At the stroke of midnight, North Carolina’s judiciary entered a new era, with many appellate justices and judges taking the oath office from their homes.  This age-old changing of the guard included Chief Justice Paul Newby being sworn in as the 30th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.  While COVID has thrown wrinkles into many of the Court’s traditions, the significance of this undertaking is illustrated by this photo of Chief Justice Newby signing his oath of office. 

On January 6, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. the Supreme Court will hold a remote investiture ceremony for Chief Justice Newby, as well as 100th Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger, Jr., and 101th Supreme Court Justice Tamara Barringer.  The ceremony will stream live on the Supreme Court’s YouTube channel and everyone is invited to attend!

Congratulations to Chief Justice Newby, Justice Berger, Justice Barringer, and everyone else sworn in as 2021 dawned.  We thank you for your commitment to public service and look forward to appearing in person before our state’s new appellate bench  when the Court deems it safe to do so.

–Beth Scherer