Cheri Beasley

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Cheri Beasley
Beasley in 2017
29th Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
March 1, 2019 – December 31, 2020
Appointed byRoy Cooper
Preceded byMark Martin
Succeeded byPaul Martin Newby
Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
December 12, 2012 – March 1, 2019
Appointed byBev Perdue
Preceded byPatricia Timmons-Goodson
Succeeded byMark A. Davis
Personal details
Born
Cheri Lynn Beasley

(1966-02-14) February 14, 1966 (age 58)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCurtis Owens
Children2
Residence(s)Cumberland County, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationRutgers University–New Brunswick (BA)
University of Tennessee (JD)
Duke University (LLM)
Occupation
  • Attorney
  • jurist
  • politician
WebsiteOfficial website

Cheri Lynn Beasley[1] (born February 14, 1966) is an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020; she was appointed an associate justice in 2012. Beasley previously served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and as a district court judge in Cumberland County, North Carolina.[2]

Beasley was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina. She lost to Republican nominee Ted Budd.[3][4]

Education[edit]

Beasley earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics at Douglass College of Rutgers University–New Brunswick in 1988 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1991. She also earned a Master of Laws from Duke University School of Law in 2018.[5][6]

Judicial career[edit]

Beasley spent her first years after law school as an assistant public defender in Cumberland County, North Carolina.[2] She was first appointed to the bench as a state district court judge by Governor Jim Hunt in 1999, and then elected in a 2002 election. She was reelected without opposition in 2006.[7] She served as a Judge in District 12 (Cumberland County) until her election to the Court of Appeals.

Appellate court[edit]

In 2008, Beasley was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, defeating incumbent Douglas McCullough by a 15-point margin.[8] In that election, she became the first Black woman to win election to statewide office in North Carolina without first being appointed by a governor.[9] In December 2012, after four years on the Court of Appeals, Beasley was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court by Governor Beverly Perdue, filling the vacancy created by Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson's retirement.[10] She was elected to a full eight-year term in 2014.[11]

On February 12, 2019, Governor Roy Cooper appointed Beasley to the position of chief justice after Mark Martin retired, making her the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.[12]

Beasley ran for a full term as chief justice in the 2020 election, losing by 401 votes[13] to Associate Justice Paul Martin Newby.[14] After leaving office, she joined McGuireWoods as a partner in the law firm's Raleigh office.[15]

2022 U.S. Senate campaign[edit]

Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina

In February 2021, various media outlets reported that Beasley was considering running in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina.[16][17] The News & Observer reported in March 2021 that Beasley had decided to enter the race for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Richard Burr.[15] She launched her campaign on April 27, 2021,[18] and on May 17, she won the Democratic primary election. She lost the general election on November 8 to Republican nominee Ted Budd.

Personal life[edit]

Beasley is married to Curtis Owens, a scientist.[19] They have twin sons.[20] In 2014, Beasley was the featured speaker at Saint Augustine's University's Lyceum Leadership Speaker Series.[21] She was the commencement speaker to the 2018 class of University of Tennessee College of Law.[22] Beasley was also the keynote speaker at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law Black Law Students Association's 24th Annual Thurgood Marshall Symposium.[23] In 2019, she was the undergraduate commencement speaker for nearly 900 graduates at Fayettesville State University, for the 133rd graduate commencement of North Carolina Central University, and the commencement speaker for Elon University's School of Law.

North Carolina Court of Appeals seat election, 2008[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Cheri Beasley 1,706,132 57.42%
Nonpartisan Doug McCullough (incumbent) 1,265,378 42.58%
Total votes 2,971,510 100.0
North Carolina State Supreme Court seat election, 2014[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Cheri Beasley (incumbent) 1,239,763 50.11%
Nonpartisan Mike Robinson 1,234,353 49.89%
Total votes 2,474,116 100.0
North Carolina State Supreme Court Chief Justice seat election, 2020[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Paul Martin Newby 2,695,951 50.004
Democratic Cheri Beasley (incumbent) 2,695,550 49.996
Total votes 5,391,501 100.0

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Cheri Lynn Beasley - Profile | American Bar Association". Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b report, A. staff and wire. "Cheri Beasley, formerly of Fayetteville, to be chief justice of NC Supreme Court". The Fayetteville Observer. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  3. ^ Seitz-Wald, Alex (November 8, 2022). "Republican Ted Budd defeats Democrat Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate in North Carolina". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Republican Ted Budd defeats Democrat Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate in North Carolina". NBC News. November 8, 2022. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "Cheri Beasley (1991)". alumni.utk.edu. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Cheri Beasley's Biography". Vote Smart. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  7. ^ "NC Bar: 2006 results". Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  8. ^ "Meet Cheri Beasley - Cheri Beasley for North Carolina". April 25, 2021. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  9. ^ "Article 404 - The Fayetteville Observer - Fayetteville, NC". February 13, 2019. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. [dead link]
  10. ^ News & Observer: Perdue chooses appeals court judge Beasley for Supreme Court
  11. ^ "Voting machine problems do not change election outcome". WRAL.com. November 25, 2014. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Cheri Beasley to become first African American woman Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. February 12, 2019. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  13. ^ "North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  14. ^ "Paul Newby wins North Carolina Supreme Court race as incumbent Cheri Beasley concedes". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. December 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Murphy, Brian (March 19, 2021). "She lost by 401 votes in 2020. Now former NC chief justice is planning a US Senate run". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Arkin, James (February 2, 2021). "North Carolina Dems brace for a messy Senate primary". Politico. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Karson, Kendall (February 11, 2021). "Powered by recent wins, Democrats intensify push for diversity ahead of 2022". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Anderson, Bryan (April 27, 2021). "Ex-Justice Cheri Beasley joins North Carolina Senate race". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Judge to speak at MLK Awards". Salisbury Post. January 14, 2011. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Kruse, Michael (October 29, 2021). "One of These People Is the Future of the Democratic South". Politico. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  21. ^ "University has reestablished the Lyceum Leadership Speaker Series". Saint Augustine's University. August 29, 2014. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  22. ^ Wilson, Jamie (May 11, 2018). "Alumna encourages graduates to lead, affect change". University of Tennessee College of Law. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  23. ^ "Cheri Beasley to Speak at 2018 Thurgood Marshall Symposium". Samford University. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  24. ^ "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  25. ^ "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  26. ^ "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cheri Beasley.
Legal offices
Preceded by Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
2012–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from North Carolina
(Class 3)
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