Cressie Thigpen facts for kids

Cressie H. Thigpen Jr. is a lawyer and judge from North Carolina. He served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, which is a high court in the state.

Early Life and Learning

Cressie H. Thigpen Jr. was born on August 12, 1946. He went to North Carolina Central University and earned a degree in business in 1966. Later, he studied law at Rutgers University and became a lawyer in 1973. He also served in the Peace Corps, helping people in other countries.

His Career as a Lawyer and Judge

Before becoming a judge, Thigpen was a partner at a law firm called Blue, Stephens & Fellers. He worked as a special superior court judge from 2008 until 2010.

In 1999, he was chosen to be the president of the state bar. This was a big deal because he was the first African-American to hold that important position. The state bar is an organization for lawyers.

Thigpen has also helped lead universities. He was the chairman of the board of trustees for North Carolina Central University. He also served on the board of trustees for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Serving on the Court of Appeals

In August 2010, Governor Bev Perdue appointed Thigpen to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. This happened when Judge James Andrew Wynn moved to a different court.

Later that year, Thigpen ran in an election for the same court. He lost to former Judge Douglas McCullough. This election used a special way of counting votes called instant runoff voting.

After that, Governor Perdue appointed Thigpen to a different seat on the Court of Appeals. This seat became open when Barbara Jackson was elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Thigpen ran for election again in 2012 to keep his seat on the court. Many people supported him, including the newspaper The News and Observer. They said he had done a good job and had a lot of legal experience. Even so, he was defeated in the 2012 election by Chris Dillon.

Election Results

2012 Election

In the 2012 election for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Cressie Thigpen ran to keep his seat.

• Chris Dillon won with 1,779,906 votes (52.74%).
• Cressie Thigpen received 1,594,799 votes (47.26%).

2010 Election

In the 2010 election for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Cressie Thigpen was one of many candidates.

• Cressie Thigpen received 395,220 votes (20.33%).
• Douglas McCullough received 295,619 votes (15.21%).
• After the first round, Thigpen and McCullough went head-to-head in a runoff.
• Douglas McCullough won the runoff with 543,980 votes (50.31%).
• Cressie Thigpen received 537,325 votes (49.69%).