Cheri Beasley

Who is Cheri Beasley?

Cheri L. Beasley is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Beasley previously served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She was elected to the court in 2008, defeating incumbent Douglas McCullough. In that election, Beasley became the first black woman to win election to statewide office in North Carolina without first being appointed by a governor. In December 2012, Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Beasley to the North Carolina Supreme Court, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson.

A graduate of Rutgers University and of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Judge Beasley was first appointed to the bench as a state district court judge by Governor Jim Hunt in 1999, and then elected in a 2002 election. She was re-elected without opposition in 2006. She served as a judge in District 12 until her election to the Court of Appeals.