Chief Justice Mark Martin has appointed Judge Ted McEntire as chief district court judge for Judicial District 24, effective January 1, 2015. Judge McEntire will succeed Judge Gregory Horne, who will become a superior court judge.

District 24 includes Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga, and Yancey counties.

Judge McEntire has served District 24 as a district court judge since 2009, and was an assistant district attorney from 1997 until being elected. He was a private attorney from 1995 to 1997, and graduated from University of North Carolina School of Law in 1995.