Mark Davis, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice

The Expansion of Individual Rights in N.C.

Mark Davis, an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of North Carolina, will be speaking about his new book, A Warren Court of Our Own: The Exum Court and the Expansion of Individual Rights in North Carolina. In this book, Davis thoroughly analyzes the fascinating period between 1986 and 1995 when – under the leadership of Chief Justice Jim Exum – the Supreme Court issued numerous landmark decisions that had the effect of greatly expanding the individual rights of both criminal defendants and individuals bringing lawsuits against corporations and governments.  The book compares the Exum Court with the legendary, and also controversial, era of the United States Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Davis furnishes colorful biographical sketches of the justices on the Exum Court along with a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how North Carolina’s highest court actually functions. In addition, he details deeply rooted conflicts among the justices on the Exum Court on the critical question of when, if ever, judges should “make law” as opposed to simply deferring to the other branches of government.

Justice Davis was appointed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina in March 2019. Prior to that, he served as an Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for over six years. He worked as a Special Deputy Attorney General in the North Carolina Department of Justice for five years.  He spent thirteen years as an attorney at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice where he was a Member of the firm in the Litigation Section. He also served as General Counsel in the Office of the Governor for approximately two years. Justice Davis received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law and served on the North Carolina Law Review.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Upon graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Franklin T. Dupree, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  Justice Davis has been active in the North Carolina Bar Association, serving as a Vice-President and as a member of the Appellate Rules Committee and the Bench-Bar Liaison Committee.  In 2018, he received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Judicial Studies from the Duke University School of Law. He is also a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Justice Davis has given presentations at numerous Continuing Legal Education seminars in North Carolina on the subject of appellate advocacy. He and his wife Marcia have been married since 1992 and have three children.

Note: this meeting will be conducted in a virtual environment. The meeting link will be emailed to all members. Guests should contact the Club Administrator at pcash@greensbororotary.org.