General Assembly Appoints Seven New Special Superior Court Judges

A few weeks ago I wrote about provisions of the 2023 Appropriations Act that affect the judiciary. Among those changes was the creation of ten new special superior court judgeships to be filled by legislative appointment. The General Assembly made seven of those appointments last week. See S.L. 2023-148 (S 761). The list of special superior court judges who are appointed to eight-year terms effective January 1, 2024, follows. Three appointees were nominated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. They are: The Honorable Beth Freshwater Smith of the First Judicial Division. Judge Freshwater Smith currently serves as a district court judge in District 7 (Edgecombe, Nash, and Wilson Counties); Matthew T. Houston of the Third Judicial Division; and The Honorable Clifton H. Smith of the Fifth Judicial Division. Judge Smith currently serves as a district court judge in District 25 (Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties). Because there must be one appointee from each of the five superior court judicial divisions, the President Pro Tempore’s remaining two nominations must be selected from residents of the Second and Fourth Judicial Divisions. Four appointees were nominated by the Speaker of the House. They are: Clayton Somers of the First Judicial Division; Jessica Locklear of the Second Judicial Division; Hoyt G. Tessener of the Third Judicial Division; and William Stetzer of the Fifth Judicial Division. The Speaker of the House’s last nomination must be from the Fourth Judicial Division. Appointees to the Judicial Standards Commission. The 2023 Appropriations Act also altered the composition [...]