Justice Timmons-Goodson publicly announced her resignation from the North Carolina Supreme Court today.  Explaining her decision to retire, Justice Timmons-Goodson noted, “Understanding there is a time and season for all things, I have concluded that the time has come for me to leave the Court.”

This is not Justice Timmons-Goodson’s first attempt at retirement.  Justice Timmons-Goodson retired from the Court of Appeals in 2005, only to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006.  Therefore, we would not be terribly surprised to see her remain active in the legal community. Whatever her plans, we thank Justice Timmons-Goodson for her service and wish her the best as she starts the next chapter of her life. 

Justice Timmons-Goodson’s retirement date presents a nice Christmas present for current North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue.  Governor Perdue, a Democrat, is expected to move quickly to fill Timmons-Goodson’s vacant seat before Perdue’s Republican successor, Pat McCrory, takes office in January.  If Timmons-Goodson’s successor is appointed from the North Carolina Court of Appeals or the trial court bench, other judicial appointment opportunities would open up in turn for Governor Perdue.  

Under Executive Order 86, the North Carolina Judicial Nominating Commission will screen and recommend three candidates for any court vacancies to Governor Perdue.

A lot will be happening in the next few weeks.  We’ll keep you posted.  Let us know if you hear anything!

To read more about Justice Timmons-Goodson’s retirement click here.

To learn more about  the North Carolina Judicial Nominating Commission  click here.

–Beth Scherer