Willis Whichard
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Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court | |
In office 1986–1998 | |
Appointed by | Jim Hunt |
Preceded by | James G. Exum |
Succeeded by | Mark Martin |
Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals | |
In office 1980–1986 | |
Appointed by | Jim Hunt |
Preceded by | Frank M. Parker |
Succeeded by | Robert F. Orr |
Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 13th district | |
In office January 1, 1975 – January 1, 1980 | |
Preceded by | Gordon Allen |
Succeeded by | William Greenwood Hancock Jr. |
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 16th district | |
In office 1973–1975 | |
Preceded by | Bobby W. Rogers James Davis Speed |
Succeeded by | Pat Oakes Griffin |
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 18th district | |
In office 1971–1973 | |
Preceded by | W. Hance Hofler Wade H. Penny Jr. |
Succeeded by | S. Gerald Arnold Jimmy Lewis Love |
Personal details | |
Born | (1940-05-24) May 24, 1940 (age 84) Durham, North Carolina |
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina University of Virginia |
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Willis Padgett Whichard[1] (born May 24, 1940) is an American lawyer and a prominent figure in North Carolina politics and education. Whichard is the only person in the history of North Carolina who has served in both houses of the state legislature and on both of the state's appellate courts.[2]
Born in Durham, North Carolina in 1940, he began his legal career as a clerk to NC Supreme Court Justice (later Chief Justice) William H. Bobbitt.[3] From 1966 to 1980, Whichard practiced law in Durham and entered politics, being elected first to the North Carolina House of Representatives and then to the North Carolina Senate. In 1980, he was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt to the North Carolina Court of Appeals,[4] where he served until he became a justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1986. Whichard was the justice who, in 1996, denied the appeal of Dontae Sharpe, a man later discovered to be innocent after spending more than 20 years in jail. Whichard determined there had been "no error" in the original case [5]
Whichard retired from the Court in 1998 and served as Dean of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of LawatCampbell University from 1999 until his retirement as Dean in 2006, when he became a partner at the law firm of Moore & Van Allen in its Research Triangle Park office. In September 2013 he joined the firm of Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, PLLC.
A student of North Carolina judicial history, Whichard has written a biography of James Iredell, a North Carolinian who led the state’s Federalists in supporting ratification of the Constitution and was later appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President George Washington.
Judge Whichard has the distinction of being the only person in the history of the State of North Carolina to have served as member of the two bodies of the NC Legislature (House and Senate) and on both of the state's appellate courts (Appeals and Supreme Court).
Whichard held a number of other professional positions:
North Carolina House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by
W. Hance Hofler |
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 18th district 1971–1973 Served alongside: George Miller Jr., Kenneth Claiborne Royall Jr. |
Succeeded by
S. Gerald Arnold |
Preceded by
Bobby W. Rogers |
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 16th district 1973–1975 Served alongside: Mickey Michaux, George Miller Jr. |
Succeeded by Pat Oakes Griffin |
North Carolina Senate | ||
Preceded by | Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 13th district 1975–1980 Served alongside: Kenneth Claiborne Royall Jr. |
Succeeded by William Greenwood Hancock Jr. |
Legal offices | ||
Preceded by Frank M. Parker |
Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals 1980–1986 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court 1986–1998 |
Succeeded by |
Academic offices | ||
Preceded by Patrick K. Hetrick |
Dean of the Campbell University School of Law 1999–2006 |
Succeeded by Melissa A. Essary |