Fred Hedrick

Who is Fred Hedrick?

Robert Alfred "Fred" Hedrick was an American jurist who served for 24 years on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Blinded at the age of 13, Hedrick graduated from the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in 1943. He later graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and served as a prosecutor and judge in Iredell County, North Carolina. In 1969, then-governor Bob Scott appointed Hedrick to the state appeals court. He was elected by the voters in 1970 and re-elected several times thereafter. In 1974, he ran for the state supreme court but lost to James G. Exum of the Democratic primary. Hedrick served as chief judge of the Court of Appeals from 1984 until his retirement in 1993.

Hedrick's first female law clerk was Linda Stephens, who later became a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He also gave her away at her wedding, which was held in Hedrick's chambers.