Chief Justice Paul Newby visits Gastonia's frontline legal workers
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North Carolina Chief Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby visited Gaston County frontline legal professionals last week to thank the workers for their service.
“The Constitution says that the courts will be open,” said Newby. “I just don’t feel like folks say, ‘thank you’ enough.”
Gaston County represents the 55th county that Newby has visited in his pursuit to travel to all 100 counties in North Carolina thanking frontline legal workers for their services.
His 100-county tour started in Cherokee County in May and should end in Dare County at the end of 2023.
After completing his tour, Newby can hold the title of the first chief justice to visit all of North Carolina's courthouses, he said.
More than 30 employees including bailiffs, clerks, magistrates and district attorneys attended the meeting where Newby commended them for their hard work.
“These are the folks that keep the court open,” said Newby. “We judges and lawyers are blessed to have the competent and excellent staff in our clerk’s offices and register of deeds.”
He told workers he appreciated their hard work throughout the pandemic.
Newby issued an order last year that would encourage courthouse personnel to be considered frontline workers during the pandemic and allow frontline workers to receive access to the vaccine.
“People often encounter the clerk’s office for their understanding of what justice will be like and my hope is that across the state, when people walk into the office that they are treated with respect and dignity,” said Newby.
Newby and his wife, Macon Tucker Newby, presented the frontline workers with gifts to thank them for their service.
Newby was first elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice in 2004 and became the 30th chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court after winning the 2020 election.
As the chief justice, he holds the highest judicial office in North Carolina.
Reach Janiya Winchester at 980-319-6819 or jwinchester@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: NC Chief Justice Paul Newby visits Gastonia on 100-county tour
