Tracey Henderson of Fayetteville will be Cumberland County’s newest District Court judge when she takes office next month.
Her swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. June 13 in room 4A of the Cumberland County Courthouse, Chief District Court Judge Toni King told CityView. She will fill the vacancy created when Judge Stephen Stokes was appointed to a seat on the county’s Superior Court bench.
Gov. Josh Stein announced on April 30 that he had selected Henderson to fill Stoke’s seat.
“Tracey has valuable skills and experience that will support her work in Cumberland County,” Stein said in his announcement. “She is the right person for the job, and I look forward to her service.”
She is a veteran and the president of the Cumberland County Bar Association, the announcement says.
Henderson is a graduate of Fayetteville State University and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School of Lansing, Michigan. She was licensed to practice law in Georgia in 2011, and in North Carolina in 2015.
In Fayetteville, Henderson has been a lawyer in private practice, operating The Henderson Firm with focuses on family law, immigration, personal injury, traffic offenses, and estate planning.
Henderson’s appointment is for the remainder of Stoke’s term. If she wants to keep the seat, she will have to stand for election in 2026.
Retirement led to vacancies
Former Superior Court Judge Claire V. Hill’s retirement in December led to this opportunity for Henderson.
When Hill retired, that created a vacancy on the Cumberland County Superior Court bench.
In March, Stein appointed Stokes to replace Hill. Stokes had been a District Court judge for 10 years.
That left a seat open on the 10-person District Court bench, which Stein is filling with Henderson.
Judges are elected. When vacancies occur between elections, the governor appoints the replacements.
The matters that go before District Court include divorces and other family law matters, traffic offenses, adjudication of misdemeanor charges, some pre-trial matters for felony cases, and lawsuits involving claims of $25,000 or less.
Superior Court judges oversee felony criminal cases, lawsuits involving claims of more than $25,000, and other legal cases of larger or broader magnitude.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the time of the swearing in ceremony. It will be at 1 p.m. on June 13 in room 4A of the Cumberland County courthouse.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
Did you find this story useful or interesting? It was made possible by donations from readers like you to the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so CityView can bring you more news and information like this.
