Chief Justice Mark Martin administered the oath of office to Chief Administrative Law Judge Julian Mann III in a ceremony at the Supreme Court of North Carolina on Saturday, July 1. Chief Judge Mann is beginning his eighth four-year term as Chief Administrative Law Judge and is the longest serving Chief Administrative Law Judge in North Carolina history.

The Chief Administrative Law Judge is appointed by the Chief Justice to serve as the head of the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings and has the authority to appoint other Administrative Law Judges.

The N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings was created in 1985 and is an independent quasi-judicial agency that was established to be a source of independent judges to preside in administrative law contested cases. The Office of Administrative Hearings considers appeals in contested cases involving administrative penalties, state employee grievances, and other matters.