Chief Justice Cheri Beasley appointed Judge Edward A. Pone as chief district court judge for Judicial District 12 covering Cumberland County. Judge Pone will succeed Chief District Court Judge Robert Stiehl upon his retirement. 

Judge Pone received a B.A. from North Carolina Central University in 1979 and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 1982. He has worked in private practice, served as an assistant public defender, and was appointed as a district court judge by Governor Jim Hunt in 1996. He was elected and re-elected to that position six times, the latest in 2016.

Judge Pone is a certified juvenile court judge and a presiding judge in Cumberland County Family Court, both domestic and juvenile divisions. In addition, he is the presiding judge for the Cumberland County Family Drug Treatment Court, the presiding judge for the Cumberland County Misdemeanor Diversion Program and serves as the Judicial Fellow for the Cumberland County Reclaiming Futures Initiative, an effort designed to assist young people with substance abuse issues.