On September 20, the Cumberland County Bar Association and 12th Judicial District Bar will host a celebration honoring the 240th anniversary of the North Carolina Superior Court. This event is an opportunity for the Cumberland County legal community to celebrate North Carolina's oldest courts and reflect on the history of the superior court over the past 240 years.

The anniversary celebration begins with a dedication ceremony renaming the Cumberland County Courthouse in honor of the late Judge E. Maurice Braswell. Judge Braswell served as an assistant solicitor and superior court judge in Cumberland County, and as a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals. Working with the Cumberland County Commission, Judge Braswell was instrumental in building the current Cumberland County Courthouse in Fayetteville.

Following the courthouse dedication, the celebration will include a program in the Historic Cumberland County Courthouse that honors Judge Sammie Chess Jr., North Carolina's first African-American superior court judge, and former Supreme Court of North Carolina Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson and attorney Rudolph Singleton will receive the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. Additionally, the program will include a portrait presentation of Sylvia X. Allen, the first female African-American assistant district attorney in Cumberland County. The portrait will remain on permanent display in the Historic Cumberland County Courthouse.

WHEN and WHERE
The courthouse dedication will begin 9:00 a.m. at the Cumberland County Courthouse, 117 Dick St., Fayetteville, NC.

The main program will begin at 10:15 a.m. at the Historic Cumberland County Courthouse located at 130 Gillespie St., Fayetteville, NC.

MORE INFORMATION
For more information about North Carolina's court anniversaries, including the 240th anniversary of the superior court, please visit Celebrate.NCCourts.org.