"A nonlawyer sitting on the highest court in the land? Is that even allowed?" — Greensboro News-Record columnist Doug Clark
Yes, for the U.S. Supreme Court; no, for the North Carolina one.
Article IV of the North Carolina constitution states that "only persons duly authorized to practice law" in state courts may be eligible to be elected or appointed state judges.
The N.C. Board of Law Examiners determines who can practice law. It requires that students graduate from a law school approved the N.C. State Bar, provide proof of "good moral character" and pass the bar exam, or have practiced law in another state.
"The main requirement is that you have to graduate from an ABA-approved law school," said Tammy Jackson, a spokeswoman for the State Bar.
Article III of the U.S. Constitution, however, states only that judges shall "hold their offices during good behavior."
It does not list any formal educational requirements, although every person nominated to the Court to date has been a lawyer and nearly two-thirds have been judges.
UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Bill Marshall said that Supreme Court justices handle a lot of technical legal issues.
"You don't have to be a lawyer to be a Supreme Court justice, but I think you probably need to be a this point," he said.
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