N.C. Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Mark Martin to administer Oath of Office

Commissioner-elect Pat Sykes, re-elected Commissioner Scott Phillips and I will take the Oath of Office at the beginning of tonight’s Brunswick County Board of Commissioners meeting.  I am pleased to announce that N.C. Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Mark Martin will administer my oath.  Register of Deeds Brenda Clemmons and Coroner Greg White will also take their Oaths of Office at tonight’s meeting.

I first met Justice Martin nearly 20 years ago.  I was barely out of college and had volunteered on one campaign while in college.  As a result of that volunteer effort I wound up on several mailing lists, and subsequently received an invitation to a fundraiser for a young judge named Mark Martin.  This was the first campaign fundraiser that I recall attending.  I walked into the fundraiser as a young, wet-behind-the-ears volunteer, and there stood Governor Jim Martin and other noteworthy Republican leaders.  This may be difficult for my friends to believe, but I was probably a wallflower at the event.

Twenty years later, I am humbled and honored and that Justice Martin has agreed to drive to Brunswick County to administer my Oath of Office.  I hope you will join me in welcoming him to Brunswick County.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Chambers at the David E. Sandifer County Administration Building at the Brunswick County Government Center, located at 30 Government Center Drive NE, Bolivia, NC  28422.  If you are not familiar with the layout of the government center, you can find a map here.  Meetings are open to the public, and you are invited to attend.

Justice Mark Martin

Mark Martin is the Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. In his twentieth year of judicial service, Justice Martin is the only active member of the North Carolina state judiciary with experience on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Superior Court. Before his installation to the Supreme Court in 1998, Martin had served on the Court of Appeals beginning in 1994, and as Resident Superior Court Judge in Greenville from 1992 to 1994.

Prior to his judicial service, Martin served as legal counsel to Governor James G. Martin, practiced law at the McNair Law Firm in Raleigh, and clerked for United States District Judge Clyde H. Hamilton. Martin has served in a number of leadership roles within the North Carolina Bar Association, including as its Vice-President. He has taught law courses at the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and North Carolina Central University.

Martin graduated summa cum laude from Western Carolina University. He received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He later earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia.

Justice Martin and his family reside in Apex.