FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 July 1999
Contact: Jeanne Bonds, Deputy Director
(919) 715-4886
RALEIGH ---- Chief Justice Burley Mitchell today announced that he will retire from the North Carolina Supreme Court on September 1 and become a partner in the Raleigh office of Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice, North Carolina's largest law firm and one of the largest firms in the Southeast.
In announcing his retirement, Chief Justice Mitchell stated, "It has been an honor to be only the 24th North Carolinian to serve as Chief Justice of North Carolina. I will forever be grateful to the people of North Carolina who have elected and re-elected me six times and to Governor Hunt and former Governors Martin and Scott for the confidence they placed in me by appointing me to positions of public trust over the past thirty years."
This year marks Chief Justice Mitchell's 30th anniversary in public service, a career he began in his 20's. In 1995, when he became Chief Justice, the Supreme Court had been through a long period in which more appeals were filed than the Court was able to dispose of each year. That no backlog exists now is perhaps Chief Justice Mitchell's proudest accomplishment. "For the first time in the 180-year history of the Supreme Court, we now have absolutely no backlog and are able to calendar cases for arguments immediately after the briefs are filed," he explained.
As to the timing of his retirement, five years before his current term expires, Chief Justice Mitchell stated, "I have taken the duties of the Office of Chief Justice very seriously, but I know that it is the Office I hold that is important and not me as a person. We who hold public offices must remember that the people entrust them to us and that we should return them to the public in better shape than when we took them. There can never be a time when the Supreme Court is more current in its work than it is now, and I can leave now satisfied that I have completed the task the people entrusted to me."
Chief Justice Mitchell emphasized the fact that the North Carolina Supreme Court decided cases establishing the constitutional principle of due process of law well before any other Court in the nation, including the United States Supreme Court. He said, "I am confident that the current justices of the Court will continue this proud tradition and continue the efficiencies we have established together to ensure that justice is not denied by being delayed."
On his decision to join Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice, Chief Justice Mitchell said, "Other outstanding law firms have approached me over the years, but I felt that Womble Carlyle was the perfect firm in light of my unique situation. It will just be an historical fact that I have been Chief Justice, and for the rest of my life I must do nothing which would detract from the dignity of that Office or the Supreme Court on which I served. I know Womble Carlyle is the type of firm where I will feel comfortable in my role both professionally and ethically. The firm has encouraged me to continue my participation in several national efforts to improve the level of professionalism among lawyers, and I am anxious to do so. Womble Carlyle's depth of services, commitment to be on the forefront of technology and its understanding of the value of client service, will be value-added benefits to my practice." Chief Justice Mitchell added, "Womble Carlyle has a clear vision of the future and a forward-thinking environment that will help me provide a broader range of services to clients."
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, which traces its history to 1880, is a full-service business law firm that delivers sophisticated legal services to a wide spectrum of regional, national and international business clients in industries that include financial services, commercial real estate, information technology, health care, manufacturing and telecommunications. The firm also represents a variety of governmental units and agencies through its offices in Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, N.C., Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Greenville, S.C.
Chief Justice Mitchell has served on the Supreme Court for seventeen years. Prior to that he served as North Carolina Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety under Governor Jim Hunt from 1979 to 1982, as a Judge of the Court of Appeals from 1977 to 1979, as District Attorney of Wake County from 1972 to 1977, and as an Assistant Attorney General from 1969 to 1972. In 1998 he was appointed by United States Chief Justice William Rehnquist to the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He is presently serving as Chairman of the Professionalism and Competence of the Bar Committee of the United States Conference of Chief Justices. In 1989 he was appointed as Chairman of Governor James Martin's Special Advisory Board on Prisons and Punishment. He served from 1977 to 1995 as a member of the Governor's Crime Commission, which he chaired by appointment of Governor James Hunt from 1977 to 1979. He also served on the North Carolina News Media-Administration of Justice Council from 1976 to 1986. Chief Justice Mitchell is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of the Graduate School of North Carolina State University.
Chief Justice Mitchell is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and all federal and state courts in North Carolina. He is a member of the American, North Carolina (Vice-President 1986-87) and Wake County Bar Associations.
A Raleigh native, Chief Justice Mitchell graduated from North Carolina State University where he is a member of the ZETA Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He received the degree of Juris Doctor from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law in 1969. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from N.C. State University in 1995, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Campbell University in 1998.
Chief Justice Mitchell is a lifelong member of Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh, where he has served as Sunday School teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, and Lay Leader. He has been married to the former Mary Lou Willett of Raleigh for thirty-seven years. They have two adult children.
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