Chief Justice Mark Martin has appointed McKinley Wooten as interim director of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC). Wooten will begin his duties effective February 28.

“McKinley has served as a deputy director with AOC for over a decade, and I am confident that he brings the experience, leadership, and integrity necessary for the successful operation of the courts,” said Chief Justice Martin. “I appreciate his outstanding work and dedicated service to North Carolina’s court system.”

His role will be to manage and oversee the administrative services provided to the Judicial Branch's more than 6,000 employees and hundreds of courthouses and facilities in every county of the state. His work and responsibilities will ultimately help North Carolina's unified court system operate more efficiently and effectively, taking into account each courthouse's diverse needs, caseloads and available resources.

As deputy director, Wooten has overseen statewide services for courts, including language access, recovery treatment courts, a help desk for clerks of court, child custody and permanency mediation, the Guardian ad Litem Program and the Court Improvement Program. Additionally, he currently has an integral leadership role in the Judicial Branch’s statewide eCourts initiative, a multi-year effort to modernize court technology and case management systems. He also serves on an number of government boards and committees, including the Chief Justice’s Equal Access to Justice Commission and the N.C. Mental Health and Substance Abuse Task Force, and is a board member of the N.C. State Employees’ Credit Union, serving as chairperson from 2011-13.

A native of Kinston, Wooten holds degrees from Morehouse College and Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is married to Laura H. Wooten, and they are the proud parents of a son and daughter.