The Honorable Paul Newby, Duke ’77, was elected in late 2020 to become the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court in January 2021. He was first elected to the state’s supreme court in 2004. Prior to that, Judge Newby served nineteen years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Raleigh.
Paul Newby served two eight-year terms in North Carolina as a Justice on the Supreme Court since November 2004. Currently the most senior justice on the court. He has participated in deciding many cases and written more than three hundred opinions. In addition, he is an adjunct law professor at Campbell Law School, and he teaches continuing legal education courses to attorneys. He travels across the North Carolina educating students, scouts, civic and business leaders, and others about history and the role of government.
Newby earned a law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and actively participates in the North Carolina Bar Association. Newby describes his judicial philosophy as believing in judicial restraint and supporting enforcement of the Constitution as enacted by the people, of statutes as intended by the General Assembly and of contracts as agreed to by the parties.
Brother Newby was raised in Jamestown where he graduated from Ragsdale High School. He has been married to Macon Tucker Newby since 1983. They have four children and a golden retriever dog and two cats. His family attends Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh where he is an elder and Sunday School teacher.
Justice Newby is an Eagle Scout and serves as a board member of the Occoneechee Council. He is the recipient of the Heroism Award for rescuing nine people from a riptide and of the God and Service Award. In 2010, Justice Newby was named Scouter of the Year for his coordinating of Scouting’s statewide Report to the State, recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. In 2012, Justice Newby was designated a Distinguished Eagle Scout, a national honor that recognizes both his service to the Boy Scouts and his dedication to public service.
On the weekends when Justice Newby isn’t preparing for court on Monday, you can find him on the tennis courts (weather permitting), spending time with friends and family, walking the beloved golden retriever in the neighborhood with Macon, or traveling the state in search of North Carolina’s best cheeseburger.
