Burley Mitchell

Burley Mitchell, Jr. is an American jurist and former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. At age 15, Mitchell dropped out of high school to join the United States Marine Corps, only to be kicked out when his age was discovered. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and his Law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A veteran of the United States Navy, Mitchell served as an Assistant Attorney General of North Carolina from 1969-1972 and as a District Attorney from 1972-1977. He was a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1977 to 1979, when Governor Jim Hunt appointed Mitchell as his Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety.

Justice Mitchell served as an Associate Justice of the NC Supreme Court from 1982 to 1994 and as Chief Justice from 1995 to 1999. Gov. Hunt appointed Mitchell to the office of chief justice in late 1994 to take the place of the retiring James G. Exum. In 1996, Mitchell was elected to the post in the general election, defeating Republican Ray Warren. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=280117 OurCampaigns.com] ]

As a judge, Mitchell wrote 484 decisions, including the landmark Leandro v. State of North Carolina case regarding educational opportunities for all North Carolina children. He was also well known for reducing the court's backlog.

Mitchell retired and joined the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for North Carolina State University.

In 2006, Mitchell helped found a so-called 527 group called FairJudges.net, which aimed to educate North Carolina voters about state appellate judicial candidates. [ [http://www.newsobserver.com/659/story/503226.html News & Observer: 'Special-interest specter' enters judicial races] ]

In 2007, Mitchell received the North Carolina Award for public service. [ [http://projects.newsobserver.com/blogs/mitchell_and_frye_recognized News & Observer: Mitchell and Frye recognized] ]

References

* [http://www.wcsr.com/default.asp?id=86&objId=285 Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice Biography]
* [http://www.alumni.ncsu.edu/news/article.php?id=133 NC State Alumni Association]