Robert Holt Edmunds Jr. (born April 17, 1949) is an American lawyer, formerly an associate justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina'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 ...

Early life and education

Born in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

, Edmunds moved to

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

at the age of 8. He attended

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 391. Students come from 34 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and 36 coun ...

and

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

before graduating with honors from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

with a degree in English. Edmunds earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1975, after which he served two years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He was awarded an LL.M. degree (Master of Laws in the Judicial Process) from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

in Charlottesville in 2004.

Career

After working as a district attorney in

Guilford County, North Carolina Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 541,299, making it the third-most populous county in North Carolina. The county seat and largest community is Greensboro. Sin ...

and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, Edmunds served as the presidentially-appointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Middle District of North Carolina from 1986 to 1993. In 1993, Edmunds entered private practice, joining the firm Stern & Klepfer. In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, he ran for

North Carolina Attorney General The attorney general of North Carolina is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. The attorney general is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies i ...

but lost to

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been ...

. He was elected to the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...

in 1998 as a Republican. In 2000, he was elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court, defeating Franklin Freeman. He was elected as a Republican, though the office became nonpartisan. Justice Edmunds won a second term to the North Carolina Supreme Court by defeating Wake Forest University law professor

Suzanne Reynolds Suzanne Reynolds (born 1949, in Lexington, North Carolina) is a law professor and dean emerita at Wake Forest University School of Law. She is the first woman to head the school, and was named dean after serving four years as executive associate ...

in the

2008 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2008. * Electoral calendar 2008 * 2008 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2008 Angolan legislative election * 2008 Anjouan presidential election * 2008 Republic of the Congo Senate elec ...

. In 2016 when running for a third term he was defeated by Michael Morgan.Morgan defeats Edmunds in N.C Supreme Court race
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Electoral history

2016

2008

2000

1998

1996

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmunds, Robert H. Jr. 1949 births Living people Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court North Carolina Court of Appeals judges Williams College alumni Vassar College alumni University of North Carolina School of Law alumni North Carolina Republicans Politicians from Danville, Virginia Woodberry Forest School alumni