A bonus episode of the North Carolina Judicial Branch podcast All Things Judicial was released today. This episode begins with Supreme Court of North Carolina Clerk of Court Amy Funderburk who shares her impression of the Court’s grand courtroom, and identified historic courtroom artifacts that are hidden in plain sight. In addition, Supreme Court of North Carolina Chief Justice Paul Newby introduces excerpts from remarks given by North Carolina’s newest appellate court judges during their investiture ceremonies held earlier this year.

“Open courts, available for all of our citizens, is not a luxury; it’s a mandate,” Chief Justice Newby said in an excerpt of his investiture remarks. “How do we operate in the midst of a global pandemic with regard to COVID? That is the great stress of our times as we seek to protect the public health of our courthouse personnel and fulfill our constitutional mandate.”

The Supreme Court investiture excerpts included in this podcast episode are from Chief Justice Newby, Associate Justice Phil Berger Jr., and Associate Justice Tamara Patterson Barringer. They were formally installed at the Supreme Court of North Carolina on January 6, 2021. The audio was taken from the virtual swearing-in ceremony that was streamed online for guests, the media, and the public.

The excerpts for the North Carolina Court of Appeals investiture ceremonies are from Judge Jeffery K. Carpenter, Judge April C. Wood, Judge Fred Gore, Judge Jefferson Griffin, and Judge Darren Jackson. They were formally installed at the North Carolina Court of Appeals on January 14, 2021, and as with the Supreme Court excerpts, the audio was taken from the virtual swearing-in ceremony streamed online. 

Today’s release is a bonus episode of the podcast that supplements the bi-monthly regularly scheduled episodes. All Things Judicial can be downloaded on all podcast apps and streamed on NCcourts.gov.

Next Episode

The next regularly scheduled episode will be released on March 24 and is hosted by retired North Carolina Court of Appeals Chief Judge Linda McGee. It will focus on celebrating women's history in the North Carolina Judicial Branch through a discussion with current Court of Appeals Chief Judge Donna Stroud, Court of Appeals Judge Lucy Inman, and Court of Appeals Judge Valerie Zachary.