Judicial Role Suits Past President Jacqueline Grant Perfectly
Not long after she completed her service as president of the North Carolina Bar Association, Jacqueline Grant was trying out an entirely different gavel as Buncombe County’s newest Superior Court judge.
Turns out the gavel and the role suit her just fine.
Grant, who served as the 124th president of the NCBA in 2018-19, was appointed to the bench in 2021 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Marvin Pope, who is also an NCBA member. Grant filed for election to a full eight-year term shortly thereafter and ran without opposition last November.
“It was nice to be unopposed,” said Grant. “I had my committee already set up, but it was nice. A lot of people had given me feedback because they were really pleased with the work I had done so far.”
As a partner and litigator with Roberts & Stevens, Grant certainly knew her way around the courtrooms of western North Carolina. Still, she had never seriously considered becoming a judge.
“I really enjoyed practicing,” Grant said. “I really loved trying cases and being in the courtroom, so I never really thought about becoming a judge. I had just completed my bar service as immediate past president and had been practicing for 25 years, so I think that is when you would start to look at other things. Then again, I don’t think I would have actually considered it if it wasn’t for Judge Pope retiring.
“It was just an opportunity that presented itself. I knew Judge Pope was retiring and his retirement was coming up in January (2021) because he’d reached mandatory retirement age. I had a couple of folks who reached out to me who asked me to consider being nominated by the governor for that position. They were like, ‘you really should think about submitting your name’ or ‘allow us to submit your name for the governor’s consideration.’”
With the appointment came the realization that Grant had cleared yet another hurdle, having previously been the first African American woman to serve as president of the 28th Judicial District Bar. She was also only the second Black female and third African American overall to serve as president of the NCBA.
Judge Jacqueline Grant is sworn in as a Superior Court judge in 2021. (WLOS Staff)
And now she is the first woman and the first African American to serve as a resident Superior Court judge in her district.
“It was funny,” Grant said, “because I had this conversation with Chief Justice Beasley when she was running for chief justice and talked about how important it is when you have these opportunities, you can serve as a role model for other minority students who may not have ever thought about becoming a judge.
“And in Buncombe County, despite it being a progressive county or one that a lot of people think of as being progressive, had never had a female resident Superior Court judge or a person of color serve as a resident Superior Court judge. It is sort of striking when you think about it, because you would have just thought Buncombe County would have already crossed that bridge.”
Now it has, much to the relief of Governor Cooper.
“It was hilarious,” Grant said, “because he had called to say that I had a lot of support from people in the community. So many people sent in letters to the governor, including our delegation of local legislators and some of the past presidents of the bar association as well. When he reached out and called me, he said, ‘I hope you’re ready to get on the bench and leave private practice behind.’”
She was ready, thank goodness, because shortly after being sworn in on Friday, May 7, 2021, Judge Grant was holding court.
“It was funny because (then-AOC Assistant Director) David Hoke called me that Friday morning and said, ‘We’re not going to throw you to the wolves. We’re going to allow you to shadow a couple of Superior Court judges before you have to go out on your own.’
“I was sworn in on Friday, and the following Monday I shadowed Judge (Steven) Warren. On Wednesday I shadowed Judge (Forrest D.) Bridges, and then I saw an email come across with the commission saying we need you to go to Haywood County. And I was like, ‘What happened to the opportunity to shadow?’ But I was ready to go. So literally, that next week, I was sent to Haywood County for civil matters, and then later that week to Catawba County for civil matters. And then here comes an email with the commission for the following week to go to Mitchell County, where I had my first criminal trial.”
Judge Grant establishes a precedent virtually everywhere she presides over cases.
Jackie Grant is sworn in as president of the NCBA by Chief Justice Mark Martin while her mother, Cathey Grant, holds the Bible.
“That is true,” Grant said, “because we’ve not had any female Resident Superior Court Judges of color in western North Carolina. We have been fortunate to have a couple of female Resident Superior Court Judges. Judge Marlene Hyatt was a Resident Superior Court Judge and Senior Resident Superior Court Judge from Haywood County. Judge Laura Bridges was a Resident Superior Court Judge in Henderson County for one term before she decided not to seek reelection.” And retired Judges Sharon Barrett and Athena Brooks served as Special Superior Court Judges.
Aside from her time as a student at UNC School of Law, Grant has lived her entire life in the western part of the state, either as a resident of her native Asheville or as a student at Western Carolina University. She also tried countless cases in the region.
“From Charlotte west, I don’t think there was a courtroom I had not been in,” Grant said. “My primary area of practice was medical malpractice defense. There was some insurance defense and employment law, and with my employment cases I was usually in federal court. But medical malpractice almost always involved Superior Court trials.
“In medical malpractice case the doctors usually do not like to settle lawsuits unless they actually feel like they did something wrong, because you have the reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank and you have the reporting on the medical board website which can affect their ability to practice or apply for privileges with hospitals. The hospitals used to settle for economic reasons, but when they start getting sued all the time, they stop settling as well. So usually for medical malpractice cases you end up trying the cases.”
The medical malpractice cases are similar to those she tried as an attorney, with one notable exception.
“One of the things that changed right after I got on the bench was the assignment of judges for medical malpractice cases,” Grant said. “Now each medical malpractice case is assigned to a Superior Court Judge, who shall preside over the case until the final disposition of the case in the trial division. And that was funny because the Buncombe County trial court administrator at that time – the first week it went into effect – had me laughing because he said the parties in three med mal cases had already requested that I be assigned as the judge to their cases.
“I was beginning to get so many requests I had to put a cap on the number of cases I could take, and that was being requested by both plaintiffs’ attorneys and defense attorneys. I think they know me well enough to know that I am fair, and my rulings are based on the applicable law. The civil side of Superior Court was very easy to transition to as a judge because I am familiar with all the rules of evidence and trial practice – the whole nine yards. There was nothing new about that.”
Criminal matters, Grant added, were another story.
“I never did criminal law,” Grant said, “so I have to say I have enjoyed seeing the criminal side of things. It is truly fascinating, and the cases are interesting, but you just don’t realize the level of crime that’s going on in various communities until you see one of those court calendars.
“But, having said that, it’s just been interesting. Another judge told me when I first got on the bench that being a judge is like taking a law school exam every day, and it is, with the variety of civil cases and criminal cases I see. It’s a really nice mix of cases and constant review of case law, which sort of refreshes the stuff that you learned in law school and the BarBri review course.
“I’ve enjoyed it.”
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.