The Honorable

Shirley Fulton
Born(1952-01-02)January 2, 1952
DiedFebruary 8, 2023(2023-02-08) (aged 71)
EducationDuke University Law School
OccupationJudge
OrganizationNorth Carolina Superior Court

Shirley L. Fulton (January 2, 1952 – February 8, 2023) was an American judge and prosecutor.[1][2] She was the first African American woman to serve as a judge in the Superior Court of North Carolina, a position she held for 14 years.[3] Earlier in her career, she had served as the first black female prosecutor in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.[1][4]

Early life and education

Born on January 2, 1952, Fulton was the second of five children of Jacob Fulton, a farm laborer in Kingstree, South Carolina.[3][5] As a child, she helped pick cotton and tobacco before school every morning, along with her siblings.[5] While in high school, she worked at a funeral home operated by Virgil Dimery.[6] Dimery encouraged her to volunteer for voter registration drives, and took her along to political rallies.[1][6]

Fulton left home at age 16 to attend college in North Carolina.[7] Fulton dropped out of college after three years, before completing a bachelor's degree at North Carolina A&T State University in 1977.[1][6] In 1980, she earned her Juris Doctor degree at Duke University.[1]

Career

Upon graduating from college, Fulton worked at the Guilford County register of deeds office in North Carolina, and decided to study law.[1][2] After law school, she worked for a small law firm in Durham, before moving to Charlotte.[2][3]

In 1982, Fulton was appointed as an assistant district attorney, the start of her 20-year career in the Mecklenburg County courthouse.[1][2] She was the first black female prosecutor in the county, and served under District Attorney Peter Gilchrist.[1][3]

In 1987, Fulton was appointed a District Court judge, replacing Terry Sherrill, who had been the only black judge among eleven in Mecklenburg.[5][8] She was selected by Governor James G. Martin after receiving the largest number of votes in an election conducted by the Mecklenburg County Bar.[8] In 1988, Judge Fulton was elected to the bench of the North Carolina Superior Court, in the newly created, predominantly African American district of Mecklenburg.[5][9] She became chief resident judge, the highest ranking judge in the Superior Court,[5] after Chase Saunders retired in 1997.[10]

During her tenure as judge, Fulton led several high-profile initiatives, including what became known as "the Fulton Plan", an effort to reform handling of criminal cases system-wide to make them more racially equitable, and more efficient in the face of a significant backlog.[3][11] She also campaigned for bonds to raise funds to build a new courthouse.[2] In addition, she introduced programs to improve the court's handling of cases involving non-English speakers, offering free Spanish classes to judges, lawyers, and court clerks.[2][12] Judge Fulton gave death sentences to three convicted murderers, a decision she later said forced her to reexamine her beliefs.[3]

Fulton left the bench to enter private practice in 2002,[3] and was a founding partner at Tin Fulton Walker & Owen,[5] where she practiced business and real estate law.[2] She later formed her own alternative dispute resolution firm, Fulton Consulting, and practiced with Singletary Law Firm.[3]

Civic activities

A past president of the Wesley Heights Community Association, Fulton was an advocate of community development and neighborhood improvement.[1][13] She served as a board chair of the Charlotte Housing Authority, and was a co-organizer of the Queen City Congress, a coalition of downtown neighborhoods such as Washington Heights and Dilworth.[1][3]

Fulton restored the historic George Pierce Wadsworth House, which she acquired in 2001, and turned it into a conference and events center in Wesley Heights.[14][15] During the 2012 Democratic National Convention held in Charlotte, North Carolina, Fulton hosted 400 delegates and guests from New Jersey and Maryland at Wadsworth House.[15]

In 2015, Fulton presided over a mock grand jury hearing in Raleigh, North Carolina, organized by the North Carolina Medicaid Expansion Coalition.[3][16] The hearing was organized to "shame" state legislators who had voted to block expansion of government assistance to low-income households.[16]

