- Born
- March 17, 1954 in Robersonville, NC
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- Black or African American
- Political affiliation
- Democratic (via appointer)
Education
- Marquette UniversityJ.D., 1979
- University of North Carolina at Chapel HillBA
- Marquette UniversityJD
Professional career
- U.S. Navy captain, JAG Corps, 1979-1983
- U.S. Naval Reserve captain, JAG Corps, 1983-2009
- Assistant appellate defender, State of North Carolina, 1983-1984
- Private practice, Wilson and Greenville, NC, 1984-1990
- Associate judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals, 1990-1998
- Practitioner, 1997-1997
- Associate justice, Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1998-present
- Associate judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals, 1999-2010
Judicial service
- Judge, Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1990-2009
- Judge, 1997-1997
- Judge, Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1998-1998
- Judge, 1999-1999
- Judge, 2010-2010
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2010-present
Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project public biographical data. Demographic and political labels are incomplete, source-attributed, and are not used to infer judicial behavior. “Via appointer” describes CourtListener’s attribution method, not verified personal party membership.