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Home › About › Communications › NCBA News › 2010 News Articles › Citizen Lawyer Profile: Brenda Branch
Citizen Lawyer Profile: Brenda Branch
Article Date: Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Hon. Brenda G. Branch
Residence: Roanoke Rapids
Education: Halifax Community College, N.C. Wesleyan College (B.A.), East Carolina University (M.P.A. Public Administration), North Carolina Central University School of Law (J.D.)
Position: Chief District Court Judge, District 6A (Halifax County)
On being a Citizen Lawyer:
“I think you have to be someone who cares about your community at large, and not just in the sense of your work. You have to care about how the community grows and progresses. For me, my direct contact with children and working on children’s issues, that’s a part of working toward the future.”
STORY
Brenda Branch wants to get to her community’s young people before they get to her. If they arrive before her in her role as the Chief District Court Judge in District 6A, where she oversees juvenile court and truancy court matters, Branch knows that it means those young men and women have already veered onto the wrong path.
The key to building up a community is to make sure those children are on the right path from the start and never stray from it, she said. She’s done her best to make that happen in Halifax County through her work beyond the bench in church-related mentoring programs and with organizations such as North Carolina Acton for Children.
“My background is similar to the kids I work with, and when I was young, I had people who thought enough of me to get me headed in the right direction,” said Branch, a recent recipient of the N.C. Bar Association’s Citizen Lawyer award. “So, that’s what I try to do,” she said.
“I think it’s always good when you can share what you’ve learned with somebody else and show kids what they can be.”
Branch has followed an incredible path herself. After working as a paper mill mechanic for nearly 20 years, she changed her career path by earning a justice and public policy degree from N.C. Wesleyan College, a master’s in public administration from East Carolina University and, ultimately, her law degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.
She somehow managed to continue working full-time throughout the 12-year period it took her to earn those degrees. Branch then quickly ascended from serving as an assistant district attorney to serving on the District Court bench. In 2008, she became the first African-American and first female Chief District Court judge in the history of Halifax County.
In her judicial role, she has overseen an expansion of the district’s truancy court, which helps students who are at risk of dropping out of school. “What I’ve learned is that, often, it’s the parents who need help, too,” she said. “I’d like to expand the programs we have so that we’re looking at ongoing problems that might be in the family.”
Beyond her judicial role, Branch has done extensive work with groups such as the Children of Grace program at her church, Roanoke Chapel Missionary Baptist, where her husband, George, is the deacon.
“We teach life skills,” Branch said.
For her efforts, Branch has received several honors and accolades, including being featured as part of WRAL TV’s “Living the Legacy” series in celebration of Black History Month and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The greatest reward, however, comes from the thank-you letters she often receives from the young people she has worked with — many of those post-marked from a college campus — and from seeing her own children take on similar interests.
Her daughter, Alisa, a UNC Greensboro graduate, currently works with a juvenile intervention program in Guilford County, while her son, Marquette, spent a summer with a local Boys & Girls Club before heading back to his classes at N.C. State. Said Branch, “We’re blessed.”
About the Citizen Lawyer Award
The NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award was established in 2007 to recognize lawyers who provide exemplary public service to their communities. Honorees include elected and appointed government officials, coaches, mentors and voluntary leaders of non-profit, civic and community organizations. Since 2007, there have 64 recipients of the award.
About the N.C. Bar Association
The North Carolina Bar Association, founded in 1899, is a voluntary organization of lawyers, paralegals and law students dedicated to serving the public and the legal profession. The N.C. Bar Center in Cary serves as headquarters for the NCBA and the NCBA Foundation, Inc. Though similar, the NCBA (www.ncbar.org) and the mandatory North Carolina State Bar (www.ncbar.gov) are not affiliated.
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