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Susie Sharp | |
|---|---|
 Sharp in 1967 | |
| Chief Justice of theNorth Carolina Supreme Court | |
| In office January 2, 1975 – July 31, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | William Bobbitt |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Branch |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1907-07-07)July 7, 1907 Rocky Mount,North Carolina,U.S. |
| Died | March 1, 1996(1996-03-01) (aged 88) Raleigh,North Carolina,U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Greensboro (BA) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (LLB) |
Susie Marshall Sharp (July 7, 1907 – March 1, 1996) was an American jurist who served as thefirst female chief justice of theNorth Carolina Supreme Court.[1] She was not the first woman to head thehighest court in a U.S. state, but is believed to be the first woman elected to such a post in a state, likeNorth Carolina, in which the position is elected by the people separately from that ofAssociate Justice. In 1965,Lorna E. Lockwood became the first female chief justice of a state supreme court, but in Arizona, theSupreme Court justices elect their chief justice.
Sharp was born in 1907 inRocky Mount, North Carolina to Annie (née Blackwell) and James M. Sharp but spent most of her life inRockingham County, North Carolina.[2] In 1926 she entered law school at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the only woman in her class, and graduated Order of the Coif. In 1929, Sharp went into private practice with her father in the firm of Sharp & Sharp.[3]
In 1949, GovernorKerr Scott appointed her a stateSuperior Court judge, making her the first female judge in the history of the state. After Sharp became a Superior Court judge, Tom Bost of theGreensboro Daily News questioned "what would happen if Sharp was faced with trying a case of rape? Wouldn't that be too much for a woman?" Judge Sharp wrote back that "In the first place, there could have been no rape had not a woman been present, and I consider it eminently fitting that one be in on the 'pay-off'."[4] Judge Sharp insisted that "to preserve our civilization today requires total participation by us all–men and women–and the impartial administration of justice is the final goal of civilized society." Sharp believed that it was woman's duty to serve on all juries.[5]
Judge Sharp was re-appointed by successive governors, and in 1962, GovernorTerry Sanford made Sharp the first female Associate Justice of theNorth Carolina Supreme Court.[6] Justice Sharp was elected by the people that November and again in November 1966 to a full eight-year term. In 1974, voters gave her 74 percent of the vote to elect her Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, succeeding her close friend, Chief JusticeWilliam H. Bobbitt.
Time, in its January 5, 1976 cover story, named Sharp one of the 12 "women of the year" for 1975. In so doing, Time called her a "trail blazer" with a "reputation as both a compassionate jurist and an incisive legal scholar".[7]
SenatorSam Ervin, a fellow Democrat, recommended to PresidentRichard Nixon that he appoint her to theUnited States Supreme Court.[8] Nixon declined the advice, and a woman would not be appointed to the Court untilSandra Day O'Connor in 1981.
During Justice Sharp's 17-year tenure on the Supreme Court, she wrote 459 majority opinions, 124 concurring opinions, and 45 dissenting opinions.[8]
By law, Justice Sharp had to retire at age 72, which came in 1979. After retiring, she successfully pushed for a constitutional amendment in 1980 that required all judges to be lawyers after her 1974 opponent was a fire extinguisher salesman. Sharp died at age 88, in 1996.[9]
Justice Sharp was also the aunt of Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch, subject of the bookBitter Blood byJerry Bledsoe.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief Justice of theNorth Carolina Supreme Court 1975–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Time Person of the Year 1975 Served alongside:Susan Brownmiller,Kathleen Byerly,Alison Cheek,Jill Conway,Betty Ford,Ella Grasso,Carla Hills,Barbara Jordan,Billie Jean King,Carol Sutton,Addie Wyatt | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
