Susie Sharp
Encyclopedia
Susie Marshall Sharp was an American jurist who served as the first female Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
. She was not the first woman to head the highest court
in a U.S. state, but is believed to be the first woman elected to such a post in a state, like North Carolina
, in which the position is elected by the people separately from that of Associate Justice
. In 1965, Lorna E. Lockwood
became the first chief justice of a state supreme court, but in Arizona, the Supreme Court
justices elect their chief justice.
but spent most of her life in Rockingham County, North Carolina
. In 1926 she entered law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
as the only woman in her class. In 1929, Sharp went into private practice with her father, James, in the firm of Sharp & Sharp.
judge, making her the first female judge in the history of the state. After Sharp became a Superior Court judge, Tom Bost of the Greensboro 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'."
While holding court as a Superior Court judge in Burke County, North Carolina
, county commissioners refused, upon learning of her assignment to their county, to modify the only bathroom facilities in the judge's chambers; a sink and a urinal that hung on the wall. Judge Sharp opened court on Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. and ordered the sheriff to "invite" the county commissioners over to the courthouse. By 11:00, the courthouse was aflutter with the scurrying about of plumbers, carpenters, and electricians, while the county commissioners narrowly avoided a few nights' repose in the county jail.
Judge Sharp was re-appointed by successive governors, and in 1962, Governor Terry Sanford
made Sharp the first female Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
. 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 Justice William H. Bobbitt
.
Time
, in its January 6, 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".
Senator Sam Ervin
, a fellow Democrat, recommended to President Richard Nixon
that he appoint her to the United States Supreme Court. Nixon declined the advice, obviously, and there would not be a woman appointed to the Court until 1981.
During Justice Sharp's 17-year tenure on the Supreme Court, she wrote 459 majority opinions, 124 concurring opinions, and 45 dissenting opinions.
Justice Sharp was also the aunt of Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch, subject of the book "Bitter Blood" by Jerry Bledsoe
. The book details the bitter child custody dispute between Lynch and her ex-husband, which preceded the brutal murders of Lynch's mother-in-law, sister-in-law, mother, father, and grandmother. It has been proven that Fritz Klenner Lynch's first cousin, lover, and nephew of Justice Sharp, murdered Lynch's in-laws in Kentucky. It is also highly suspected that he murdered Lynch's parents and grandmother. Lynch's participation in the murders was suspected by many but never proven. She and her cousin blew themselves up during a police chase when authorities began closing in on them as suspects. The bodies of her two sons were also found in the wreckage of the explosion.
North Carolina Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices...
. She was not the first woman to head the highest court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
in a U.S. state, but is believed to be the first woman elected to such a post in a state, like North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, in which the position is elected by the people separately from that of Associate Justice
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
. In 1965, Lorna E. Lockwood
Lorna E. Lockwood
Lorna Elizabeth Lockwood was a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. She was the first female Chief Justice of a state supreme court in the United States. In the 1960s she was almost nominated by President Lyndon Johnson to be the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court...
became the first chief justice of a state supreme court, but in Arizona, the Supreme Court
Arizona Supreme Court
The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. It consists of a Chief Justice, a Vice Chief Justice, and three associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for...
justices elect their chief justice.
Early years
Sharp was born in 1907 in Rocky Mount, North CarolinaRocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...
but spent most of her life in Rockingham County, North Carolina
Rockingham County, North Carolina
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 93,643. Its county seat is Wentworth.- History :The county was formed in 1785 from Guilford County...
. In 1926 she entered law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
as the only woman in her class. In 1929, Sharp went into private practice with her father, James, in the firm of Sharp & Sharp.
Career
In 1949, Governor Kerr Scott appointed her a state Superior CourtSuperior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
judge, making her the first female judge in the history of the state. After Sharp became a Superior Court judge, Tom Bost of the Greensboro 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'."
While holding court as a Superior Court judge in Burke County, North Carolina
Burke County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 89,148 people, 34,528 households, and 24,342 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 37,427 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
, county commissioners refused, upon learning of her assignment to their county, to modify the only bathroom facilities in the judge's chambers; a sink and a urinal that hung on the wall. Judge Sharp opened court on Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. and ordered the sheriff to "invite" the county commissioners over to the courthouse. By 11:00, the courthouse was aflutter with the scurrying about of plumbers, carpenters, and electricians, while the county commissioners narrowly avoided a few nights' repose in the county jail.
Judge Sharp was re-appointed by successive governors, and in 1962, Governor Terry Sanford
Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
made Sharp the first female Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
North Carolina Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices...
. 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 Justice William H. Bobbitt
William H. Bobbitt
William Haywood Bobbitt , was an American jurist and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Bobbitt was born in 1900 in Raleigh, North Carolina and earned his law degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Bobbitt was elected a Superior Court judge and served with...
.
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, in its January 6, 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".
Senator Sam Ervin
Sam Ervin
Samuel James "Sam" Ervin Jr. was a Democratic Senator from North Carolina from 1954 until 1974. A native of Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, he liked to call himself a "country lawyer", and often told humorous stories in his Southern drawl...
, a fellow Democrat, recommended to President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
that he appoint her to the United States Supreme Court. Nixon declined the advice, obviously, and there would not be a woman appointed to the Court until 1981.
During Justice Sharp's 17-year tenure on the Supreme Court, she wrote 459 majority opinions, 124 concurring opinions, and 45 dissenting opinions.
Retirement
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.Justice Sharp was also the aunt of Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch, subject of the book "Bitter Blood" by Jerry Bledsoe
Jerry Bledsoe
Jerry Bledsoe is an American author and journalist known for several true crime titles based on murders in his native state of North Carolina....
. The book details the bitter child custody dispute between Lynch and her ex-husband, which preceded the brutal murders of Lynch's mother-in-law, sister-in-law, mother, father, and grandmother. It has been proven that Fritz Klenner Lynch's first cousin, lover, and nephew of Justice Sharp, murdered Lynch's in-laws in Kentucky. It is also highly suspected that he murdered Lynch's parents and grandmother. Lynch's participation in the murders was suspected by many but never proven. She and her cousin blew themselves up during a police chase when authorities began closing in on them as suspects. The bodies of her two sons were also found in the wreckage of the explosion.
External links
- Chief Justice Susie Sharp, The Supreme Court of North Carolina / Portrait Presentations.
- Inventory of the Susie Sharp Papers, 1900-1997, in the Southern Historical CollectionSouthern Historical CollectionThe Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South...
, UNC-Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... - UNC Press: Without Precedent, The Life of Susie Marshall Sharp by Anna R. Hayes