Willis P. Whichard is an American lawyer and a prominent figure in 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...

 politics and education. Whichard is the only person in the history of North Carolina who has served in both houses of the state legislature and on both of the state's appellate courts.

Legal & Civil Service Career

Born in Durham, North Carolina

Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

 in 1940, he began his legal career as a clerk to NC Supreme Court Justice (later 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...

. From 1966 to 1980, Whichard practiced law in Durham and entered politics, being elected first to the North Carolina House of Representatives

North Carolina House of Representatives

The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....

 and then to the North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate

The North Carolina Senate is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly.Its prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The...

. In 1980, he was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt

Jim Hunt

James Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician who was the 69th and 71st Governor of the state of North Carolina . He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.-Early life:...

 to the North Carolina Court of Appeals

North Carolina Court of Appeals

The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating groups of three...

, where he served until he became a 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...

 in 1986.

Whichard retired from the Court in 1998 and served as Dean of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law

Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law

The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law is a private law school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1976, the law school is one of six graduate programs offered by Campbell University...

 at Campbell University

Campbell University

Campbell University is a coeducational, church-related university in rural North Carolina, USA. Its main campus is located in the community of Buies Creek; its law school moved from Buies Creek to a new campus in the state capital of Raleigh in 2009. Campbell has an approximately equal number of...

 from 1999 until his retirement in 2006. He now is a partner at the law firm Moore & Van Allen in its Research Triangle office.

A student of North Carolina judicial history, Whichard has written a biography of James Iredell

James Iredell

James Iredell was one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799...

, a North Carolinian who led the state’s Federalists in supporting ratification of the Constitution and was later appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President George Washington.

In 2007, Whichard was appointed chairman of a committee to investigate the city of Durham's handling of the Duke Lacrosse case. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/587927.html

Education

• Durham City Schools (1958)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A.B in History (1962)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. J.D. (1965)
• University of Virginia. L.L.M. in Judicial Process (1984)
• University of Virginia. S.J.D Doctor of Judicial Science (1994)

Military

• NC Army National Guard. Enlisted man (1966–1972)
• NC National Guard Association. Life Member

Public service

Judge Whichard has the distinction of being the only person in the history of the State of North Carolina to have served as member of the two bodies of the NC Legislature (House and Senate) and on both of the state's appellate courts (Appeals and Supreme Court).

• NC General Statutes Commission. Member, 1969–1973
• NC House of Representatives. Member, 1970–1974
• NC Senate. Member, 1974–1980
• NC Court of Appeals. Judge, 1980–1986
• NC Supreme Court. Associate Justice, 1986–1998

Professional Positions

Before and after a historic career in public service, Judge Whichard held a number of other professional positions.

• Law Clerk to Associate Justice (later 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...
  
   in the NC Supreme Court (1965–66)
• Attorney in Durham, NC at the firm Powe, Porter, Alphin & Whichard (1966–1980)
• Adjunct Professor of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1986–1999)
• Dean and Professor of Law, Campbell University (1999–2006)

Honors and awards

• UNC: Phi Beta Kappa, Order of the Golden Fleece, Order of the Grail, Order of the Old Well, The Amphoterothen Society, Phi Alpha Theta
  Phi Alpha Theta
  Phi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history.The society is a charter member of the Association of College Honor Societies and has over 350,000 members, with about 9,500 new members joining each year through 860 local chapters.-...
  
  , NC Law Review Board of Editors, Order of the Coif
  Order of the Coif
  The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
  
  
• Distinguished Service Award, Durham NC Jaycees (1971)
• Outstanding Youth Service Award, NC Juvenile Correctional Association (1975)
• Outstanding Legislator Award, NC Academy of Trial Lawyers (1975)
• Citizen of the Year award. Eno Valley Civitan Club (1982)
• Hayti Development Corporation Honoree. (1982)
• Faith Active in Public Life Award. NC Council of Churches (1983)
• Outstanding Appellate Judge Award. NC Academy of Trial Lawyers (1983)
• Durham High School Hall of Fame (1987)
• Leadership Award, NC Alternative Sentencing Association (1988)
• Editor's Quill Award. International Association of Torch Clubs (1990)
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, UNC School of Law (1993)
• Civic Honor Award, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce (1996)
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2000)
• Christopher Crittendon Award, North Carolina Literary and Historical Association (2002)
• Distinguished Service medal, University of North Carolina Alumni Association (2004)