Paul Newby, Chief Justice, NC Supreme Court

Paul Martin Newby is the 30th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Chief Justice Newby first was elected to the Supreme Court as Associate Justice in 2004 and was elevated to the highest judicial office in North Carolina in the 2020 election. As Chief Justice, he is head of the Judicial Branch, a co-equal branch of state government with the Legislative and Executive branches. He is entrusted with leading the Judicial Branch and its more than 6,000 elected officials and employees to provide open courts for the administration of justice without favor, denial, or delay.

In addition to his service on the Court, Chief Justice Newby is an adjunct professor at Campbell University School of Law, where he teaches courses on state constitutional law and appellate practice. He is the co-author of The North Carolina State Constitution with History and Commentary (2nd ed. 2013) with Professor John V. Orth of the UNC School of Law. He was honored by the North Carolina Bar Association with its Citizen Lawyer Award in 2011.

Chief Justice Newby was born in Asheboro and raised in Jamestown where he graduated from Ragsdale High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy Studies (magna cum laude) from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He served as a judicial intern in the United States Supreme Court and interned in the 18th Judicial District Public Defender’s Office (Greensboro/High Point). He began practicing law in Asheville with the Van Winkle Law Firm and later served as vice president and general counsel of Cannon Mills Realty and Development Corporation in Kannapolis. In 1985, Chief Justice Newby was appointed as an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina in Raleigh, where he served for over 19 years. He played an integral role in conducting the undercover sting operation that recovered North Carolina’s original copy of the Bill of Rights, stolen in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Chief Justice Newby is an Eagle Scout and is the recipient of the Heroism Award for rescuing nine people from a riptide, the God and Service Award, the Silver Beaver Award, and the Scouter of the Year Award. In 2012, he was designated a Distinguished Eagle Scout, a national honor that recognizes both his service to the Boy Scouts and his dedication to public service.

Chief Justice Newby has been married to Macon Tucker Newby since 1983, and they have four children.

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