RALEIGH – Chief Justice Cheri Beasley announced the following appointments effective Friday, January 1, 2021:
Judge Donna Stroud has been appointed to serve as chief judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Judge Stroud was elected to serve on the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2006 and was re-elected in 2014. She previously served as a district court judge in Wake County from 2004-2006 and was in private practice prior to being elected. Judge Stroud received her juris doctorate from Campbell University in 1988 and her master of laws degree from Duke University School of Law in 2014.
Judge Jimmy Love has been appointed to serve as chief district court judge for Johnston, Lee, and Harnett counties (Judicial District 11). He was appointed to the court by former Governor Jim Hunt and assumed office on December 15, 2000. He was re-elected unopposed in the general election on November 8, 2016. Judge Love was in private practice prior to his appointment in 2000. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984 and his J.D. from the Campbell University School of Law in 1987.
Judge Toni King has been appointed to serve as chief district court judge for Cumberland County (Judicial District 12). She was appointed to the court by former Governor Bev Perdue and assumed the bench in March 2009. Judge King received her undergraduate degree in English language and literature from North Carolina Central University in 1996 and her J.D. from the North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2000.
Judge Roy Wijewickrama has been appointed to serve as chief district court judge for Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties (Judicial District 30). He was first elected to the court in 2010. Judge Wijewickrama received his undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and his law degree from Cleveland State University in Ohio. After graduating from law school, he worked as an assistant district attorney for the 30th Judicial District. Afterwards, he practiced law with the firm Kersten, Davis & Wijewickrama. In 2008, he was appointed as the tribal prosecutor for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians by Chief Mitchell Hicks.
Chief Justice Beasley also announced that Judge Chris Dillon of the North Carolina Court of Appeals has been appointed to serve as chair of the Judicial Standards Commission on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. Judge Dillon earned his B.S. in Business Administration and his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2012, Judge Dillon was elected to an eight-year term on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. In 2018, Judge Dillon was awarded his master of laws degree from the Duke University School of Law in the field of Judicial Studies. Judge Dillon’s appointment fills the vacancy created on the commission by the retirement of Judge Wanda Bryant who has served as chair of the commission since 2014.
The North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission was established in 1973 to investigate allegations of misconduct or disability made against judges and justices of the North Carolina General Court of Justice and commissioners and deputy commissioners of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. The Commission also provides education and training for judges and commissioners across the state and advises them on their obligations under the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct.