Fulton served as the chair of the former Charlotte School of Law's board of advisors, working with the school to provide scholarships to students.[3][17] She also served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Task Force.[2] In Mecklenburg County, she served as co-chair of the local chapter of United Agenda for Children, and was a past president of the county bar association.[3]

Awards and accolades

In 2009, Fulton was the recipient of a Citizen Lawyer Award from the North Carolina Bar Association.[18] In 2010, Fulton received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in recognition of her service to North Carolina.[1]

In 2014, Fulton was presented with the Chief Justice's Professionalism Award, "for her selfless dedication and commitment to the principles of professionalism and public service in North Carolina".[2]

In 2018, Fulton was inducted as a Legal Legend of Color by the NCBA Minorities in the Profession Committee.[19] Other accolades included the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Medallion, awarded by the Charlotte Community Relations Committee.[20]

Personal life and death

While studying at university, Fulton was a single mother raising a toddler son.[3]

In 1993, Fulton was diagnosed with breast cancer, and took a leave of absence in 1995 to undergo treatment, including a double mastectomy and stem cell transplant, at Duke.[3][7] She was named chief judge of the North Carolina Superior Court after returning to work full-time in 1997.[3][7]

Fulton was married to Leon Orr, who preceded her as president of the Wesley Heights Community Association.[21] The couple first moved to Wesley Heights when Fulton was elected judge, buying a duplex which they restored into a single-family home, which became a local landmark.[21]

Fulton died in hospice on February 8, 2023, of complications from gallbladder cancer.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 White, Herbert L. (February 8, 2023). "Trailblazing jurist Shirley Fulton dies at age 71". The Charlotte Post. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Former Chief Justice Martin presents Judge Fulton with Annual Professionalism Award". North Carolina Judicial Branch. January 22, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gordon, Michael (February 11, 2023). "'Best of the best.' NC Judge Shirley Fulton, legal trailblazer, activist, dies at 71". The News & Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Hamacher, Heath (February 27, 2017). "Judges decree: On diversity, we're not there yet". South Carolina Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lawlor, Mason (February 10, 2023). "'Our Community Has Lost a Giant': Judge Shirley Fulton, First Black Woman Elected to North Carolina Superior Court, Dies at 71". Law.com. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Perlmutt, David (February 3, 2007). "The case for a devoted mentor". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 "To Recognize and Remember – Law grad led N.C. Superior Court". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 21, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Wright, Gary L. (January 8, 1987). "Fulton Wins District Judgeshp". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Wright, Gary L. (January 5, 1988). "Richard Boner, Shirley Fulton to Seek 2 New Judgeships". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ McClain, Kathleen (May 23, 1997). "Veteran judge will step down; Shirley Fulton in line for Saunders' post". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "N.C. county prepares to dispose of murder cases". Morning Star. Associated Press. January 28, 1999. ProQuest 285511392. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  12. ↑ "THE STATE; MECKLENBURG; Judges, court officials getting Spanish lessons". Morning Star. October 20, 1998. ProQuest 285526050. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  13. ↑ Portillo, Ely; Lee Jr., Kenneth (February 8, 2023). "Pioneering Charlotte judge Shirley Fulton dies at 71". WFAE 90.7. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ Smith, Doug (August 21, 2001). "Wadsworth House receiving face lift". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 Downey, John; Elkins, Ken (September 2, 2012). "DNC delegates gather for parties at Charlotte-area venues". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Helms, Ann Doss (February 16, 2015). "Activists, former judge 'indict' NC lawmakers for denying Medicaid expansion". The Charlotte Observer. ProQuest 1655306356. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  17. ↑ "Local law school expands board". Charlotte Business Journal. July 25, 2006. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  18. ↑ "N.C. Bar Association honors members". North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. July 6, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  19. ↑ "Legal Legends of Color Honored". North Carolina Bar Association. June 29, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  20. ↑ London, Ashley M. (January 30, 2006). "Charlotte execs get shot at J.R. at an S.C. hunting lodge". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Martin, Edward (March 13, 2000). "Wesley Heights' decline halted with new interest". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
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