Governor McCrory announced the coming appointment of Associate Justice Mark Martin to serve as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina on Monday.  The appointment begins upon Chief Justice Sarah Parker’s retirement and lasts only a few months, as Justice Martin and Judge Ola Lewis are both running in November’s general election for an eight-year term as Chief.  See N.C. Const. Art. IV, sec. 19.

Justice Martin’s appointment leaves open the possibility that the Governor could now appoint a jurist to fill Justice Martin’s Associate Justice seat until the election.  Two Court of Appeals judges–Judge Jimmy Ervin and Judge Robert N. Hunter, Jr.–are running for Justice Martin’s Associate Justice seat.

We’ll keep you posted on developments.  In the meantime, we extend our congratulations to Chief Justice Martin, and wish retiring Chief Justice Sarah Parker all the best.

–Matt Leerberg