Rhoda Billings
Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
1986
Preceded byJoseph Branch
Succeeded byJames G. Exum
Personal details
Born
Rhoda Bryan

(1937-09-30) September 30, 1937
Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDonald R. Billings
Childrentwo
Alma materBerea College, Wake Forest University School of Law
ProfessionLawyer, judge

Rhoda Bryan Billings (born September 30, 1937) is an American lawyer and a former justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.[1]

Billings is a native of Wilkesboro, North Carolina.[2] She earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1966. She served four years as a state District Court judge (1968–1972).[3] From 1982 to 1984 Billings served on the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association.[2] Governor James G. Martin, a fellow Republican, appointed her to the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1985, after the resignation of Justice Earl W. Vaughn. When Chief Justice Joseph Branch retired, Martin then appointed her Chief Justice in 1986, making her the second woman to head the Court.[3] She was defeated by James G. Exum in the election for chief justice in November of that year.

Justice Billings became a law professor at Wake Forest University, retiring in 2003[4] as Professor Emeritus. Billings was named in 2008 to the National Committee on the Right to Counsel established by the Constitution Project of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Who's who in American Law. November 1977. ISBN 9780837935010.
  2. 1 2 "Rhoda Bryan Billings ('66) receives John J. Parker Award from North Carolina Bar Association". Wake Forest University. June 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Rhoda Billings Sworn In As State's New Chief Justice". Wilmington Morning Star. September 4, 1986. p. 3C.
  4. ↑ Mansell, Sarah (May 19, 2003). "WFUs retiring faculty recognized during commencement". Wake Forest University News Service. Archived from the original on July 7, 2003. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  5. ↑ Gibbs, Ann (August 26, 2004). "Law School Faculty News". Wake Forest University Law School. Retrieved September 19, 2020.


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