Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has appointed Judge Sarah Seaton as chief district court judge for Judicial District 4 covering Duplin, Jones, Onslow, and Sampson counties. Judge Seaton will succeed Chief District Court Judge Paul Hardison upon his retirement December 1, 2019. 

Judge Seaton was appointed to the bench in 1999, and was elected to four-year terms in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. She received her undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and her law degree from Campbell University. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Seaton served as an assistant district attorney in Onslow County from 1986 until 1999. Judge Seaton’s father, Robert Cowan, was appointed by John F. Kennedy as the attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in 1960.