly Lake Jr.
Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
In office
1984–1993
Personal details
Born (1942-08-23) August 23, 1942 (age 82)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materMeredith College (BA)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (JD)
OccupationLawyer

Sarah Elizabeth Parker[1] (born August 23, 1942) is an American judge who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from February 2006 until August 2014.

Education and career

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Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Parker attended Meredith College, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an Education degree and served with the Peace Corps in Turkey from 1964 to 1966 before returning to Chapel Hill to earn a J.D. degree (1969). After working in private law practice for 15 years, Parker was named by Governor Jim Hunt to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in late 1984. Voters elected and re-elected her to that Court in 1986 and 1990.

Parker was elected by the people to the state's Supreme Court in November 1992. After she lost a bid for re-election to a full term in 1994, she was reappointed to another seat by Hunt. She was elected to a regular 8-year term on the court in 1996. In 2004, Parker was elected to another eight-year term on the court, defeating John Tyson in the statewide judicial elections.

Chief Justice

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On January 19, 2006, Governor Mike Easley announced that he was appointing Parker Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to replace the retiring I. Beverly Lake Jr. Parker took the oath of office on February 6, becoming the third female Chief Justice of North Carolina's highest court, after Susie Sharp and Rhoda Billings.

At the time of her appointment, former justice Bob Orr, a Republican and executive director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, was quoted in the Charlotte Observer calling Parker "probably one of the more conservative justices that has been on the court in a good long while.... She's going to be reluctant to go out on a limb.... My sense is that you would find very few cases that were close to the line where she favored criminal defendants." Parker calls herself a moderate conservative. "I tend to stick very closely to precedent and the intent of the legislature as expressed in the language of the statute," she said in that article.[2]

Parker decided to run for a full term as chief justice in the November 2006 election. Although judicial races in North Carolina were non-partisan at the time, Parker was backed by the North Carolina Democratic Party.

On November 7, 2006, Parker was elected Chief Justice by a 2-to-1 margin over Judge Rusty Duke.[3] She was inducted into the North Carolina Women's Hall of Fame in 2011.[4]

Parker stepped down from the court on August 31, 2014, after she reached the state's mandatory retirement age for judges.[5] Governor Pat McCrory appointed Mark Martin, the court's senior Associate Justice, to replace her through the 2014 election.[6]

Electoral history

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2006

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North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice election, 2006[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Sarah Parker (incumbent) 1,138,346 66.67%
Nonpartisan Rusty Duke 568,980 33.33%
Total votes 1,707,326 100%

2004

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North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Parker seat) election, 2004[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Sarah Parker (incumbent) 1,732,399 63.92%
Nonpartisan John Tyson 977,861 36.08%
Total votes 2,710,260 100%

1996

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North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Parker seat) election, 1996[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sarah Parker (incumbent) 1,323,327 55.69%
Republican Carl Tilghman 1,052,786 44.31%
Total votes 2,376,113 100%
Democratic hold

1994

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North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Parker seat) election, 1994[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican I. Beverly Lake Jr. 757,870 54.78%
Democratic Sarah Parker (incumbent) 625,656 45.22%
Total votes 1,383,526 100%
Republican gain from Democratic

1992

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North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Lake seat) election, 1992[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sarah Parker 1,277,057 53.27%
Republican I. Beverly Lake Jr. (incumbent) 1,120,479 46.73%
Total votes 2,397,536 100%
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Who's Who in American Law, 1998-1999. Marquis Who's Who. 1998. p. 592. ISBN 978-0-8379-3513-3.
  2. ^ Reprint of Charlotte Observer article on Peace Corps Online
  3. ^ News & Observer
  4. ^ "Sarah Parker". Charlotte, North Carolina: NC Women's Conference. 2012. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  5. ^ WRAL: NC's chief justice hears final cases
  6. ^ Governor will appoint Justice Mark Martin chief justice
  7. ^ "11/07/2006 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "11/02/2004 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "NC - Asc Justice of Sup Ct". Our Campaigns. April 18, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  10. ^ "NC - Asc Justice of Sup Ct". Our Campaigns. April 18, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "NC - Asc Justice of Sup Ct - Special Election". Our Campaigns. April 18, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
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Legal offices
Preceded by
I. Beverly Lake Jr.
 Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
I. Beverly Lake Jr.
Preceded by Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
1995–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
2006–2014 		Succeeded by
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